AVON LAKE, Ohio—PolyOne Corp. is closing a production plant and warehouse in North Carolina in moves that will eliminate almost 40 jobs.
In Pineville, N.C., PolyOne is closing a plant that primarily makes screen printing inks and employs 34. The Avon Lake-based materials firm also is closing a four-employee ink storage warehouse in Charlotte.
The Pineville plant also operated some production of plastisol compounds.
The closings first appeared in a notice filed with the state. PolyOne officials confirmed the moves in an email to Plastics News, adding that the closings resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic "has greatly impacted the entire screen printing industry and supply chain globally, and as a result, production of inks has also decreased," officials said. They added that all product offerings, brands and distributors remain in place and are unchanged by the plant consolidation.
"PolyOne Specialty Inks remains firmly committed to our industry, to innovation and to our passionate customer base, as we all work though the challenges of the current pandemic," Tito Echiburu, specialty inks general manager, said in a statement.
Employees being let go in Pineville and Charlotte can apply for open positions at other PolyOne locations. All employees laid off will be provided severance and transition benefits, officials said.
Production from Pineville is being consolidated into a PolyOne inks plant in Kennesaw, Ga. The closings are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
PolyOne acquired the Pineville plant in mid-2017 as part of its purchase of Rutland Holding Co. from Riverside Co. of Cleveland. In addition to inks, Rutland made plastisol compounds and specialty color products. The firm's plastisols are mostly sold into automotive applications, while its inks are focused on the apparel market.
PolyOne ranks as North America's largest plastics compounder and concentrate maker and as one of the region's largest resin distributors. The firm employs 5,600 worldwide and posted sales of $2.9 billion in 2019.
Later this year, PolyOne expects to complete its $1.45 billion purchase of the global masterbatch concentrates business of Swiss materials firm Clariant AG. That business has annual sales of $1.1 billion.
With the Clariant operations, PolyOne will add 46 manufacturing sites and technology centers in 29 countries and about 3,600 employees.