The economic downturn has struck another area employer.
Solvay Advanced Polymers, on Ohio 7 south of Marietta, will permanently lay off as many as 23 employees by Nov. 17, according to plant manager Wally Kandel.
The state will release $2.6 million in grants to three organizations, including one in Central Ohio, through its Thomas Edison Program.
The state Controlling Board this week approved handing out the grants, aimed at spurring high-tech development in Ohio. Westerville-based PolymerOhio Inc. clinched a $650,000 grant as a designated Edison Technology Center, an arm of the larger state program that helps companies in the market entry phase of product commercialization.
Both across the business world and in the plastics industry, many companies moved quickly to cut or freeze wages, eliminate discretionary bonuses, and change executive compensation formulas and measures for 2009 in an effort to conserve cash and make more compensation hinge on performance.
Effective September 1st, 2009, or as contracts allow, BASF will increase prices in Europe, Africa and Western Asia for styrene-acrylic and straight-acrylic dispersions by €70-90 per metric ton, for styrene-butadiene dispersions by €120-150 per metric ton and for polymer powders by €150 per metric ton. The price adjustment is necessary due to increased raw material cost.
Lower manufacturing costs as a result of plant closings, reduced interest expense and a lower share count benefited second-quarter results, the Broomfield, Colorado, company said.
Seven of the 10 largest publicly traded U.S. suppliers not in bankruptcy will say earnings fell from a year earlier or post wider losses for the period ended June 30, based on analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Johnson Controls is expected to report a 68 percent profit decline July 20.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization will reach 18 percent to 18.5 percent of sales this year, down from a February target of 19 percent to 19.2 percent, Dusseldorf-based Gerresheimer said in a statement today. The company expects sales to drop as much as 3 percent.
