Composites specialist Menzolit-Fibron (Bretten / Germany; www.menzolit-fibron.de) will close its main site in Bretten / Germany at the end of 2006. According to reports, headquarters will move to the Kraichtal-Gochsheim site, just 11 km away. The majority of the presses – for the production of SMC parts, some for DaimlerChrysler – also will be transferred to Kraichtal; others will go to Sladkovicovo / Slovakia. Menzolit apparently intends to transfer around 80 of the 180 employees currently at Bretten to Gochsheim and to the former Peguform plant the company is taking over at Rastatt / Germany – see Plasteurope.com Web of 06.12.2004. The remaining 100 jobs could be eliminated.

Menzolit has been owned by Swedish injection moulder Plastal (Kungälv / Sweden; www.plastal.com) since the private equity-backed group acquired its parent company Dynamit Nobel Kunststoff (DNK, Weißenburg / Germany). – See Plasteurope.com Web of 17.11.2005. The SMC/BMC specialist makes up Plastal´s "Thermoset" division, headed by Frank Bruns, who was unavailable to comment on reports. The division, which last posted sales of EUR 285m, has 14 plants in Europe with a total of 1,600 employees. Five of these produce compounds; the others make mouldings, predominantly for the automotive industry.