Kitchen sink producer Franke (Bad Säckingen / Germany; www.franke.com) is intending to concentrate its European plastic sink production on a single location. The plants in Falkirk / Scotland, and Brussum / The Netherlands, are to be closed and the capacities transferred to a new Slovak factory. The new plant is not, however, being built at the Franke Slovakia sro location in Zilina but at Strecno, some 10 km further east. Production at the Strecno facility is scheduled to commence next year. 200 employees are affected by the decision in Falkirk alone.

Franke is intending to invest just under EUR 27m in the new facility, which will produce sinks in the “Fragranite” and “Tectonite” composites – acrylic resin with 80% granite particles and quartz sand, respectively. Local media report that the Slovakian Ministry of Economic Affairs is granting a tax credit of EUR 3.9m for the creation of up to 240 jobs. The German company, which belongs to the Swiss company Artemis Holding, spent CHF 14.1m (EUR 12.9m) on the restructuring in the 2016 financial year already.