Security guards direct workers arriving at the BP Amoco Polymers plant on Clanton Road as steam rises in the aftermath of the early-Tuesday explosion. Three men died in the accident. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

BP Amoco announced in December it would transfer its engineered polymers business to Belgium-based Solvay SA in exchange for Solvay's polypropylene operations.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Solvay's domestic polymers business, which has headquarters in Houston, said the $2.6 billion asset swap is proceeding as planned.

Also included in the deal are BP Amoco Polymers operations in Marietta, Ohio; Greenville, S.C.; and Alpharetta, Ga.

The 17-year-old Augusta plant annually produces 50 million pounds of pellet-size, high-performance plastic resins used in the manufacture of injection-molded products such as auto parts, electronics and Tupperware. It was damaged Tuesday morning by explosions that killed three workers.

The plant annually sells nearly $90 million worth of the products, which are marketed under brand names such as Amodel, Udel and Xydar.

Chicago-based Amoco Corp. purchased the Augusta plant in 1988 from Dartco Manufacturing, which in 1984 developed the facility on 100 acres near the intersection of Clanton and Tobacco roads.

``Safety was always a major concern because we were handling a very volatile series of chemicals,'' said Bill Phillips, a Greensboro, Ga., resident and former Dartco executive who ran the plant until 1988. ``When I heard there was an accident, it sort of shook me.''

Dartco was a subsidiary of Dart Industries, a now-defunct holding company that once owned Tupperware, West Bend appliances and Duracell batteries.

The Amoco plant became BP Amoco Polymers in December 1998 when British Petroleum Co. acquired Amoco in a $48 billion merger.

The oil giant decided last year to sell the polymers operation and other businesses that require the purchase of raw materials from other companies. Analysts say the company is trying to focus on products it can manufacture more efficiently and economically by using its own petrochemicals.

Both local and national BP Amoco officials have said they expect Solvay to run the Augusta plant without major operational or personnel changes.

The plant employs about 170 BP Amoco employees and 40 contract workers drawing an annual payroll of $11 million.

The operation won an existing industry award from Georgia Economic Developers Association more than three years ago based on a nomination from the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce.

``They have been a good corporate citizen,'' said Kevin Shea, the chamber's senior vice president of economic development. ``One of the things that impresses me is the corporation and the individual people who work there are always very active in the community.''

Solvay, one of Europe's 100 largest companies, operates in four sectors: chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics and processing. The Brussels-based company posted 1999 sales of $7.9 billion.

Reach Damon Cline at (706) 823-3486 or bized@augustachronicle.com.