Delays in business — particularly in building large-scale industrial plants — are common, particularly in times of economic distress.

We wish plans for starting construction on the Elevance Renewable Sciences plant at the Natchez-Adams County Port were not delayed. But they are, at least a bit from their initial plans.

It’s unfortunate because the news of the delay comes on the heels of what seems like a more permanent halt to an economic project that was announced years and years before Elevance — Rentech’s coal-to-liquids production facility.

Rentech announced a couple of months ago that it was abandoning the plans for its large-scale Adams County facility.

In the court of public perception, many people will lump the two companies together and falsely think the fate of one will predict the fate of the other. Doing that would be a mistake at this point.

The community has to have the faith in the new Natchez Inc. organization that when it announces a new industry is coming that it will, in fact, come.

To our knowledge Rentech never produced anything here. Elevance appears to be producing substantial amounts of biodiesel at the facility it purchased at the port. Although their larger plans appear delayed for a bit, Elevance is producing and shipping products.

That’s more than Rentech ever accomplished and enough proof to us that these folks know how to make money — even when they’re in a holding pattern.

Elevance’s future will greatly impact Adams County’s future and, for now, we’ll patiently wait for the business to get its ducks in a row before we cast any aspersions or start lumping them into the ranks of the vaporous developments of our past.