Indianapolis chemical maker closing 159

Indianapolis-based specialty-chemicals manufacturer Aurorium plans to close its plant on the southwest side of the city, putting 159 employees out of work.

The company, which was known as Vertellus until a rebranding in March, said in a notice to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development posted Wednesday that the plant at 1500 S. Tibbs Ave. will close permanently starting Oct. 3. The closure could begin earlier “if business conditions necessitate it,” the company said.

The company did not disclose a reason for the closure.

Aurorium and its affiliates manufacture chemicals used in agriculture, life sciences, industrial specialties, nutrition, personal care and plastics. One of its best-known products is DEET, the active ingredient in many insect repellents.

According to the company’s web site, the Indianapolis plant is the world’s largest pyridine and picoline facility. Pyridine is used as a solvent in organic chemistry and in industrial practice. Picoline is used in the manufacture of resins, dyes, solvents, waterproofing agents, rubber chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides.

Aurorium has six other plants in the United States, three in Europe, two in Asia and two in India.

The company went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016 and was acquired by its lenders for $454 million in debt relief. It was acquired by private equity firm Pritzker Private Capital and Management in 2020.

Aurorium has more than 1,400 employees worldwide. Its corporate offices are at 201 N. Illinois St. in Indianapolis.

The company traces its roots to 1857 as a maker of castor oil. It became Vertellus in 2006 when Reilly Industries merged with Rutherford Chemicals.

Reilly Industries, then known as Reilly Tar & Chemical, began manufacturing creosote at the site where the South Tibbs plant now stands in 1921.

Part of the 120-acre Reilly Tar & Chemical site was declared a federal Superfund site in the 1980s due to contamination from wood-treating chemicals. It went through a decades-long clean-up process and now is home to the 43-acre Maywood Solar Farm. Groundwater at the site is still contaminated with benzene, pyridines and ammonia, and is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency.