Solo Cup has planned to consolidate its manufacturing network by closing its Owings Mills, North Andover, Mass and Springfield manufacturing facilities, because of improved production efficiency across its 10 other North American manufacturing plants.
The Solo Cup facilities in North Andover and Springfield are expected to close in mid-to-late 2011, and theOwings Mills facility is expected to close in mid 2012. The plant closings eventually will result in the elimination of approximately 540 full-time manufacturing positions in Owings Mills, 360 in North Andover and 340 in Springfield.
Robert Korzenski, president and chief executive officer of Solo Cup, said: “These decisions are never easy because we know they affect the lives of our employees and their families. It was important to us to give them as much advance notice as possible and we will work to make it a smooth transition for them. We are grateful for their years of dedicated service to Solo.”
Production volume and certain manufacturing assets will be distributed across other facilities of Solo, while other less efficient assets will be retired.
Solo intends to invest in its remaining locations and expects to increase employment at these facilities over the next 12 to 24 months as volume increases. All affected employees will have the opportunity to pursue employment at other Solo facilities and will be given priority over other candidates.
George Chappelle, chief operating officer of Solo Cup, said: “We have invested approximately $150 million over the past two years to upgrade our manufacturing assets and increase the efficiency of our operations. As a result, we are now able to be more productive within a smaller manufacturing footprint. Continuous improvement is critical to remaining competitive and to positioning the company for growth, especially as the market for our products has contracted in the difficult economy.”