HOUSTON, Sept. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Westlake Chemical (NYSE: WLK) / -- Westlake Chemical Corporation, the Houston-based international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, is recognizing its 25th year of business with celebrations at all of its locations beginning today. In addition to these celebrations each company location will be further recognizing this anniversary year with a series of events which will include a "Westlake Service Day" where employees will volunteer in a variety of community service events.

Following three decades of success in Asia, the "Chao Group," led by Mr. T.T. Chao, Westlake's founder, along with his sons James Chao and Albert Chao, Westlake's current Chairman and President & CEO respectively, entered the U.S. market in 1986 and began production of polyethylene at its first plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana on September 12th of that year. From that beginning, Westlake now has 14 operating locations in North America and operations in Suzhou, China.

Westlake completed its IPO in August of 2004. The company now has approximately 2,500 employees and produces almost 12 billion pounds of products annually, generating $3.2 billion of revenue in 2010. Westlake operates in two business segments, Vinyls and Olefins. The Vinyls segment's range of products includes caustic soda, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and an array of PVC building products which includes PVC pipe, window, door and decking components and PVC film. The company's Olefins segment produces and markets ethylene, styrene, propylene, low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), Epolene(TM) and other specialty polymer products. These products are manufactured and marketed under the name of Westlake Chemical Corporation along with the names of its subsidiaries North American Pipe Corporation, Westech Building Products and Suzhou Huasu Plastics.

For more information, including career opportunities, visit the company's Web site at www.westlake.com.

SOURCE Westlake Chemical Corporation