Degussa to cease production of rubber black line

Parsippany, New Jersey -- Degussa Engineered Carbons LP (DEC) will close one of two rubber black production lines at its Belpre, Ohio, carbon black plant on 30 Sep.

About 15 employees will be laid off, the company said.

The closure will not affect the remaining rubber black line or the production of pigment grades at Belpre.

"The tyre industry continues to restructure their manufacturing facilities, leading to the permanent closing of several North American tyre plants," DEC president and general manager Jack Clem said.

He added that the move would better align the firm's supply chain with major customers, "allowing us to meet demands from our existing facilities, rationalise our capacity and remove costs from our system''.

Clem said DEC regretted the reduction in its work force, particularly after the strong progress that the Belpre facility had made in improving productivity.

"We believe this is the best way for us to remain competitive in this tough North American environment," he said.

DEC officials said that the 30000-metric-tonne-per-year line would remain intact and could be restarted when customer demand warranted it.

The company said that the closing of several major tyre plants in North America had not been fully offset by expansions in the remaining production facilities of North American tyre producers.

In addition, low-cost, imported tyres continued to gain market share.

While the long-term demand trend for carbon black should remain positive, it was undergoing a restructuring, the firm said.

"This retrenchment is expected to last at least through next year," according to Chris Erickson, vice president and business director of rubber black at DEC.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)