Ineos Barex (Lima, Ohio / USA; www.ineosbarex.com), part of the Ineos Group (Rolle / Switzerland; www.ineos.com), said it will close its "Barex" packing resins plant at Lima – the only Ineos facility manufacturing the specialised acrylonitrile-methyl acrylate co-polymer product – in the first quarter of 2015. The Ineos acrylonitrile and catalyst plants at Lima will not be affected.

David Schmidt, CEO of Ineos Barex, said the business has been struggling financially for a number of years. Although the company has “worked diligently” to reduce costs and improve profitability, efforts at a turnaround had been unsuccessful. The resins developed and launched by the Ohio producer in 1975 are used in bottles, blown film, sheet and moulded parts and marketed worldwide. About 45% of sales are in Europe, 35% in North America.