Seaford Mayor reacts to news that INVISTA is up for sale
SEAFORD, Del. – Seaford City Mayor Dave Genshaw is now weighing in after 47 ABC broke news that local textile manufacturer INVISTA is exploring sale opportunities.
Mayor Genshaw was surprised to hear that the company was exploring being sold. He tells us a sale doesn’t necessarily mean bad news for residents.
“I think Seaford may be well positioned to be a growth site for somebody that wants to see that business grow so this may be a great thing for Seaford and the people here,” Mayor Genshaw said reacting to the news.
In a press release issued Tuesday, the company announced that it intends to “explore strategic alternatives for its nylon fibers business.”
This includes the manufacturing plant located off Woodland Road in Seaford, Delaware.
Mayor Genshaw says INVISTA has put about $22 million into the local facility over the past few years, explaining how they’ve positioned it to be primed to build on that growth.
He also noted how the property is just a couple miles from the old Nylon Capitol Shopping Center that’s about to have a huge rebuild, which he says makes it a very attractive site for a potential buyer.
“Just less than a couple miles from the plant is the old Nylon Capitol Shopping Center,” Mayor Genshaw said. “That would be pretty cool for the people here in Seaford, and we would certainly love to see the jobs come back in some form.”
Despite Mayor Genshaw’s optimism, few details are being released about the future of the company. Our requests for comment have so far went unanswered by INVISTA.
The company announced plans late last year to close a production facility located in Orange, Texas, and in the process eliminate over 200 jobs, according to local ABC affiliate 12 News.
Plant workers in Seaford are eagerly awaiting news on the future of their jobs, but Mayor Genshaw is promising if a sale does happen that the City of Seaford will do everything in its power to support a new potential owner to help keep people working.
“We want to do whatever we can to help, we know what jobs do for our community and we have felt the other side of that,” Mayor Genshaw said. “So, anybody in this community, in Seaford, or Western Sussex, is gonna do whatever it takes to see business be successful here.”
In the original announcement, INVISTA said it was too early to speculate on the structure of a potential deal.
“It would be premature to speculate on the final structure of a potential deal,” the company stated in the press release. “Details of the business and exploration process are confidential. INVISTA has engaged Barclays as Exclusive Financial Advisor during this exploration process.”
INVISTA acquired the Seaford facility from DuPont back in 2004.
