Reynolds shuts down Chester, NS plant

Fifty people will be out of work on June 30th when Chester Plastics Ltd. halts production at its plant in Chester, NS.
Chester Plastics has been owned by Reynolds Food Packaging Canada (RFPC)(Laval, QC), an Alcoa Company (Pittsburgh, PA), since 2002, and operates another plant in Calgary, AB.
Chester’s customer service office will be relocated to Halifax, NS, while its manufacturing operations will be consolidated at RFPC’s thermoforming facilty in Summerston, ON, RFPC said.
The closure was necessary because RFPC needed to increase efficiency and decrease costs to stay competitive in the food packaging market, the company explained.
However, RFPC said it is doing its best to help workers at the Chester plant to find alternate employment.
So far, about 20% have found jobs at other facilities, although some will have to commute one hour to Halifax, while another 20% plan to retire, a source inside the company said. The rest are still looking.
Chester has a population of about 2,000.