Exhibit 10(a)
                                WELLMAN, INC.
                           1997 STOCK OPTION PLAN


1.   Purpose

     This 1997 Stock Option Plan (the "1997 Plan") is intended to provide a
favorable opportunity for certain key executive and managerial employees of
Wellman, Inc. (the "Company") and its subsidiaries to purchase shares of the
Company's Common Stock.  Such opportunity should provide an increased
incentive for these employees to contribute to the Company's future success
and prosperity, thus enhancing the value of the stock for the benefit of the
stockholders, and increase the Company's ability to attract and retain
individuals of exceptional skill upon which, in large measure, its sustained
progress, growth and profitability depend.  

     The options granted pursuant to this 1997 Plan shall not be incentive
stock options and the terms of any options granted shall provide that it will
not be treated as an incentive stock option.  Options granted pursuant to the
1997 Plan shall hereinafter be referred to as "Options".

2.   Administration

     The 1997 Plan shall be administered by the members of the Compensation
Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Committee").  The
Committee shall be comprised, in the discretion of the Board, of two or more
Directors, each of whom is a "non-employee director" within the meaning of
Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
as then in effect.  The Committee shall from time to time at its discretion
determine employees eligible for Options to be granted under the 1997 Plan,
the number of shares subject to each Option, and such other matters
specifically delegated to it under this 1997 Plan.

     The Committee shall have the final authority to interpret and construe
the terms of the 1997 Plan and of any Option.  No member of the Committee
shall be liable for any action, interpretation or construction made in good
faith with respect to the 1997 Plan or any Option.

3.   Eligibility

     Key executive and managerial employees (including officers, whether or
not they are directors) of the Company and its subsidiaries shall be eligible
to receive Options.  A director of the Company who is not a full-time employee
of the Company shall not be eligible to receive Options.  An eligible employee
holding stock options and Options may receive additional Options.

4.   Stock

     Subject to adjustment in accordance with the provisions of  Article 5(h)
of the 1997 Plan, the maximum number of shares of Common Stock of the Company
("Shares") to be reserved for issuance upon the exercise of Options granted
under the 1997 Plan shall not exceed 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock.  Any or

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all of the shares subject to Options under the 1997 Plan may be authorized but
unissued shares of Common Stock, or issued shares of Common Stock held by the
Company in its treasury, as the Committee shall determine.

     In the event that an Option expires or is terminated, the Shares
allocable to the unexercised portion of such Option may again be subject to an
Option.

5.   Terms and Conditions of Options

     Options shall be evidenced by agreements in such form as the Committee
shall from time to time determine, which agreements shall comply with and be
subject to the following terms and conditions:

     (a)  Option Period

          The vested and exercisable portion of the Option, as determined in
accordance with Article 5(e), may be exercised for a period of 11 years from
the date that the Option is granted; provided, however, that (i) in the event
that (A) an optionee voluntarily resigns from employment with the Company and
such optionee does not subsequently compete with the Company, or (B) an
optionee's employment with the Company is terminated without cause, the period
during which the vested and exercisable portion of the Option may be exercised
shall not exceed one year after such termination (but not subsequent to the
expiration of the Option); (ii) in the event that an optionee's employment is
terminated (Y) by reason of death or disability (as that term is defined in
Section 22(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) or (Z) upon
retirement on or after 55 years of age, the period during which the vested and
exercisable portion of the Option may be exercised shall not exceed three
years after such death, disability or retirement (but not subsequent to the
expiration of the Option); and (iii) in the event that an optionee's
employment is terminated for cause (as hereinafter defined in subparagraph (k)
hereof), or if the optionee shall voluntarily resign and such optionee
subsequently competes with the Company, the Option shall not be exercisable at
any time.

     (b)  Number of Shares

          Each Option shall state the number of Shares to which it pertains.

