By Frank Esposito
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
Published: November 17, 2014 9:48 am ET
Updated: November 17, 2014 9:52 am ET
A. Schulman Inc. is closing a color concentrates and additives plant in Ohio that it acquired earlier this year from Ferro Corp.
The 70-employee plant in Stryker, Ohio, will close in April, officials with Fairlawn, Ohio-based Schulman said in a Nov. 17 news release. Production from the plant will be moved to other Schulman sites in North America.
Demand for Schulman materials remains strong in North America, Chief Operating Officer Bernard Rzepka said in the statement, but recent acquisitions have added seven plants to Schulman’s North American lineup in the last three years. These additions have led the firm to review its locations and capacity utilization.
“This is a difficult decision, but the consolidation illustrates our enduring commitment to right-sizing our global capacity to best serve customers,” Rzepka said.
Schulman also is eliminating 10 administrative jobs in North America. Some of the cuts are the result duplicate functions from recent acquisitions.
Schulman will take a $3 million charge related to the plant closing and additional layoffs in the first quarter of its 2015 fiscal year. Those moves are expected to create annual savings of $4 million.
In July, Schulman completed its $91 million purchase of the specialty plastics business of Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Ferro. That deal included the Stryker plant, as well as three other U.S plants and a plant in Spain.
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