HENRY, Ill.—Emerald Performance Materials L.L.C. is shuttering an Illinois manufacturing plant, a move that will impact more than 50 workers at the facility.
Layoffs begin April 6 and are scheduled to be completed by June 30, according to the Illinois workNet, a state employment and training program.
A list of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices recently released by the state indicates the company told state officials Feb. 5 about the permanent closure of the facility. The closure is the direct result of company restructuring.
Companies laying off a significant number of people must provide notice under federal law.
Emerald makes additives for a variety of applications, including the rubber and plastics industries. Other sectors are adhesives, automotive, coatings, electronics, food and beverage, personal care and home care, the company said.
Creation of Emerald Performance Materials dates to 2006 with the combination of businesses divested from companies such as BFGoodrich, Lubrizol and DSM. Private equity firm American Securities L.L.C., which previously owned tire recycler Liberty Tire, acquired the firm in 2014.
News of the Illinois closure comes not long after Emerald Kalama Chemical, a business unit of Emerald Performance Materials, was sold to Lanxess A.G., a $1 billion move that includes all of Emerald's operations in Kalama, Wash., Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Widnes, England. That deal, expected to close during the second half of this year, did not include the Illinois facility now slated for closure.
