As part of a move to realign its European production structure, A. Schulman (Akron, Ohio; www.aschulman.com) is closing several materbatch lines at its Crumlin site in Wales / UK and moving 10,000 t/y of capacity to larger, more cost-efficient sites at Bornem / Belgium and Givet / France. Some 30 jobs will be eliminated at Crumlin.

Schulman will convert the UK site to produce smaller lots of colour and other speciality compounds for the local market. As part of the upgrade, the company has invested USD 1.2m in a versatile continuous mixer for speciality masterbatch products at Crumlin. The company expects a total after-tax benefit of around USD 800,000 to USD 1m from the realignment after booking restructuring charges of around USD 600,000. In its report on the fiscal third quarter, Schulman said its strong earnings performance in fiscal year 2010 has been driven primarily by cost-reduction actions and improved mix as well as the “steadily recovering marketplace."