TAIPEI, Taiwan—Taiwanese synthetic rubber supplier TSRC Corp. will cease all production activities at its compounding materials plant in Binh Duong, Vietnam, by the end of 2024.
In a Dec. 6 statement, TSRC said the decision followed "a series of market evaluations and business improvement actions" to enhance business within its subsidiary TSRC Vietnam.
Following the closure, the Taipei-based group will provide products and services from other existing compounding plants to its customers.
The move is estimated to result in an impairment loss of about $7.4 million USD ($240 million TWD), to be reflected in the group's fourth quarter results.
TSRC established the Vietnam subsidiary in 2018 to supply its T-Blend elastomer products to key footwear customers. The unit was specifically set up to support the group's Advanced Shoe Materials (ASM) segment, which at the time TSRC saw as one of its growth pillars over medium term.
According to previous announcements, TSRC also supplies shoe rubber compounds to "global brands" from its facilities in Gangshan, Taiwan, and Shanghai, China.
Founded in 1973, TSRC produces synthetic rubber and styrenic block copolymer (SBC) to customers in tires, footwear, plastic modifications, adhesives and other sspecialty applications.
According to its website, the group's current annual output of SBR, BR, NBR, TPE compounding and other synthetic rubbers stands at 805,000 metric tons.
The group operates production facilities in China (Nantong in Jiangsu, Song-Jiang in Shanghai), Thailand and India, as well as service centers in the U.S. and Luxembourg.