     (c)  Option Price

          Each Option shall state the price at which the Option shall be
exercised ("Option Price").  The Option Price shall be equal to the average of
the highest and lowest sales prices of the Common Stock upon the national
securities exchange that the shares of Common Stock are traded on each of the
twenty (20) days that sales have been made prior to the grant of the Option.

     (d)  Medium and Time of Payment

          The option price shall be payable in United States dollars upon the
exercise of the Option and may be paid in cash or by personal or certified
check, bank draft or postal or express money order.

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     (e)  Vesting of Option

          Each Option shall be vested and exercisable to the extent of 20% of
the total number of Shares to which it pertains beginning one year after the
date it is granted and as to an additional 20% beginning on each of the
second, third, fourth and fifth anniversaries of the date it is granted;
provided, however, that:  (i) in the event that an employee is terminated for
cause (as hereinafter defined in subparagraph (k) of this paragraph), or an
employee voluntarily resigns and subsequently competes with the Company, his
Option shall not be deemed vested or exercisable to any extent; (ii) in the
event that an employee's employment is terminated because of death or
disability, any Option granted to him shall be deemed vested and exercisable
as if the termination date were the next succeeding anniversary of the date
the Option was granted; and (iii) all Options shall be exercisable in full
upon the occurrence of a Change in Control of the Company.  

          For purposes of this Article 5(e) and Article 5(a), termination of
employment shall be considered to occur when an employee is no longer a full-
time employee of the Company or of any parent or subsidiary corporation of the
Company; whether a leave of absence shall constitute termination of employment
for purposes of the 1997 Plan shall be determined by the Committee; and the
Committee shall determine whether a termination is with or without cause, or
whether an optionee subsequent to termination competes with the Company.  

          For purposes of this Article 5(e), a "Change in Control" shall be
deemed to have occurred if (a) any "person" or "group" (as such terms are used
in Sections 13(d)(3) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act), other than the
Company, any of its subsidiaries, any employee benefit plan of the Company or
of any subsidiary, is or becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly,
of securities of the Company representing 20% or more of the combined voting
power of the Company's then outstanding securities; or (b) during any period
of two consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period
constitute the Board of Directors of the Company cease for any reason to
constitute at least a majority thereof unless the election, or the nomination
for election by the Company's shareholders, of each new director was approved
by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors of the Company then still in
office who were directors of the Company at the beginning of the period.

     (f)  Non-Transferability

          An Option shall be exercisable during the optionee's lifetime only
by him or his Permitted Transferee (as hereinafter defined) and after his
death only by his personal representative or Permitted Transferee, and the
option shall not be assignable or transferable by him, otherwise (i) than by
will or the laws of descent or distribution, (ii) pursuant to a qualified
domestic relations order, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code or Title I
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or the rules thereunder, or
(iii) to a Permitted Transferee if no consideration is received by the
optionee for such transfer.  

          For purposes of this Article 5(f), a "Permitted Transferee" shall be
a member of the immediate family (i.e., parent, spouse or child) of the
optionee.  Once so transferred, it shall not be further transferable.  Any

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transferee shall be required to provide evidence of transfer satisfactory to
the Committee.  No transfer by the optionee by will or the laws of descent and
distribution shall be effective to bind the Company unless the Company shall
have been furnished with written notice thereof and a copy of the will and/or
such other evidence as the Committee may deem necessary to establish the
validity of the transfer and the acceptance by the transferee or transferees
of the terms and conditions of the Option.

     (g)  Investment Representation

          Each Option Agreement may provide that, upon demand by the Committee
for such a representation, the optionee (or any permissible transferee of the
option under Article 5(f)) shall deliver to the Committee at the time of any
exercise of an Option or portion thereof a written representation that the
Shares to be acquired upon such exercise are to be acquired for investment and
not for resale or with a view to the distribution thereof.  Upon such demand,
delivery of such representation prior to the delivery of any Shares issued
upon exercise of an Option and prior to the expiration of the Option period
shall be a condition precedent to the right of the optionee or such other
transferee to purchase any Shares.

