Zeon set to close UK rubber plant

London – Zeon Chemicals Europe is in the process of shutting down its synthetic rubber plant in Sully, Wales, UK, according to a source close to the company.

Mainly producing nitrile rubber – NBR and NBR-Lx and HNBR – the plant, which was built in the 1950s, was bought by Zeon from BP Chemicals in 1989.

In a short statement, Japanese parent group Zeon Corp. announced on 1 April that it was “considering the discontinuation of its production operation.”

ERJ’s source, however, said that the company was in redundancy consultation with its 84 employees and would make a decision once the consultation period was over.

Zeon cited “changing market conditions” and “uncertainty in long-term availability and supply of primary raw materials to the UK site” as the primary reasons for its decision.

Production at the Wales plant currently includes about 10,000 tonnes per annum of nitrile rubber, which is exported to Europe.

According to the source, the Welsh operation has been under increasing competitive pressures from rival producers in Asia as well as in the US where suppliers are benefitting from low-cost shale-derived feedstock.

(Images source: Zeon Corp.)