Italian polyamide specialist Radici (Bergamo; www.radicigroup.com) has announced the closure of its plant in Born / The Netherlands. A spokesperson told Plasteurope.com that the facility’s PA 6 and PA 6.6 compounding activities (“Radilon” and “Torzen”) will be moved to the company’s sites in Lüneburg / Germany and Bergamo. With this measure, Radici hopes to improve its competitiveness in light of the economic slowdown in Europe, and the automotive slump in particular. The spokesperson did not offer any details on the Born plant’s capacities.

It is not yet known when the facility will be closed down, though talks with unions and employee representatives have already started. Radici acquired the site in 2016, when it purchased Invista’s (Wichita, Kansas / USA; www.invista.com) PA compounding activities – see Plasteurope.com of 16.09.2016. According to PIE’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net), capacity at the time was around 15,000 t/y.