Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
October 21, 2015 02:00 AM

A. Schulman closing three plants in Evansville

Frank Esposito
Senior Staff Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    UPDATED: On the same day that it announced financial results for fiscal 2015, materials firm A. Schulman Inc. said that it will close three compounding plants in Evansville, Ind.

    Work done at those plants will be moved to other Schulman sites in Evansville, officials with Fairlawn, Ohio-based Schulman said in an Oct. 20 news release. Some engineered plastics compounding done in Akron, Ohio, also will be moved to Evansville, they added. The plant closings and the Akron move will result in a total of 26 job cuts.

    The plants being closed were part of Citadel Plastics, the West Chicago, Ill.-based compounder and composites maker that Schulman acquired in an $800 million mega-deal in March.

    “We are swiftly executing our integration of Citadel,” President and CEO Bernard Rzepka said in the release. “While these decisions are not easy for those impacted, the additional Citadel plants in the Evansville area required that we evaluate capacity utilization and manufacturing capabilities, and achieve efficiencies and cost savings.”

    Two of the three plants being closed previously were operated by Evansville compounder Lucent Polymers, which Citadel acquired in 2014. Citadel's previous owners had bought two other Evansville firms — Matrixx Polymers in 2007 and QTR Inc. in 2010.

    Schulman then in 2014 bought the specialty plastics business of Ferro Corp. — including an Evansville plant. As a result, Schulman found itself with seven production plants in Evansville. Four will continue to operate after the closings.

    Officials announced the moves as they released full-year results for 2015. For the year ended Aug. 31, Schulman's sales fell 2 percent to just under $2.4 billion. Changes in foreign currency values affected the firm's sales in fiscal 2015, officials said.

    Profit falls, volume grows

    Schulman's fiscal 2015 profit fell 51 percent to just under $28 million vs. fiscal 2014. But the firm's annual sales volume in pounds of product sold increased 8 percent to almost 2.3 billion pounds.

    Excluding the impact of foreign currency, Schulman now has posted three consecutive years of year-over-year growth in sales, gross margin and EBITDA.

    “These results give us confidence that we have the team and the tools in place to deliver further profitable growth in fiscal 2016 and beyond,” Rzepka said in the release.

    The Citadel acquisition — Schulman's 11th in the last six years — is expected to nearly double Schulman's U.S. sales and to increase its annual sales by $550 million overall. That amount would be an increase of more than 20 percent vs. Schulman's fiscal 2014 sales total. Citadel employed 1,200 at 21 plants, including 17 in North America.

    By acquiring Citadel, Schulman “made significant strides toward our strategic vision of becoming the premier plastics solutions provider,” Rzepka said in the release.

    Schulman's individual business units showed mixed results in fiscal 2015. Engineered Plastics and Masterbatch Solutions were the firm's two largest units based on sales. EP led the way with $787.3 million in sales — up 4.4 percent — for a 33 percent share of Schulman's fiscal 2015 sales. MS wasn't far behind with $741.4 million in sales — down 3.3 percent — for a 31 percent share.

    Schulman's smaller business units faced sales challenges in fiscal 2015. Annual sales in Specialty Powders and Distribution Services each fell 16 to 18 percent, while sales in Custom Performance Colors grew less than 2 percent.

    Sales volume in pounds for Schulman in fiscal 2015 also were highest at EP and MS. Both showed solid growth, due in part to the Citadel deal. MS checked in at number one with 751.9 million pounds sold — up 8.8 percent — representing 33 percent of the firm's annual volume. EP had sales of 580.4 million pounds — up 21.3 percent — for a cut of 26 percent.

    Annual volume in pounds grew almost 19 percent for Custom Performance Colors, but fell 9 percent for Specialty Powders and more than 3 percent for Distribution Services.

    In the fourth quarter of Schulman's fiscal 2015 — including sales from Citadel — the firm generated 62 percent of its sales from Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and 22 percent from the U.S. and Canada. The Asia Pacific and Mexico/South America regions each contributed about 8 percent of sales.

    Looking to fiscal 2016, Rzepka — a 23-year Schulman veteran who became CEO on Jan. 1 — said that company officials “are excited about the opportunities that Citadel brings to us.

    “We've taken a transformative step forward in achieving our long-term strategic goals, one of them being rebalancing our regional footprint,” he said in the release. “Given the current volatile markets, we expect another challenging year. However, we are committed to achieving further profitable growth through a focus on execution, including the continued seamless integration of Citadel.”

    One market watcher told Plastics News that Schulman's fiscal 2015 results mostly were positive. But he also pointed out that the firm's earnings-per-share (EPS) guidance for fiscal 2015 was lower than investors had expected. Schulman's announced EPS range is $2.80 to $2.85. Investors were looking for a range of $2.97 to $3.

    Schulman ranks as one of the largest makers of compounds and concentrates, both in North America and Europe.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Georgia home to new PET chemical recycling plant
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    OSHA: Worker died at plastics firm after duct tape covered safety guards
    2
    Tornadoes, severe weather impact Texas resin plants
    3
    China-owned parent company of GD Medical Inc. is buying Trademark Plastics for $42M
    4
    Plastics firms work to eliminate PFAS use as pressure mounts
    5
    Eastman posts lower profit, plans job cuts
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified