THE Government was yesterday urged to intervene in the developing crisis in the Teesside chemical sector to avoid the potential loss of thousands of jobs nationally as a knock-on effect.

The multi-billion pound North-East industry was dealt another hammer blow on Monday with the Artenius plant being put into administration by its debt-ridden parent company, La Seda De Barcelona, with the immediate loss of 137 jobs. A further 105 jobs remain on the line as a buyer is sought.

The development came as the latest blow for the sector and the former ICI Wilton site, which has seen the closure of Invista in recent months, and now faces the impending closures of the Dow and Croda plants.

That follows the closure of the nearby Elementis plant, in Eaglescliffe, near Stockton, and the continuing uncertainty over the North Tees Petroplus refinery.

Yesterday, Phil McNulty, Unite’s national officer for the chemical sector, who met Lord Mandelson’s team last week to try to broker a solution, said: “The hammer blow to the economy of the North- East of England must be averted. The Government has been asked to bring the employers together to find a solution.”

Of all the closures, it is the demise of Dow, the UK’s only producer of the ethylene oxide (EO) chemical, which is seen as being particularly key, and is predicted to have a “house of cards” effect throughout the wider industry.

Already, Croda has cited Dow’s closure as the reason for it pulling out of Wilton.

Mr McNulty said he has stressed the importance of the Wilton site and how central the Dow plant – which supplies EO industrially, as well as to products including antifreeze, soaps and make-up – is to the national chemical industry.

“The EO compound is hazardous to transport and its movement is regulated, which means that businesses purchasing the material cluster near the source plant. The impending closure of the Wilton plant therefore also puts those businesses dependent on it at serious risk of closure too,” he said.

Last night, as administrator Deloitte continued to look for a buyer for the Artenius plant, one business expert said he was hopeful someone would step in.

Alastair Thomson, vicechairman of the Institute of Directors North-East, said: “This is bad news for the process industry in Teesside, but, as I understand it, the plant itself, which is part of the local supply chain, is viable. The problem has been financial issues with the Spanish parent company, which has been struggling to overcome a group loss of £564m.

“Therefore, I would hope that a buyer could be found for the plant and that the former Artenius operation at Wilton will move back to a sound footing.”