AET To Close Virginia Plant

NEW CASTLE, Del.—Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. (AET) will close its Covington, Va. facility in 2008.

“We have thoroughly studied options for the Covington plant over the last year,” said Thomas Mohr, president and chief executive officer of AET. “The plant’s relatively small size and large infrastructure costs have hindered its long-term competitiveness, and this ultimately led to our decision to close the plant.”

“AET will conduct an orderly shutdown and transition, maintaining supply capability by utilizing existing AET manufacturing capacity to support our current and future business initiatives,” he continued. “A transition team will be working on a timely transfer of products to the other AET facilities.”

The Covington plant employs 126 people and produces oriented polypropylene films used in labels and packaging applications. The plant was acquired by AET in 1994 as part of the company’s acquisition of the films business from Hercules Incorporated. Mohr said salaried employees would receive severance pay and benefits, and that the company would bargain the effects of the closure with the union.

For the last year, AET has been improving its financial performance by optimizing its product portfolio, improving efficiency and effectiveness, redesigning its North American business platform, and strategically planning for growth options.