A. Schulman Announces Closing of Invision Sheet Manufacturing Operation at Sharon Center, Ohio Plant

07-02-2009: A. Schulman, Inc. announced that on Thursday, June 25, its board of directors approved a plan to cease the operation of its Invision sheet production line at its Sharon Center, Ohio manufacturing facility, by the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. A total of four positions will be eliminated at the plant related to Invision sheet production.

A. Schulman had been seeking a strategic partner or acquirer for its Invision sheet business and identified a select group of interested parties, but could not reach an agreement that was satisfactory to the Company. The Company will continue to offer Invision resins, technologies and services to sheet and thermoforming customers through its North American Engineered Plastics business, but will no longer manufacture Invision sheet. A core group will be maintained to support sheet color matching, new product development, process development, and licensing for the ongoing portion of the business.

The Company expects to record non-cash charges of approximately $6.0 million to $8.0 million associated with the production equipment for the Invision sheet business and less than $0.1 million in cash charges for termination benefits and other employee costs in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Annual savings are expected to be approximately $2.0 million to $3.0 million beginning in fiscal 2010.

“In seeking a strategic partner, we evaluated the market and determined there is significant continued interest from our customers for Invision resin and its wide range of sheet and thermoforming applications which serve a variety of markets,” said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of A. Schulman. “However, much of Invision’s potential falls outside of A. Schulman’s manufacturing expertise in custom compounding, which is why we were seeking a partner with sheet manufacturing and service capabilities in those markets to help develop the business. Without such a partner, we cannot justify continuing sheet production, which has been a drain on our profitability. We continue to focus our efforts on generating long-term profitable growth and shareholder value by supplying high-value products to a variety of niche markets where we have expertise.”