Carus has worked expeditiously to clean up debris from the January 11, 2023, fire and make repairs to our potassium permanganate production. This hard work has paid off.  Throughout June and into July, our industrious manufacturing team restarted production of CAIROX^® and AQUOX® potassium permanganate in our LaSalle, IL facility. We are producing our free-flowing grade (assay specification >97%) material and working towards providing other grades as well. Please reach out to your regional sales manager for details on lead times for specific packages and grades.

Following a comprehensive review, Carus has determined that the root cause of the LaSalle manufacturing facility fire on Jan. 11, 2023, was a combination of events stemming from damaged packaging of Potassium Permanganate.

“Understanding what happened that day is important for the entire community, and we are committed to mitigating the risk of this ever happening again,” said Andy Johnston, President and CEO. “We recognize the effect this has had on neighbors, friends, and family, and our priority continues to be the safety of our employees and residents of the greater LaSalle-Peru community.”

The combination of events that led to the fire were: 

• Potassium Permanganate, which was contained in “Supersac” packaging (a common form of packaging), was being transported from the warehouse to a waiting truck and was damaged in transit by a forklift truck.
• Following normal protocols, the warehouse team cleaned up the spilled material and moved the damaged Supersac to a separate location.
• As the damaged Supersac was being moved, friction caused by the forklift truck moving the support pallet likely ignited the material underneath the pallet.

In the more than 100 years Carus has been in business, there has never been an event like this. Carus is committed to mitigating the risk that there could be a repeat of this event through careful adherence to established safe handling and storage practices, as well as all local, state, and federal regulations. We ask our customers to do the same.

Carus will continue to provide updates on cleanup and community support efforts and what customers can expect and when, through CarusLLC.com and the Carus Community Hotline at 815-224-6662.

Carus LLC appreciates your continued support as we progress towards returning to normal operations and once again being your trusted source for the supply of CAIROX®, AQUOX® and RemOx® S potassium permanganate, and CARUSOL®, RemOx® L and LIQUOX® sodium permanganate products.

We have taken the following steps to ensure supply to our customers:

• Secured alternate supply of potassium and sodium permanganate available in April
• Start-up of sodium permanganate plant with product availability beginning in April  
• Initiating start-up of potassium permanganate plant in May

In addition to taking intermediate steps, Carus is in the process of restoring production and will be rebuilding certain parts of our production plant, including a new warehouse and packaging facility. We are taking action to manage our supply chain to ensure uninterrupted supply in the future.

Carus continues to be a leader in providing innovative solutions for municipal water, wastewater, industrial applications, air purification, and soil remediation. We are the leading supplier of permanganate and phosphate products helping our customer optimize treatment and meet stringent regulatory requirements.

In addition to assisting with treatment optimization, our Technical Solutions team is available for site evaluations, answering technical questions and to provide online or in-person safety, handling and applications training sessions.   

We are excited to share information about our current and future plans. Please visit our website www.carusllc.com or reach out to your Carus contact to discuss how we can meet your needs. 

PERU, IL (February 17, 2023 3:00 pm) – Carus LLC resumed production of CARULITE^® catalysts out of its LaSalle, IL plant the week of February 13^th, nearly one month after a fire located in another area of the property.             

CARULITE catalysts are used for breathable air purification, emission air purification, and process air purification. Specific applications include the destruction of carbon monoxide, ozone, and ethylene oxide as well as the removal of certain compounds and odors.

On January 11, 2023, Carus LLC experienced a fire at the LaSalle warehouse, which resulted in significant damage. Fortunately, all Carus employees and emergency personnel are safe and accounted for.

State and federal regulators and first responders responded very quickly and the Fire Chief has turned the facility back over to Carus.

We are declaring force majeure as we believe it will be impossible for Carus to fulfill all orders for potassium and sodium permanganate for approximately the next 90 days. We will keep you informed as we get more information. To be clear, Carus is currently unable to comply with the terms of applicable contracts due to this event of force majeure, including but not limited to supply and notice provisions.

Please rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to address this issue as soon as possible. We will continue to share updates as they become available, particularly with respect to timing of our return to production, which at this time remains uncertain.

PERU, IL (January 20, 2023 2:00 pm) – Carus LLC resumed production and shipping of phosphates out of its LaSalle plant on January 18, just six days after a fire in another area of the property.

“It is great to be making and shipping phosphates at our LaSalle plant again. It is back to ‘business as usual’ for phosphates thanks to the great teamwork and resourcefulness of Carus employees,” said Carus LLC President and CEO Andy Johnston “I would also like to thank our customers for their support and patience over the last few days.”

Carus phosphates are used for corrosion control in potable and industrial water systems. These products help clean, maintain and extend the life of system infrastructure including mains, service lines, valves, meters and household plumbing.