Genpak LLC is closing a Middletown, N.Y., plastics packaging site, blaming polystyrene packaging bans as the reason for the move.
The PS food service container facility is one of the company's oldest production facilities with more than a half century of operation, Genpak said in revealing the closure. Genpak was founded in 1969.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said 138 people will lose their jobs when the facility closes starting Aug. 27, according to a notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor. The closure end date is listed as Dec. 21.
"For over 50 years, the dedicated Middletown employees have delivered quality products and operational efficiency," said Genpak President Jeffrey Hebert.
"Genpak is committed to supporting our affected employees throughout this transition. We will collaborate with local businesses and placement services to help find new employment opportunities," Hebert said.
Work now taking place in Middletown will move to other company manufacturing sites, Genpak said.
The company, in the closure announcement, said the decision "is largely influenced by polystyrene packaging bans in New York and surrounding states.
In 2020, New York announced the Expanded Polystyrene Foam Container and Polystyrene Loose Fill Ban, which disallows the use and sale of single-use polystyrene food service containers."
Genpak also makes paper-based, polypropylene and PET products for markets including food service, restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores, delivery and takeout, and "grab and go," the company said.
Genpak is owned by the Jim Pattison Group, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based holding company with several lines of business and annual sales of $16 billion, according to the company's website. The group's other holdings include an entertainment division that features the Guinness World Records and Ripley's Believe it or Not brands.
Pattison also owns Montebello Packaging of Hawkesbury, Ontario, a maker of plastic caps and closures, aluminum and laminate tubes and aerosol cans.