Tata Chemicals Europe (Tata Chemicals Europe ) has today proposed a restructure of its business in Northwich, Cheshire in order to secure a sustainable and successful future.
The proposed restructure would see Tata Chemicals Europe close its soda ash and calcium chloride factory in Winnington, retain and expand the sodium bicarbonate factory in Winnington and retain its soda ash and sodium bicarbonate factories in Lostock. Tata Chemicals Europe 's sister company, Middlewich-based British Salt is unaffected by this proposal.
This action is in response to the serious threat posed by high and rising energy prices and it would result in around 220 redundancies across Winnington and Lostock operations and from support services. As such, Tata Chemicals Europe has commenced a 45-day period of statutory consultation with unions and employees about the proposal.
Closure of Winnington's soda ash plant would enable Tata Chemicals Europe to reconfigure the combined heat and power plant supplying power and steam to both Winnington and Lostock in order to make it more sustainable and reduce its massive energy costs.
"It is hugely regrettable that we've had to announce proposed redundancies today, but it is necessary to secure a sustainable future for our business," commented Managing Director, Martin Ashcroft. "In the face of high and rising gas prices, we have to reconfigure our business to focus on higher-value products and reduce our energy bill in order to continue manufacturing in Northwich. We believe that this proposal will help Tata Chemicals Europe to achieve that."
Editors' notes
• Tata Chemicals Europe (Tata Chemicals Europe ) is the UK's sole manufacturer and supplier of soda ash and sodium bicarbonate; and the market-leading manufacturer and supplier of salt.
• Tata Chemicals Europe operates from three sites in Cheshire: Winnington (Northwich), Lostock (Northwich) and Middlewich.
• Formerly known as Brunner, Mond and Company, it was originally founded in 1873 and was a major constituent of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) when it formed in 1926. It was divested from ICI in 1991 and was acquired by Tata Chemicals in 2006.
• Tata Chemicals Europe is wholly owned by Tata Chemicals, a global chemicals company headquartered in Mumbai, India.
For further information, please contact Stephen Bray (sbray@tatachemicals.com / 01606 724855 / 07720 497161).