AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A. Schulman Inc., which makes plastics and resins, said Wednesday it will close a Canadian plant and seek a buyer for a Texas facility.
Both actions are expected to result in charges of $10 million to $15 million.
The company's St. Thomas, Ontario, plant makes engineered plastics for cars and has a capacity of 74 million pounds per year. About 120 people work there.
Closing the facility is expected to save $6 million to $7 million annually in fiscal 2009.
The company's Orange, Texas, facility, primarily processes customer-owned materials for a fee and has a capacity of about 135 million pounds per year. Schulman did not disclose the number of employees at the facility, which it hopes to sell by the end of fiscal 2008.
Following the closing and the expected sale, A. Schulman will have four manufacturing plants in North America, two supporting the automotive and industrial markets and two supporting the packaging market. Additionally, a third packaging plant is due to start production in Findlay, Ohio, by December 2008.
Last month, the company said it expected cost cuts at its North American operations to offset expected pressures from high oil prices and poor auto sales in 2008.
