MEMC facility survives hurricane

SAN FRANCISO— MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. said Monday (Sept. 15) that its manufacturing facility in Pasadena, Texas suffered no major structural damage during this past weekend's Hurricane Ike, but that the company has been notified of raw materials delays by suppliers that could impact its immediate return to production.

MEMC last week took the precautionary action of closing the facility ahead of Hurricane Ike, which caused massive damage in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S.

"We maintained power throughout the storm and the occupancy crew that stayed on site through this period is safe," said Nabeel Gareeb, MEMC's CEO, in a statement.

Gareeb said MEMC is working closely with suppliers to overcome delays and that the company is not at this time updating guidance based on possible production delays. MEMC reported production problems in Pasadena earlier this year.