PolyOne to Close South Carolina Elastomers Plant
PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL) today announced that it will close its elastomer compounding plant in Kingstree, South Carolina, by the end of third-quarter 2001. The Kingstree facility, one of 12 plants within PolyOne's elastomers and Performance additives business segment, employs approximately 110 people, with another 35 on temporary layoff. "The Kingstree plant, originally designed for the roofing and tire industries, is not well suited to today's fast-turnaround, lean manufacturing environment," said Thomas A. Waltermire, chairman and chief executive officer. "While Kingstree has an excellent record of customer satisfaction, the capital projects and efficiency gains at other PolyOne sites make it unnecessary to keep the Kingstree plant open to meet customer demand."
Customers whose PolyOne products are produced in Kingstree will be carefully transitioned to facilities in Tennessee, Ohio and Wisconsin, where improvements have been made in products, process and capacity. PolyOne installed new intermeshing rotor mixers at these sites to meet customer demand for quicker response and smaller order sizes.
In addition to responding to constantly changing customer requirements, PolyOne is investing in new technologies and product development capabilities. The Company's ongoing review of its Elastomers and Performance Additives operations is designed to improve quality, shorten delivery lead times and reduce costs for optimal customer value.
The Kingstree plant was formerly part of M.A. Hanna Company, which combined with The Geon Company in 2000 to form PolyOne. The consolidation was accounted for as a purchase business combination, with Geon as the acquiring entity. The Kingstree closing will be included as part of the acquisition purchase accounting. The purchase accounting accrual for cash employee separation and plant closing costs totals $5.6 million. The closing will yield projected annualized pre-tax reduction in structural costs of $3.5 million, starting in the fourth quarter of 2001.
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