July 1, 2016 Updated 7/1/2016
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Layoffs are expected to begin next month as plastic packaging maker Hedwin moves toward closure of its Baltimore plant.
Hedwin, a division of Zacros America Inc., informed the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation that a total of 129 employees will be impacted by the plant closure.
Hedwin makes plastic drum and film liners and dividers for drums and pails as well as its Cubitainer brand of flexible plastic containers in a box.
C“The Maryland Department of Labor received a WARN from the company stating that 129 workers are expected to be permanently eliminated beginning on August 28, 2016, and will continue in phases until the closure in June 2017,” the state said in a notice.
WARN, or the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires companies with at least 100 employees to give notice of plant closures.
The company’s website indicates Hedwin decided to move operations to “a larger, more modern production facility in Newark, Delaware.
“Our location in Baltimore … has served us well for almost 70 years, but we have far outgrown the space and infrastructure,” the company said on its website in November 2015.
That same month, Hedwin also said it sold its blow molding operation to Anchor Plastics Limited of Montreal.
“The Hedwin Division searched for a blow molder with capabilities to manufacture our Hedpak and WinPak products with better efficiency, improved product quality and with responsive customer service regarding order fulfillment. Anchor Plastics is this company,” the company said on its website.
Hedwin is owned by Fujimori Kogyo Co. Ltd. of Japan.