January 22, 2011 - Tronox Pigments Inc. is expected to emerge from bankruptcy within the next few weeks - but without its Savannah facility, which will be transferred to a trustee appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.  The majority of the 30 workers still at the former titanium dioxide facility and still-active sulfuric acid plant located off East President Street are expected to remain employees of the trust until a buyer can be found, Tronox corporate spokesman Robert Gibney said Friday.  While a number of former Tronox facilities are being transferred to a trust to oversee environmental cleanup operations, the Savannah plant is different in that it still has ongoing operations, albeit on a much smaller scale, Gibney said.  In 2007, the Savannah facility - which included both titanium dioxide pigment and sulfuric acid plants - had 270 employees, generated $25 million in annual payroll and was the largest single customer of Georgia Power in Savannah.  In 2008, demand for titanium dioxide began to drop as the worldwide economy foundered. In December of that year, the company furloughed 35 local employees and, in early 2009, Tronox filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  By March 2009, the company had furloughed more than half its remaining work force because of what it called "a sudden and unprecedented drop in global demand for our product."  That product is titanium dioxide, a whitener/brightener used in paint, plastics, paper and hundreds of other applications.  Tronox will emerge from the two-year bankruptcy a much smaller company, with three titanium dioxide plants - in Mississippi, Australia and the Netherlands - and one plant in Henderson, Nev., that produces electrolytic, battery-active manganese dioxide, primarily intended for use in alkaline batteries, Gibney said.  The Savannah plant has survived several incarnations over the years. Tronox was spun off in 2006 from Kerr-McGee, which purchased the plant in 2000 from Kemira Pigments, which bought the plant from American Cynamide in 1985.

March 4, 2009 - Citing an "unprecedented sudden and dramatic downturn in projected sales," Tronox Pigments Inc. has put its more than 200 local employees on notice that "significant permanent layoffs may become necessary" at the company's Savannah plant as early as June.  In an internal memo obtained by the Savannah Morning News, the company also indicated that additional temporary layoffs may become necessary in the near term.   Tronox, the world's third-largest producer and marketer of titanium dioxide pigment, furloughed some 35 Savannah employees in December, less than a month before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

January 13, 2009 - Tronox Inc. (OTC: TROXA, TROXB) announced Monday that it is seeking bankruptcy protection. Tronox, the world's third-largest maker of the whitening pigment titanium dioxide, has a facility in Savannah.  "After careful evaluation of all strategic alternatives, we have concluded that a Chapter 11 filing is the best way to address the company's debt, in particular its legacy liabilities," said Dennis Wanlass, Tronox chairman and chief executive officer.  When Tronox spun off from Kerr McGee in 2006, it inherited environmental remediation and litigation costs that it was required to assume at the time of the spinoff. These liabilities are an obstacle to Tronox's financial stability and success.  "We want to assure customers, suppliers and employees that our operations are continuing without interruption, and during the restructuring period, we will remain focused on continuing to provide customers with quality products and unsurpassed service."  The company has taken steps to ensure the continued supply of goods and services to its customers, with a commitment for up to $125 million in new debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lending group led by Credit Suisse.   The company said it is using those funds to continue its restructuring plan and to pay vendors. It has also requested court approval to continue to pay employees in the same manner as before the filing with no disruption, and it expects the request to be granted as part of the court's "first day" orders.  The Savannah site has 214 active employees and 35 who were put on furlough in December. Tronox employs 1,800 people companywide and doesn't anticipate any layoffs.  The bankruptcy filing doesn't include Tronox's operations outside of the U.S., which are based in Australia, Germany and the Netherlands.