8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)
October 20, 2005

Wellman, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	1-10033	04-1671740
(State or other jurisdiction	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer
of incorporation)		Identification No.)

1041 521 Corporate Center Drive
Fort Mill, South Carolina	29715
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (803) 835-2000

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Item 8.01. —Other Events.
	Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
SIGNATURES
EXHIBIT INDEX
EX-99.1 Press Release Dated October 20, 2005

Item 8.01. —Other Events.

On October 20, 2005, Wellman, Inc. announced via press release that its Pearl River facility located in Hancock County, Mississippi, is expected to resume PET resin production the week of October 31, 2005 after its temporary shut down due to Hurricane Katrina. The facility will re-start in two phases. One production line, which has an annual capacity of 260 million pounds, is expected to resume production the week of October 31, 2005. The second production line, with the same annual capacity, is expected to resume production at the end of November. The Company expects to incur total costs in the third and fourth quarter of approximately $22-$25 million which includes damage to inventory, costs to clean up the site, costs to repair damaged equipment and costs incurred at the site until normal operations are restored. Approximately $7 million of these costs were incurred in the third quarter with the remaining $15-$18 million expected to be incurred in the fourth quarter. The Company expects to be reimbursed by insurance for substantially all of these costs and lost profits resulting from the hurricane in excess of its $20 million deductible. The Company expects the start up of the 300 million pound PET resin expansion at its Pearl River facility to be the second quarter of 2006. A copy of the Company’s press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (a) Not applicable.

     (b) Not applicable.

     (c) Exhibit

     99.1 Press Release dated October 20, 2005

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SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	Wellman, Inc.
October 20, 2005	/s/ Mark J. Ruday
	Mark J. Ruday
	Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller

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EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Press release dated October 20, 2005.

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EX-99.1

Contact:	Michael Bermish
	Investor Relations Officer
	(732) 212 — 3321

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WELLMAN’S PEARL RIVER FACILITY EXPECTED TO RESUME PRODUCTION
WEEK OF OCTOBER 31st

October 20, 2005, Shrewsbury, NJ — Wellman, Inc. (NYSE: WLM) today announced its Pearl River facility, located in Hancock County, Mississippi, is expected to resume PET resin production the week of October 31, 2005 after its temporary shut down due to Hurricane Katrina. The facility will re-start in two phases. One production line, which has an annual capacity of 260 million pounds, is expected to resume production the week of October 31, 2005. The second production line, with the same annual capacity, is expected to resume production at the end of November. The Company expects to incur total costs in the third and fourth quarter of approximately $22-$25 million which includes damage to inventory, costs to clean up the site, costs to repair damaged equipment and costs incurred at the site until normal operations are restored. Approximately $7 million of these costs were incurred in the third quarter with the remaining $15-$18 million expected to be incurred in the fourth quarter. The Company expects to be reimbursed by insurance for substantially all of these costs and lost profits resulting from the hurricane in excess of its $20 million deductible.

Tom Duff, Wellman’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “I am pleased we are re-starting our Pearl River facility and look forward to the completion of our 300 million pound PET resin expansion in the second quarter of 2006. We want to thank our suppliers, contractors and especially our dedicated and hard working employees for their commitment and effort to restore operations at the site.”

Keith Phillips, Wellman’s Chief Financial Officer, stated, “As of September 30^th we had over $100 million in additional borrowing capacity from our credit facilities. Fortunately, we have credit facilities that provide sufficient liquidity and have flexible terms so we can continue to fund working capital requirements, repair damaged assets at our Pearl River plant and continue our capital expansion even under adverse conditions like those that occurred as a result of Hurricane Katrina.”

Wellman, Inc. manufactures and markets high-quality PermaClearÒ brand PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging resin and FortrelÒ brand polyester staple fibers. We believe we are one of the world’s largest PET plastic recyclers, utilizing a significant amount of recycled raw materials in our manufacturing operations.

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Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are made as of the date hereof based upon current expectations, and we undertake no obligation to update the information contained herein. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: reduced raw material margins; reduced sales volumes; increases in costs; the financial condition of our customers; polyester staple fiber and textile imports; availability and cost of raw materials; the impact of litigation arising out of alleged pricing practices in the polyester staple fiber industry; the actions of our competitors; the effective implementation of our cost reduction programs; availability of financing, changes in financial markets, interest rates, credit ratings, and foreign currency exchange rates; regulatory changes; tax risks; U.S., European, Asian and global economic conditions; prices and volumes of PET resin imports; work stoppages; levels of production capacity and profitable operation of assets; prices of competing products; natural disasters and acts of terrorism; and maintaining the operations of our existing production facilities. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed herein. Results of operations in any past period should not be considered indicative of results to be expected in future periods. Fluctuations in operating results may result in fluctuations in the price of our common stock. For a more complete description of the prominent risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, see our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.

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