Lost New England #3: Borden Chemical
Borden Chemical (1956–1987)
All of the plastic products we use today from forks, combs, cups, windows, bowls, and much more were once made in one singular region of America. Leominster Massachusetts was once the plastic capital of the world. It was here that the industry was invented and became a boom. Practically every family in central Mass once worked for or knew someone who worked in a plastic factory. This is one of the many places we will be highlighting as we focus on New England’s mid-century paper and plastic industries.
Borden Chemical had a short but substantial history in the Leominster area, as they were the pioneers of PVC plastics in the region along with Dupont. In December of 1956, President of Borden Company Harold Comfort announced he had chosen Leominster on Lancaster Street for the opening of a new polyvinyl chloride resin plant, which was set to be the first of its kind in the country. Specializing in flooring, wiring and plastic wall materials, automotive wiring, casketing, and upholstery in every car produced in America. Leisure such as phonograph records and glues, and packaging such as plastic files and paper coatings.
From their record books, they provided various employment positions such as “maintenance mechanic”, “chemical fireman”, “production helper”, “control lab assistant”, “lab electrician”, “researcher”, “automated machine operator”, “lab secretary”, and of course the “lead technician”. They offered on-the-job training for graduates out of high school and research positions and chemists for college graduates.
In the spring of 1966, Borden Chemical announced the “Multi-Million Dollar Plan” boosting the firm’s capacity for the production of polyvinyl chloride resins by 90 million pounds per year, resulting in an additional employment of 50 highly skilled research, technical, and production personnel making this the world’s largest single plant manufacturing vinyl coated fabrics and calendared films.
“We hope they keep on growing and keep on prospering because Leominster can use a company like this.” — Leominster Mayor Ralph W. Crossman (1966 Statement)
“Dr. Harry C Wechsler, group vice-president in charge of plastically and fabrics operations, announced that the expansion will make Borden Chemical Co. the largest producer in its field. New facilities will include a reactor process building, steam plant, 230,000-gallon pressure storage spheres, and a 20,000-square-foot finished product warehouse.” — Fitchburg Sentinel (Apr 12th, 1966)
In 1970 Borden now President Harry Wechsler opened up a second $1.2 million factory in Leominster dedicated as a compound plant for the production of materials used in food packaging and bottled water. They would produce both the powder and in granule form at this new factory. The second plant ultimately doubled its production capacity and during their peak of operation in the 1970s they employed close to 500 workers. They were the second-largest employers in Leominster at the time.
Records show that the factory pumped out molds for another decade of solid employment until at first a 1979 incident. In 1979, the federal National Labor Relations Board sued Borden Chemical for “unfair labor practices”. The events in this dispute occurred at Borden’s Leominster, Massachusetts, chemical manufacturing plant between August 1976, and January 1977, when the Union and the Company were negotiating a new contract. Court documents show they were requested to furnish Local 533, International Chemical Workers Union (Union) which represented the production, maintenance, shipping, and trucking employees at the Leominster facility. They requested to compensate former employees for unpaid accrued vacation benefits, and that it post the appropriate notices.
N.L.R.B. v. Borden, Borden Chemical Division
However, this was just a cakewalk for what would happen just a few years later. In 1978 under the Carter administration, Congress decided to change the definition of enforceable emissions to include factory workplace standards and design. In 1983 documents show that the United States EPA sued Borden Chemical in Massachusetts 3rd district court for what they deemed a violation of air emissions, for releasing vinyl chloride or PVC into the upper atmosphere as valve discharge. Their emergency valve discharge system is what prevented the plant from blowing up. The EPA also decided to fine Borden for every day their emissions violated their new standards going back to 1976, which at the time was up to $25,000 per day on record.
United States v. Borden, Inc., 572 F. Supp. 684 (D. Mass. 1983)
“Borden has argued to the court that these are actually work practice standards, promulgated in 1976 when the Administrator had only the authority to promulgate emission standards. These regulations are not enforceable emission standards and are not possible.” — 1983 Borden Chemical Statement
The Massachusetts court sided with the EPA in 1984 stating that provisions which the EPA sought to enforce were enforceable emissions standards. This would result in Borden Chemical being fined over $65 million in 1984, which would be the equivalent in the year 2020 of almost a quarter of a million dollars. The EPA even recognized that a zero emissions limitation would effectively prohibit the manufacturing of products containing vinyl chloride in Leominster.
The company continued operating for another three years getting fined by the EPA every day, until in 1987 when they made the decision to close their doors laying off 350 workers. This ended the second oldest major plastic plant that was left in Leominster, and the end of PVC manufacturing in New England.
It is important to note that PVC manufacturing in the United States declined, due to its toxic emissions and groundwater pollution in surrounding towns where workers had to live. In this instance, industry left due to increased environmental standards that made manufacturing much too costly to compete with foreign markets. In recent years there have been talks of banning production altogether. Vietnam, India, and China are the number one producers and exporters of PVC plastic products today.
The plant saw continued use by various chemical companies. Its final history was an unfortunate one. In 1997 an explosion ripped through the factory roof that had to be fixed, and again in 2005 when a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility known as PolyCarbon had a work-related accident that caused a fire and explosion burning down a good portion of the building. This forced them to relocate to Newburyport to a facility that also burned down due to an explosion. The former Borden factory is today a designated Superfund site that continues to be off-limits to the public.
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