SPC to move Whitby compounding operations to Westbury

ERJ staff report (DS)

Westbury, UK -- SPC Europe Ltd and ATR Compounding Ltd will merge from April 2011, resulting in the ending of compounding operations at the company's Whitby site later this year. The merged company will operate as SPC UK, with all manufacturing based at the former ATR site in Westbury, Wiltshire.

The move to consolidate production at Westbury coincides with SPC's decision to invest £1.5million in a new line at Westbury. This will increase the company's compounding capacity to over £20 million a year. The line has been acquired from Avon Engineered Rubber Ltd in Maerdy, Wales.

SPC said the investment means it will have one of the most modern manufacturing plants in Europe, comprising of three production lines with fully automated controls. The new line wil be ramped up as the old lines in Whitby are wound down.

Steve Hallas, managing director said, “We have planned the move extremely carefully to ensure customers see no interruption of service. An existing production line at Westbury is being maintained and upgraded and when the new line is fully operational we will end production in Whitby. This is expected to be around mid July.”

Paul Hallas, operations manager says “SPC and ATR both manufacture rubber compounds for world renowned customers in the aerospace, automotive, chemical and energy industries. This move simplifies our structure for our customers and will provide economies of scale across the business.” He added that the land occupied by SPC facilities in Whitby are leased from a property company, which has arranged a deal to build a supermarket on the site.

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Press release from SPC