Trinseo announces plant closures

Materials supplier Trinseo has announced plans to close a total of four plants in November, including one in North America.

The company is discontinuing operations at its ethylbenzene styrene monomer (EBSM) manufacturing facility in Terneuzen, the Netherlands; and is also closing three poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA acrylic sheet operations plants – in Belen, New Mexico; Bronderslev, Denmark; and Rho, Italy.

Materials produced at the closed PMMA sheet plants will now be produced by other facilities within the company’s global network, primarily Saint-Avold, France, and Florence, Kentucky.

In aggregate, these initiatives are expected to result in annual cost savings of approximately $75 million. The anticipated future cash payments associated with these actions are approximately US$50 million, with US$35 million of this expected to be incurred in 2024.

“Decisions like this that impact the livelihoods of our colleagues are never easy, and this decision in no way reflects on the capabilities of our dedicated teammates in Terneuzen, or at other operations that were part of this optimization effort,” Trinseo CEO Frank Bozich said in an Oct. 30 news release. “Given reduced European demand and global styrene capacity additions, we believe that we will be able to support our downstream business effectively through market purchases with lower carbon, capital and energy intensity for the foreseeable future.”

These latest restructuring actions, in combination with lower natural gas hedge losses, are expected to result in a sequential profitability improvement of US$100 million in 2024, the news release added.