PolyOne to close South Carolina plant

CLEVELAND (June 12)—PolyOne Corp. will close its Kingstree, S.C., facility by the end of its third quarter because the Elastomer and Performance Additives business segment is "not well suited to today's fast turnaround and lean manufacturing environment," Chairman and CEO Thomas Waltermire said in a company release. "While Kingstree has an excellent record of customer satisfaction, the capital projects and efficiency gains at other PolyOne sites make it unnecessary to keep the Kingstree plant open to meet demand." Products made at the site will be transferred to facilities in Tennessee, Ohio and Wisconsin, the company said. The Kingstree facility, one of 12 plants within the Elastomer and Performance Additives segment, employs about 145. Kingstree employees will be eligible for severance benefits and outplacement services and also will be invited to apply for job openings at other company locations, the firm said.