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ENKA to close Kelsterbach plant in Germany Kelsterbach, Germany, 11 January 2000 — ENKA has announced its intention to close down its viscose fibre plant in Kelsterbach. The required talks with employees' representatives regarding the social consequences and a social plan will begin immediately. The decision still has to be approved by Acordis.
After a period of short time work, production at the Kelsterbach plant was suspended in August 1999 due to weak demand. The situation was caused by a structural weakness of the market for cellulosic filament yarns accompanied by a change in international trade flows favouring textile exports from Asia. In consequence, 300 workers were laid off in both Kelsterbach and Ede (Netherlands). The market recovery, expected until the very last moment, did not materialise. “This far-reaching and incisive measure is unfortunately necessary to guarantee the future of the whole of ENKA”, said the Manager of the ENKA business unit, Dr Moritz Gimpel.
ENKA is a subsidiary of Acordis, a multinational group of businesses, supplying customers throughout the world with man-made fibres and speciality materials for industrial, textile, medical, and hygiene applications. The Acordis group has sales of some EUR 2.3 billion (USD 2.5 billion, GBP 1.5 billion), employs 16,000 people, and has production facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Poland.