Mexico-based PVC producer Orbia told customers today that it will close its emulsion-PVC (E-PVC) plant in Pedricktown, New Jersey, later this year due to weakness in the market and the global economy.
The company plans to close the plant by the end of 2024, although some services may continue into the first quarter of 2025 to meet contractual commitments with site partners, Orbia said Friday in a notice to customers. The site has an annual capacity of 60,000t of E-PVC production, also referred to as paste-PVC.
Production at the plant will be relocated to other Orbia facilities, the company said without providing details. Orbia's plant in Henry, Illinois, has paste-PVC capacity roughly equivalent to the Pedricktown site. The company also has facilities in La Presa, Mexico, and Tlaxcala, Mexico, and some capacity in Marl, Germany. A source at the company said production will be spread among its plants, depending on the product type.
The company cited profitability issues at the plant and weakness in the global economy as reasons for the plant's closure.
Orbia has been weighing construction of an integrated chlor-alkali and vinyls plant in the US Gulf coast region to take advantage of lower cost energy and feedstock costs in the US. That project has been delayed as the company evaluates broader market dynamics before making a final investment decision.
