Celanese may shut down two European facilities

Celanese Corporation is contemplating to close down its two European manufacturing facilities - acetic anhydride plant in Roussillon (France) and vinyl acetate unit in Tarragona (Spain). Celanese Corporation has announced that its French and Spanish subsidiaries have informed their employee delegates in Roussillon, France, and work council in Tarragona, Spain, of their intent to initiate an information and consultation process on the contemplated closure of both the Roussillon acetic anhydride facility and the vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) production unit in Tarragona.
 
Celanese announced on May 22, 2013, its intent to find a credible buyer for both properties, with the primary focus on industrial candidates. Celanese placed great effort in identifying credible buyers that could ensure sustainable operations, retain employees and meet the financial criteria defined by the company to ensure successful future operations of the VAM production unit in Tarragona and the acetic anhydride plant in Roussillon. However, no credible buyers have been identified and no offers for acquiring these facilities were made.
 
Therefore, the company has announced its intention to initiate discussions concerning the possible closure of both the acetic anhydride facility in Roussillon and the VAM production unit in Tarragona. This action is initiated to safeguard the competitiveness of the Celanese acetyl business.
 
The need for these contemplated projects emerged from an assessment of Celanese's overall corporate strategy, which included an assessment of the company's global manufacturing facilities. Specifically, in support of the company's acetyl portfolio, the manufacturing footprint strategy favours integrated production sites that provide critical economies of scale.