Saint-Gobain Plant Shutdown
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. intends to close its Reading, PA manufacturing facility and consolidate production into its Mickelton, NJ plant. The consolidation, due or completion by August, will eliminate the jobs of about 60 employees at the Reading plant, Saint-Gobain reports, although the company says some of the workers at the unit may be offered jobs elsewhere.

The Reading facility extrudes thermoplastic tubing, piping and rod stock and specialty profiles as well as other custom plastic products. According to Brian Pickner, a General Manager at Saint-Gobain, the company has acquired several plants over the past two years that have created excess manufacturing capacity. "This restructuring," he says, "will allow us to improve our cost structure amid increasing global competitive pressures and bring very similar operations into one facility.