Intertape Polymer Group Inc. of Bradenton, Fla., will close its tape manufacturing facility in Brighton, Colo., by the end of the year. The site employs about 100.
Downsizing ``will strengthen the company and leverage the new technology and productivity improvements achieved in our Danville, Va., and Richmond, Ky., [plants],'' said Mel Yull, chairman and chief executive officer, in a May 9 news release.
Meanwhile, the firm had a booth at the National Hardware Show, held May 9-11 in Las Vegas, where officials said the company will add a 275,000-square-foot distribution center in Columbia, S.C. The center will house and ship the company's growing consumer product line to retailers around the country, officials said.
The opening date of the facility is contingent on several factors, James Apap Bologna, consumer vice president, said at the show.
Having the distribution center will allow the company to respond more quickly to its retail and consumer base, he said. The new center will allow Intertape to consolidate distribution of its consumer products in one facility. Its industrial products will be distributed from three existing centers, officials said.
The Columbia facility will be operated by UTi Integrated Logistics of Columbia.
The company also reported its first-quarter operating results May 9. Sales increased 15.6 percent over the same period in 2005 to $216.9 million. Its profit was $38.8 million, down from $39.1 million.
Yull estimates that higher raw material costs depressed first-quarter 2006 gross profit by about $3.5 million. ``We don't anticipate a repeat of this gross margin compression in the second quarter of 2006, given current raw material pricing,'' he added.
He cited positive developments, including recent acquisitions and increased margins in Intertape's consumer business.
Officials at the show introduced several products for that consumer market, including Duct Sheetz duct tape in a single-sheet application.