Berry Plastics closing Dunkirk, N.Y., plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Berry Plastics Group Inc. is closing a consumer packaging manufacturing site in Dunkirk, N.Y., a move that will put more than 50 people out of work in the coming months, said Plasticsnews.

The Evansville, Ind.-based company informed the New York State Department of Labor that layoffs will occur between now and the end of October. Berry Plastics also issued a statement regarding the decision to close the location and transfer work to other company locations.

"Production from the company’s Dunkirk facility will be relocated to its existing facilities in Princeton, Ind.; Quad Cities, Iowa; and Hanover, Md. The decision to close the facility is in support of the company’s efforts to best meet customer needs, while streamlining operations and increasing capacity utilization," Berry Plastics said in the statement.

The Dunkirk facility blow molds products for a variety of markets, including food, personal care, spirits, pharmaceutical and household chemical. The last day of manufacturing is expected to be in early October, the company said.

The company said it will help employees find other work in Dunkirk and at other Berry Plastics sites. Berry Plastics, in its statement, indicated that approximately 60 full-time workers will be impacted. The total number reported by the state is 54.

Dunkirk is located in western New York, along Lake Erie, south of Buffalo. The closest other Berry Plastics location is about 50 miles away in Erie, Pa., according to the company’s website.

Berry Plastics Group, Inc. is a leading provider of value-added plastic consumer packaging and engineered specialty materials delivering high-quality customized solutions to our customers. The Company’s world headquarters is located in Evansville, Indiana, with pro forma net sales of USD6.7 billion in fiscal 2015 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BERY.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The German Bodo Moller Chemie Group recently announced the opening of a subsidiary in Zagreb, Croatia, said Gupta-verlag.

According to the company, primarily products from the Huntsman Advanced Materials range will be sold through its new site to the Balkan states. These products predominantly include epoxy resins, polyacrylates and polyurethanes for various bonding and sealing applications. The branch is officially affiliated to Bodo Moller Chemie Austria GmbH.

The Bodo Moller Group has expanded into the Czech Republic and Russia at the end of 2014 and then into Hungary in 2015. The distribution business for Huntsman Advanced Materials covers adhesives, composites and products for the electronics sector and extends throughout Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. "Our business model is not only based on distribution but, above all, focuses on providing comprehensive consultancy services. We act as "troubleshooters" for our customers and, to do this, we need to be based close to them," said Frank Haug, Chairman and Managing Director of Bodo Moller Chemie GmbH.

As MRC informed earlier, Bodo Moller Chemie is now an official distributor for Huntsman Advanced Materials in Eastern Europe. Through the new partnership, the specialty chemicals company is stepping up its commercial activities in the Eastern European growth markets.

Bodo Moller Chemie distributes more than 30 years formulated systems, adhesives, composite and model making materials and resins and compounds for electronic applications made by Huntsman. "This partnership has been tested and is constantly being expanded," says Haug. The most recent example is the new partnership in Denmark. The end of 2014 the Danish Bodo Moller Chemie subsidiary Kemi Danmark Aps had taken over the existing commercial sales of products of Huntsman Advanced Materials by the company Nortec-Cannon A / S.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro announced that it is launching a comprehensive programme to further sharpen its focus on sustainable development, said Gupta-verlag.

The materials manufacturer has established five measurable targets it wants to achieve by 2025, covering processes and products as well as research and development. The programme also addresses suppliers, customers and consumers. The company aims to develop new partnerships and business models to help improve the lives of ten million people in underserved markets. Other focal points are resource conservation and climate protection.

In keeping with this vision, the company has undertaken to improve the living conditions of ten million disadvantaged people primarily in developing and emerging countries by the year 2025. Covestro is working with customers, governmental and non-governmental organisations to develop solutions based on its materials, enabling affordable housing, preventing food spoilage and improving hygiene.

As a result, sustainability is a key driver behind innovation at Covestro. The company intends to dedicate four-fifths of its research and development expenditures to delivering sustainability solutions through to 2025. The respective projects will take into account the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations and are to be achieved together with, or with the support of, recognised institutions.

