Closure of viscose staple plant, Grimsby
Acordis Cellulosic Fibres has announced that it proposes to cease production of Viscose Staple fibre at its plant in Grimsby, UK, and to concentrate its European manufacturing activities in Kelheim, Germany. The Grimsby plant produces approximately 25,000 tonnes of fibre per annum. The Kelheim plant produces approximately 70,000 tonnes per annum. The proposal will result in job losses affecting 194 Grimsby employees.
The Grimsby viscose staple operation has been hard hit by a combination of adverse exchange rates and dramatic rises in the costs of key raw materials and energy. It has not been possible to recover these increases in the intensely competitive market which it serves.
Consequently, it is proposed to concentrate the European production at Kelheim. This is a larger scale operation with a strong cost position and a much broader product range capability. It is therefore able to support a wide variety of specialised market applications. For the past few years Kelheim has focused strongly on increasing the sales of specialised products.
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