Carus in La Salle continues rebuild after January 2023 fire

Rebuilding continues after the January 2023 fire at the Carus Chemical plant in La Salle.

Vice President of Human Resources Lyndsay Bliss said the general contractor and subcontractors mobilized a field team to the site during the week of Jan. 15 after months of planning and engineering.

“As with any construction project, neighbors will continue to notice increased on-site activity as we continue rebuilding throughout the summer,” Bliss said in an email. “They may even notice an uptick in activity as our project reaches some significant milestones.”

Carus is rebuilding the areas affected after the January 2023 fire, including the CAIROX packaging area, the warehouse space and related equipment used in raw material transport throughout the manufacturing process, Bliss said.

After the fire, Carus entered a long-term clean-up plan with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois EPA. Bliss said all necessary regulatory approvals were obtained prior to the start of construction. Bliss said rebuilding is expected to finish by September.

“As with any construction project, timelines change, but according to our current projection, we are optimistic that the rebuilding efforts will be completed later this summer, by September,” she said.

Bliss said community safety is paramount and Carus has planned and engineered these construction work spaces with the safety of the community, employees, visitors and neighbors.

“We’ve invested in enhancements that will make operations smoother and more efficient and, more importantly, offer enhanced safety measures,” she said. “Everything has been filtered through the goal of keeping everyone safe.”

Bliss said Carus aims to complete this project as efficiently as possible and minimize disruptions to neighbors and the public.

“We sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding,” she said.