Suburban UOP orders 1,500 to take furloughs

Des Plaines-based UOP LLC, a Honeywell International Inc. company that provides research and processes for petrochemical companies, told about 1,500 workers Wednesday to take a one-week unpaid vacation before late September.

This would be the second such unpaid furlough for the work force. They also were ordered to take a week off unpaid during the second quarter, said company spokesman Don Empie.

"The company is trying to control its costs and to manage its business," said Empie. "This is just one of several other actions we're taking to help preserve jobs in the long term."

Besides the two furlough weeks, the company also has restricted business travel, reduced overtime and taken other measures, Empie said.

UOP, founded in Chicago about 100 years ago, was initially called Universal Oil Products. It moved to the Des Plaines campus in the 1950s and includes mostly engineers, chemists, and researchers along with a technology and support staff.

The company designs processes for refineries and other petrochemical companies and manufacturers to help them make certain products, like gasoline.

Those processes are then licensed to other companies, Empie said.

So far this year, UPO has not laid off workers, but has been hit by the recession "like any other company," Empie said.

UOP also has manufacturing sites in Louisiana, New York and Alabama, but they operate separately and are not part of this mandated furlough in Des Plaines, he said.