Custom plastic plant closing, 147 workers to be cut | Business

Pexco LLC, an Atlanta-based plastics extruder-manufacturer announced the closure of its West Columbia plant, leaving 147 full-time workers unemployed.

According to a news release, Pexco will exit the plastics sheet business to focus on profile extrusion and specialty plastics, after Plaskolite, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, purchased the sheet extrusion assets and order book.

“This has been a difficult decision but a necessary one for our overall business,” said Pexco CEO Neil Shillingford. “Pexco’s core business is specialty plastics and profile extrusion. Extruded sheet has been a bit of an anomaly for us and after an in-depth review we have decided to sell this line of business and focus on our core capabilities.”

The 168,000 square-foot plant and operations will be shut down in 2013.

“This location was the old Southern Plastics facility, and has been part of Pexco since 1970,” said Shillingford. “We have been blessed to be a part of the community for such a long time and this was not an easy decision.”

Pexco is working with the South Carolina Dislocated Worker Unit to assist in re-employment efforts for the 147 full-time site employees.

“We are making every effort to work with employees to help them find employment either in other Pexco facilities or within the local labor market,” Shillingford added.

Pexco will be providing workers severance packages, outplacement reemployment, training, and retraining assistance, in addition to working with the Rapid Response employment services team from the Dislocated Workers Unit.