PITTSBURGH (AP) - Nova Chemicals Corp., a maker of components used to make plastic, on Wednesday said an accidental shutdown at one of its plants will reduce earnings over the next two quarters by $11 million.
The company said the inadvertent activation of a process shutdown switch cased production to stop temporarily at its plant in Corunna, Ontario, causing minor damage.
Nova expects the plant to be back in full production in two weeks, but said the shutdown will reduce second-quarter net income by $8 million and cut third-quarter income by $3 million.
The company is declaring force Majeure - which is a clause in contracts that removes liability for unavoidable catastrophes - on its propylene, crude C4s and other pipeline-delivered co-products. The force majeure will remain in place until production and inventory return to normal.
The activation of the switch was apparently caused by a contractor employee installing structural steel platforms, Nova said.