     (h)  Adjustments in Event of Change in Voting Shares

          In the event of any change in the voting Shares of the Company by
reason of any stock dividend, recapitalization, reorganization, merger,
consolidation, split-up, combination, or exchange of voting Shares at a price
substantially below fair market value, or rights offering to purchase voting
Shares, or of any similar change affecting the voting Shares, the number and
kind of Shares which thereafter may be optioned and sold under the 1997 Plan
and the number and kind of Shares subject to option in outstanding option
agreements and the purchase price per share thereof shall be appropriately
adjusted consistent with such change in such manner as the Committee may deem
equitable in its discretion to prevent substantial dilution or enlargement of
the rights granted to, or available for, participants in the 1997 Plan.

     (i)  No Rights as a Shareholder

          An optionee or a transferee of an Option shall have no rights as a
shareholder with respect to Shares covered by his Option until the date as of
which a stock certificate is issued to him for such Shares.  No adjustment
shall be made for dividends (ordinary or extraordinary, whether in cash,
securities or other property) or distributions or other rights for which the
record date is prior to the date such stock certificate is issued.

     (j)  No Right to Continued Employment

          The Option Agreement shall not confer upon the optionee any right
with respect to continuance of employment by the Company or a parent or
subsidiary corporation of the Company, nor shall it interfere in any way with
the right of his employer to terminate his employment at any time.




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     (k)  Definition of Cause

          The term "cause" in the context of a termination of employment means
only one or more of the following:  (i)  the commission in the course of
employment of any dishonest or fraudulent act; (ii) conviction of a felony
(from which, through lapse of time or otherwise, no successful appeal shall
have been made) whether or not committed in the course of employment; (iii)
the willful refusal to carry out reasonable instructions of the Board of
Directors of the Company which has a material adverse affect upon the Company
or any of its subsidiaries; and (iv) the willful disclosure of any trade
secrets or material confidential corporate information to persons not
authorized to know same.

     (l)  Other Provisions

          The Committee may, as a condition precedent to the exercise of any
Option, require the holder of the Option (including, in the event of his
death, his legal representatives, legatees or distributees) to enter into such
agreements or to make such representations as may be required to make lawful
under the laws of the U.S. or any foreign country the exercise of the Option
and the ultimate disposition of the Shares acquired by such exercise.

          The Option Agreements authorized under the 1997 Plan shall contain
such other provisions, consistent with the 1997 Plan, as the Committee shall
deem advisable.

6.   Term of 1997 Plan

     Subject to Article 8, the 1997 Plan shall remain in effect until all
 Shares subject or which may become subject to the 1997 Plan shall have been
purchased pursuant to Options.

7.   Indemnification of Committee

     To the full extent permitted by law, the Company shall indemnify each
person made or threatened to be made a party to any civil or criminal action
or proceeding by reason of the fact that he, or his testator or intestate, is
or was a member of the Committee.

8.   Amendment of the Plan

     The Board of Directors of the Company may from time to time amend,
suspend or discontinue the 1997 Plan, provided, however, that, subject to the
provisions of Article 5(h), no action of the Board of Directors or of the
Committee may:  (i) increase the number of Shares subject to the 1997 Plan
pursuant to Article 4; (ii) permit the granting of any Option at a price less
than that determined in accordance with Article 5(c); or (iii) permit the
granting of Options which expire beyond the period provided for in Article
5(a).  Without the written consent of an optionee, no amendment or suspension
of the 1997 Plan shall alter or impair any Option previously granted to him
under the 1997 Plan.



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9.   Application of Funds

     The proceeds received by the Company from the sale of Shares pursuant to
Options will be used for general corporate purposes.

10.  No Obligation to Exercise Option

     The granting of an Option shall impose no obligation upon the optionee to
exercise such Option.












































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