Columbian Confirms Closure of Sevalco

Columbian Chemicals today confirmed that it plans to close its Sevalco carbon black production and laboratory facilities in Avonmouth, Bristol, United Kingdom by January 31, 2009. This blog reported a story in early December in the Bristol Evening Post indicating that the plant may be shut down. The move, which will remove 68,000 tonnes of capacity, will result in approximately 85 positions being eliminated.

In a press release, Columbian’s president and CEO, Kevin Boyle, said, “Continued overcapacity coupled with an uncertain business outlook has forced Columbian to reevaluate its assets across Europe. We are optimizing our resources during this difficult economic period while at the same time maintaining our focus on our customers. Our remaining plants in Europe are well positioned to supply this critical market with high quality products and excellent service.”

Mr. Boyle continued, “We are very focused on aligning our assets with the demand of our customers which is continuously moving more to the developing economies of the world. With our recent announcement on the closure of our Marshall, West Virginia plant, this rationalization in Europe, along with our recent and ongoing expansions in Brazil, Central Europe, and China is critical to this strategic initiative.”

Here is the press release.