Chroma expands one Massachusetts plant, will close another nearby

http://www.petrotahlil.com/en/tiny/news-43540

Petrotahlil :Materials firm Chroma Color Corp. has just completed an expansion of its plant in Leominster, Mass., but is closing a nearby plant in Clinton.

McHenry, Ill.-based Chroma spent more than $1 million on the Leominster project, which included significant structural upgrades, new compounding lines, a dust collection system and a new color development lab, officials said in an Oct. 9 news release. The expansion also featured improvements to warehousing and offices at the site.

"As we continue to strengthen our position in the color concentrate marketplace, we determined manufacturing site upgrades would be necessary to serve our customers' growing need for technically strong partners," CEO Tom Bolger said.

"Today, I am proud to say Chroma Leominster has become one of our flagship sites for our customers and a true manufacturing center of excellence," he added.

The plant in Clinton,10 miles from Leominster, is being closed because of the new investments and capacity expansion in Leominster, officials said. Operations done in Clinton will be moved to Leominster, officials said.

The Clinton plant has 22 employees, with 16 of those transferring to Leominster. Transition assistance will be made available for those few employees not offered a transfer.

Bolger added that closing the Clinton plant "is intended to streamline operations and better serve customers by integrating key operations into existing manufacturing facilities where we have more advanced lab and technical equipment."

"The value we can bring to our customers will be strengthened by these improved efficiencies and capabilities," he said.

Bolger added that Chroma anticipates "a seamless transition" for current customers served out of Clinton, since key personnel, equipment and historical knowledge will transfer to Leominster. The move is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Chroma acquired the Clinton site in February when it purchased Clinton-based Polymer Concentrates Inc. PCI was a privately held maker of color concentrates. Chroma officials said at the time that the deal for PCI would allow the firm to grow its manufacturing footprint and its colorant and additive technologies to better serve existing and prospective customers.

They added that PCI had "exceptional color technology" for nylon and other engineering resins.

Chroma makes color concentrates based on a variety of resins for several markets. The firm employs about 400 and has annual sales of more than $160 million.

In mid-2018, investment firm Arsenal Capital Partners of New York combined Chroma with materials firms Carolina Color, Breen Color Concentrates and Breen's Hudson Color unit — all of which Arsenal had acquired since late 2017 — to create a larger firm.

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