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Koch Industries Shuts Houston Facility Ahead of Rita's Arrival

Posted on: Friday, 23 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

Sep. 23--Koch Industries continues to brace for the onslaught of Hurricane Rita.

Koch's main office building in Houston closed Thursday, a day sooner than planned, said spokeswoman Mary Beth Jarvis.

"We wanted to give our employees time to get their families to safety," Jarvis said. "Forecasters are telling us that the current projected path will mean a major impact on Houston."

The good news, at least as it appeared Thursday afternoon, is that the worst of the hurricane will spare Corpus Christi and its concentrated refining district, where Koch operates a refinery.

"At this point, the mandatory evacuation has been lifted for Corpus Christi," Jarvis said. "We have suspended plans to shut down the refinery as a result of that change."

She said the refinery remains "battened down" to protect against wind and water damage but limited production will continue unless there is another change in the hurricane's projected path.

She said about 2,500 Koch employees work in the Texas Gulf Coast region, 900 of them in Corpus Christi.

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Source: The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)

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