July 13, 2016 Updated 7/13/2016
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Amcor Rigid Plastics is closing an Ohio site that makes PET preforms for beverage containers and other applications, the company said.
The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based subsidiary of Amcor Ltd. expects to gradually slow down production in Dayton before completely shuttering the location by Dec. 31.
A total of 86 people work at the former Encon Inc. location. Amcor said there is the potential for employee relocations to other company sites.
Amcor last year paid $ 55 million for Encon’s manufacturing assets and intellectual property. Along with its largest Dayton location, Amcor reported at the time the company also had preform manufacturing locations in Texas, Washington and Hawaii.
“We don’t take this decision lightly but after careful review it is clear that this move will improve our level of service to existing customers and ensure future growth options,” said Larry Weber, vice president and general manager of Amcor’s beverage business unit, in a statement.
Amcor will relocate preform injection molding to other plants closer to customers, the company said. That will save on transportation costs.
The Dayton operation dates back to 1977 and was founded by Bill Gaiser, who died in 2014. He was credited with developing the world’s first PET preform.
The company said it came to the decision to close the Dayton site after conducting what it called a strategic evaluation of the location as well as the rest of the company’s manufacturing operations in the United States.
Amcor Rigid Plastics says it is one of the world’s largest makers of rigid plastic packaging for the food, beverage, spirits, personal care, home care and healthcare industries. The company operates 62 facilities in 12 countries.
Movement of equipment and production from Dayton will happen “in the coming weeks,” the company said.