Covestro intends to halve direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 per metric tonne of product relative to 2005 emissions by 2025. The company had previously set a target of a 40 % reduction by 2020, but thanks to numerous improvements in production had already almost achieved this in 2015.

Focusing on carbon, Covestro aims to use this key element as intelligently as possible and generate from it the greatest possible value. In a first step, the company plans to develop a measurement methodology in collaboration with business partners and recognised institutions.

Also, Covestro will work with its larger suppliers for them to comply fully with its sustainability requirements. A deadline of 2025 has been set for full attainment of this target. Through this initiative, the company also wants to help suppliers improve their own sustainability efforts.

As MRC informed earlier, Covestro is moving forward with a repurposing of its production operations in Brunsbuttel, Germany. The Board of Management has now officially approved an expansion of production capacity for the foam component MDI (feedstock for polyurethane) at the site.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Singapore's Jurong Aromatics Corporation has started feeding feedstock into its plant system and is expecting output from the plant within this week, said Apic-online.

The suppliers, or tollers, gave their approval for the restart on 14 July and the transfer of condensate feedstock from the Jurong Caverns to JAC's tanks occurred Wednesday, the source said, adding "feeds are circulating."

Market sources had earlier said the tollers involved in the restart of the plant were BP and Glencore, but neither company would comment on the matter when contacted recently.

The complex has remained shut since December 2014, after running for only three months. A fire at an oil tank belonging to JAC in late April delayed the restart, according to market sources.

The plant, which revolves around a 100,000 b/d condensate splitter, can produce 800,000 mt/year of paraxylene, 400,000 mt/year of benzene and 200,000 mt/year of orthoxylene.

It can also produce 783,000 mt/year of jet fuel, 647,000 mt/year of light naphtha, 662,000 mt/year of gasoil, 283,000 mt/year of LPG, 35,000 mt/year of fuel oil, 46,000 mt/year of hydrogen and 18,000 mt/year of heavy aromatics.

JAC filed for receivership in September last year after debt restructuring talks broke down. Borrelli Walsh was appointed receiver. The startup of the plant, in August 2014, came amid volatility in crude prices.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Amcor Rigid Plastics is closing an Ohio site that makes PET preforms for beverage containers and other applications, the company said.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based subsidiary of Amcor Ltd. expects to gradually slow down production in Dayton before completely shuttering the location by Dec. 31. A total of 86 people work at the former Encon Inc. location. Amcor said there is the potential for employee relocations to other company sites.

Amcor last year paid USD55 million for Encon’s manufacturing assets and intellectual property. Along with its largest Dayton location, Amcor reported at the time the company also had preform manufacturing locations in Texas, Washington and Hawaii.

"We don’t take this decision lightly but after careful review it is clear that this move will improve our level of service to existing customers and ensure future growth options," said Larry Weber, vice president and general manager of Amcor’s beverage business unit, in a statement.

Amcor will relocate preform injection molding to other plants closer to customers, the company said. That will save on transportation costs.

The Dayton operation dates back to 1977 and was founded by Bill Gaiser, who died in 2014. He was credited with developing the world’s first PET preform.

The company said it came to the decision to close the Dayton site after conducting what it called a strategic evaluation of the location as well as the rest of the company’s manufacturing operations in the United States.

Amcor Rigid Plastics says it is one of the world’s largest makers of rigid plastic packaging for the food, beverage, spirits, personal care, home care and healthcare industries. The company operates 62 facilities in 12 countries.

Movement of equipment and production from Dayton will happen “in the coming weeks,” the company said.

As MRC informed earlier, Amcor Flexibles Europe, Middle East and Africa (AFEMEA) announced it has completed the acquisition of Nampak Flexible, the leading flexibles packaging company in South Africa.

Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. It operates manufacturing plants in 42 countries. It is the world's largest manufacturer of plastic bottles.
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