Isola Streamlines Production in the United States
Isola AG, the leading maker of laminates for manufacturing circuit boards, is being obliged by the dramatic drop in demand to streamline its capacities and reorganize production in the United States as well. An increasing shift of circuit board orders to Asia, associated with temporary and permanent closures of customer plants, caused a 48% drop in orders received by American makers of base materials during the first half of 2001.
Against this background, Isola today announced its intention to close the plant of its U.S. subsidiary, Isola Laminate Systems in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on March 31, 2002 and to temporarily halt production at its facility in Hoosick Falls, New York. "The electronics market is currently experiencing an unprecedented downturn,” stated Denny Ford, president of Isola Laminate Systems. "Our goal is to gear our American business activities even more strongly to our customers’ needs while simultaneously strengthening Isola’s competitiveness in the United States by carrying out the necessary restructuring of production."
190 employees are affected by the closure of the La Crosse plant, plus another 130 in Hoosick Falls. The company’s U.S. headquarters, which is also in La Crosse, is not affected by the closure and will remain at its present location. The Isola subsidiary Isola Laminate Systems currently employs about 1,240 people in North America. Worldwide the Isola Group has about 3,400 employees.
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