POTTER TWP. – Owners of a prominent Beaver County chemical plant plan to cease production at the facility by year’s end.
Styropek, located at the confluence of Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River along Frankfort Road, makes expandable polystyrene, or foam used in packaging and other Styrofoam-like products.
Mexico-based Alpek subsidiary Styropek purchased the former Nova Chemicals site four years ago.
The company on Wednesday announced plans to cease production at its Potter Township facility by the end of 2024.
“This is a tentative announcement subject to further discussions,” Styropek leadership said Wednesday. “As part of this plan, Styropek will cease production of the CUP and ARCEL product lines, which are done exclusively at the Beaver Valley facility.”
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A majority of the production would transition to facilities “better positioned to support future business needs,” including in Painesville, Ohio, according to Styropek.
If the company moves forward with the operations’ halt, most of the plant’s roughly 150 employees will likely be affected, although some public-facing roles may remain.
Styropek plans to offer severance and will explore outplacement support services for workers.
The company will share more information with employees within 30-60 days.
The decision comes amid a strategic review “aimed at enabling Styropek to prioritize and focus on long-term business objectives and sustainability initiatives,” Styropek leadership said. This includes boosting recycling capacity and focusing on energy-efficient thermal insulation products.
“When we purchased the Beaver Valley facility in October 2020, Styropek knew it was an acquisition of an aging facility,” said Andreas Plettner, Styropek CEO. “While we made progress in better operationalizing the plant during our roughly four years of operations, the industry has continued to evolve and the economics of the current market, paired with our long-term goals and sustainability initiatives, make continued investment increasingly difficult.”
The company is not exploring a sale of the plant at this time.
Late last year, environmental advocacy groups PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper filed a federal lawsuit in the Western District of Pennsylvania against Styropek for alleged Clean Water Act violations. The groups found evidence of discharged wastewater and stormwater laced with nurdles, or plastic pellets, for at least a year at the plant.
Styropek said the tentative decision was driven by long-term business goals and current market conditions, rather than the pending litigation. The company said it will continue to work with the environmental groups and Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection on actions to ensure the environmental safety of the facility while in operation.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Styropek tentatively plans to cease operations in Beaver County
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