INEOS NOVA to shut down Ohio polystyrene facility

INEOS NOVA announced November 29 that it plans to permanently shut down its Belpre, Ohio, polystyrene facility by January 31, 2008. The site has production capacity of 220 million pounds of crystal polystyrene per year. INEOS NOVA previously announced the shutdown of polystyrene production at the Montreal, Quebec, facility.

"Shutting down the Belpre site removes additional high-cost capacity and will enable us to further consolidate production at the company’s most efficient manufacturing sites,” said Kevin McQuade, chief executive officer of INEOS NOVA. "We expect the shutdown to have minimal impact on our ability to deliver quality products to our customers and we expect to provide our customers with an effective transition during the coming months.”

The shutdown will remove approximately 12 percent of INEOS NOVA’s North American polystyrene production capacity. This action represents another step toward achieving the $80 million synergies target for the new joint venture.

In addition, the company will transfer all production of NAS and ZYLAR specialty resins to its Indian Orchard, Mass., site.

“INEOS NOVA remains committed to growing its NAS and ZYLAR business,” said McQuade. “We believe returning this business to its original manufacturing facility will be seamless and will allow us to more efficiently utilize our manufacturing assets.”