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BPI set to close Stockton film plantliz.wells@haymarket.com, 25 November 2008Be the first to comment on this article British Polythene Industries (BPI), the polythene producer, has announced plans to close its loss making manufacturing facilities in Stockton on Tees, which produce heavy duty sacks and industrial and agricultural films. The company said the closure would result in the loss of 165 jobs and that it has already started redundancy consultations with employees. BPI is proposing that production will be transferred to other sites within the group, including Ardeer and Greenock, which could create up to 40 jobs in 2009. The site, part of the bpi.industrial division, made losses in 2006 and 2007 and is set to lose £2.5m in 2008 because of the impact of the economic downturn on the construction sector – which has also impacted on other pack firms. The company said the closure costs, including asset write downs and equipment relocation costs, will be £5m. In a statement the company said: “Given the losses, the reduced demand in the market place, the requirement to reduce operating costs and the spare capacity available elsewhere within bpi.industrial, we believe that continued manufacturing at Stockton is no longer viable.” The company was unavailable to comment further. Last week, BPI announced 50 redundancies at various plants, costing the company £1m, bringing its total restructuring costs to £1.5m to date. It also reported that overall group volumes for the nine months to 30 September were in line with last year, but were down 5% in the third quarter compared with 2007. Speak Your Mind |
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