Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Americhem, a color and additive solutions provider to polymer-based products markets worldwide, has announced it will expand its manufacturing facilities in Concord, N.C., and Mansfield, Texas, and wind down its Salisbury, Md.-based manufacturing operations and transfer production there to Concord and Mansfield.

The expansion at the Concord and Mansfield facilities will bring new manufacturing lines and increase color and additive masterbatch production capacity at those locations by 10 to 20 percent. The restructuring follows a recent 15,000-square-foot expansion at the company’s plant in Dalton, Ga., to add manufacturing capacity for polyolefin-based products. It is expected to be advantageous to Americhem’s cost structures and improve its overall efficiencies, according to Bob Tebbutt, executive vice president, global manufacturing.

Americhem’s Concord plant serves man-made fibers markets, and its Mansfield plant focuses on building products markets. “Growth at these locations will help us better address the evolving needs of our clients, particularly those in the fibers and building products industries,” said Dave Bouton, vice president, commercial, adding that the company plans to take advantage of growth opportunities in the North America Free Trade Agreement color and additives markets.

The company expects to complete the shutdown of the Salisbury plant by April 2008. Several of the 29 employees at that facility will be able to transfer to other Americhem locations.

October 23, 2007