Trinity ending manufacturing at Va. site
ARMONK, N.Y. - Trinity Packaging Corp. plans to discontinue manufacturing in Remington, Va., by the end of the year and move some production to its newest plant, in Rocky Mount, Va.
The company did not say how many employees will be affected.
Shipping and warehousing are likely to continue in Remington, and Trinity said it does not plan to sell the facility.
Armonk-based Trinity began operations in Rocky Mount in mid-2002 to boost efficiency in its production of plastic bags. In recognizing the need for a state-of-the-art plant, Trinity made significant investments in extrusion, printing and conversion in Rocky Mount rather than further improve Remington. The sites are about 190 miles apart.
Privately held Trinity's largest manufacturing facility is in Lewistown, Pa.
BASF cutting 550 jobs in Texas, La.
MOUNT OLIVE, N.J. - BASF Corp. is cutting at least 550 jobs at plants in Freeport, Texas, and Geismar, La., as part of a global cost reduction.
``Our business and industry are challenged by overcapacity, high energy costs, high raw material costs, and the movement of customers to other countries,'' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Peter Lobbe said in a May 6 news release. ``We are acting to address these issues and to improve our competitiveness.''
Most of the cuts will come from Geismar, where BASF makes polyurethane feedstocks and a host of other chemical products. Between 400 and 500 of Geismar's current 1,400 jobs will be eliminated.
In Freeport, where BASF makes nylon 6 resin and other products, between 150 and 180 out of 1,000 positions will be cut.
Combined, the moves are expected to save Mount Olive-based BASF between $30 million and $40 million annually. The job cuts will begin later this year and should be mostly complete in 2005, officials said.
Last year, BASF and its parent firm, BASF AG of Ludwigshafen, Germany, announced a major review of operations that is designed to achieve $250 million in annual savings by 2006.
NEW closing Wis. blow molding plant
LUXEMBURG, WIS. - NEW Plastics Corp. will close its Coleman, Wis., blow molding operation by September.
The May 6 announcement will affect 51 employees, although some will be offered jobs at the Luxemburg headquarters. Fifteen blow molding machines will move to Luxemburg, which employs 160.
``It was a very difficult decision,'' said President Lonnie Vincent in a May 7 telephone interview. ``We looked at every possibility of keeping it open. We are going to expand the Luxemburg facility.''
The company will move warehousing at Luxemburg to an offsite location and convert nearly 45,000 square feet into production space to free space for the extra equipment.
NEW had opened the Coleman plant in 1990. In addition to blow molding bottles, NEW's Renew division extrudes plastic lumber.
``Last year, we did see significant growth. We will see significant growth this year. But the fact of the matter is, there is eroding profitability in the marketplace,'' Vincent said.
Newell Rubbermaid auctioning off presses
SANDY SPRINGS, GA. - Newell Rubbermaid Inc. next month will auction about 45 injection molding machines and other equipment at two closed-down factories, in Cleburne, Texas, and the landmark Rubbermaid Home Products plant in Wooster, Ohio.
The auctions, by Stopol Inc. of Solon, Ohio, will include a good number of large-tonnage machines, with 1,000 tons of clamping force and larger. The brands include Cincinnati Milacron, Van Dorn and Husky.
On June 8, Stopol will auction 15 injection presses at a plant in Cleburne which closed last year. In Wooster, the gavel will come down June 16 to sell about 30 injection presses.
Sources said a total of about 80 injection presses had been operating in Wooster - one of the largest plastics plants in the United States. With the auction selling about 30 presses, what happened to the rest? Newell Rubbermaid retired some older machines, sold some others and moved some into its other plastics molding locations, according to sources in the machinery industry and the union in Wooster. Some of the machines were moved to the Little Tikes Co. plant in Hudson, Ohio.
Newell Rubbermaid is based in Sandy Springs.
