Dow Chemical Company on Wednesday announced plans to close two units at the local plant in the third quarter of 2011.

The move will affect some 45 employees, but managers are  meeting with them individually about transfers to other parts of the local plant, Stacey Chaisson of Dow Public Affairs said.

“We definitely want to keep our skilled workers,” Chaisson said. “...We will re-deploy them somewhere else at the site or in the company once the plants are closed.”

The two units affected are the ethylene dichloride (EDC) unit in the portion of the plant located in Iberville Parish, and the vinyl chloride monomer plant (known locally as Vinyl II) located in West Baton Rouge.

“There will be no immediate tax impact” on either parish, Chaisson said. In fact, the plants would continue on the tax roles until they were demolished.

Dow also announced plans to close two units at its Hahnville plant, a move that will affect some 55 people.

The move is part of a $1.3 billion restructuring plan Dow announced in December as part of its acquisition of Rohm and Haas Company. The restructuring includes the elimination of some 2,500 positions company-wide.

“People knew this was coming,” Chaisson said. “This is putting clarity around the date.”

Over the past six months, employment at Dow’s Plaquemine plant has been reduced by some  300 positions, from around 3,000 contract and Dow workers to around 2,700, she said.

The company remains Iberville Parish’s largest employer and taxpayer.

“When we made a decision to shut a unit down, it’s basically a decision to keep us as competitive as possible on the Gulf Coast,” Chaisson said, noting the company’s large down assets in the region.

“It’s important for people to know we’re making decisions becasue we want to stay here,” she said.

Dow is moving away from the production of bulk chemicals, which require large amounts of crude oil at widely fluctuating prices, and more into specialty chemicals.

Throughout Dow’s operations, the company currently produces 40 percent bulk and 60 percent specialty chemicals, Chaisson said. Locally, however, most of the production is in bulk chemicals, she said.

“You’re going to see some changes in this site,” she predicted. “The site will look different over the next few years.”

As for future changes, she said, “everything remains on the table in this economy. We are constantly looking at business every day.”