Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 5, 1995                   TAG: 9501050040
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MATT CROWDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COAL-TREATMENT CHEMICAL PLANT NO LONGER FOR SALE

"We did not find a potential buyer willing to offer us the kind of money we thought the operation was worth," said Tony Tripodo, chief financial officer of Baker Performance Chemicals Inc., the company's Houston parent.

BPT, which operates the ChemLink plant at 401 Albemarle Ave. S.E., was pulled off the market "forever," Tripodo said. It had been for sale for about five months. Tripodo declined to say how much BPCI wanted for BPT.

BPCI has owned the plant since November 1991, Tripodo said. It previously was known as Wen-Don Corp.

The plant, which employs about 10 people, is a chemical-blending facility that manufactures chemicals used to freeze-condition coal and suppress coal dust, Tripodo said.

The freeze-conditioning agents are used to prevent coal from freezing during transportation and handling. The dust suppressants are used to cut down on the amount of dust in the handling and storage of coal, both in the mines and above ground. Increasing industry health concerns about dust are resulting in tighter environmental controls, benefiting market growth, the company said.

"We looked at the dust-suppressant business as very promising because of environmental concerns. That was one of the reasons why we kept" BPT, Tripodo said.

He said the primary purchasers of the chemicals are utility plants and coal mines throughout the United States, especially in Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming and the Midwest.

BPT also has operations in Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, and another plant in Price, Utah.

There has been one change made for BPT: The subsidiary now reports directly to Tripodo, instead of reporting up through the corporation.

"We felt the business deserved more focus and more attention from upper management," Tripodo said.

Tripodo added that no major changes have been made in the BPT management structure.

BPCI said it had wanted to sell BPT in order to focus on its core business, which is making specialty chemicals for the oil- and gas-drilling, production, pipeline and refining industries and industrial water treatment.