PolyOne to revamp North American plastic compounds, colors businesses

CLEVELAND (June 22)—PolyOne Corp. has formed four Centers of Manufacturing Excellence as the company's first major step to modernize its North American Plastic Compounds and Colors manufacturing network. The centers, created to better serve PolyOne's engineered materials customer base, will be upgraded with more than $12 million in new technology and manufacturing equipment, a company release stated. The centers are part of a $45 million plan to reconfigure its North American engineered materials, vinyl compound and colorant manufacturing facilities over the next two years. The new engineered materials centers will be located in Avon Lake, Ohio; Dyersburg, Tenn.; Macedonia, Ohio; and Seabrook, Texas. Following construction of the sites, PolyOne said it will close three engineered materials plants in Bethlehem, Pa.; Corona, Calif.; and Houston in the second half of 2002 as production is transferred to the new centers.