Continuing its round of restructuring and cost-saving programmes, PE film manufacturer British Polythene Industries (BPI, Greenock, Scotland / UK; www.bpipoly.com) will close its production unit in Brampton, Cumbria. The group has begun redundancy consultations with employees, with 39 positions slated to be cut. The Brampton facility supplies film for packaging applications and BPI says it “has been marginal for several years but with a significant deterioration in 2009 due to lower volumes”. Production will be transferred to another BPI site in UK. The closure is estimated to cost GBP 600,000 (EUR 660,000), which will be included in the results for the year to 31 December 2010.

The closure statement accompanied a trading update ahead of the 1 March 2010 announcement of BPI’s preliminary results for the year to 31 December 2009. The group is said to have continued making progress since its interim management statement of 16 November – see Plasteurope.com of 20.11.2009 – with the financial performance for 2009 expected to be at the top end of current market expectations.