Rexam shuts down US pharma packaging plant
pharmafile | January 12, 2010 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | Rexam, packaging
Packaging giant Rexam has said it will close its healthcare packaging plant in Nashua, New Hampshire, before the end of 2010 and transfer its operations to other facilities in the group.
The UK-headquartered company said it would shut down the plastic packaging facility, which makes injection blow-moulded products such as tablet bottles, as part of a plan to “align manufacturing capabilities” across the group.
The company has also sold another plant in Wisconsin manufacturing personal care packaging in a management buyout.
The group’s recently-appointed chief executive Graham Chipchase said the Nashua closure would allow the company to “to improve the overall utilisation of our existing operations, further balance capacity and demand and continue our focus on delivering world-class products and services to customers”.
Originally opened in 1974, the site employs approximately 100 people, the majority of which are expected to lose their jobs. Rexam said it would offer all employees assistance to seek alternative employment.
The Nashua plant was part of Rexam’s $1.8 billion acquisition of Owens-Illinois’ plastic packaging assets in June 2007, part of a concerted effort by the group to boost its position in the healthcare packaging business.
However, faced with weakening plastic packaging demand across its business, Rexam said last November it planned to close and consolidate six plants and reduce the workforce by approximately 10% in order to cut costs by £30 million.
Some of that reorganisation involves transfer of production to lower-cost regions. Last May, Rexam expanded its operations in India, opening a new injection moulding plant in Bangalore.
Part of that reorganisation involved the realignment of its pharmaceuticals operations into a new division, known as Rexam healthcare, under the leadership of Mark Haemel.
That project consolidated all its healthcare units – namely Rexam Pharma, Rexam Primary Packaging and Rexam Prescription units – into one division in order to present a single, unified face to the global healthcare industry.
Related Content
Sustainability and security: How packaging is modernising pharma
In a world living in the shadow of substandard and falsified medicines, climate change and …
Implementing “the safest medicines system in the world”
With debates heating up over cooperation between European across the continent, Matt Fellows investigates the …
Care packaging: Inside the Falsified Medicines Directive
When it comes to the pharmaceutical supply chain, patient safety has and will always be …
