Ceramtec to Close NY Plant

LAURENS, S.C., Aug. 24 -- CeramTec North America, a producer of airtight, hermetically sealed electrical and optical components under the name Ceramaseal, announced Friday that its manufacturing operation in New Lebanon, N.Y., will relocate to its Laurens, S.C., facility by next spring.

As of August 1, Rockwood Specialties Inc., based in Princeton, N.J., is the new sole shareholder of CeramTec Group. Apart from CeramTec, three other companies of the former Dynamit Nobel Group have been acquired by Rockwood.

The move will affect about 65 employees at the New Lebanon plant, all of whom have been offered comparable positions in South Carolina and "significant" relocation support, according to an article in the Pittsfield, Mass., Berkshire Eagle. Those who choose not to move but who stay with the company until March 1 will receive severance benefits, the article said. The New Lebanon plant will be sold.

Ceramtec said in a statement, "At the managing meeting end of July, the new owner of CeramTec declared to notably strengthen the company’s activities by internal growth and future acquisitions. Further, the relationships with CeramTec’s customers, vendors, and employees remain unchanged."

The company said it will have a significant role in the new Rockwood group, which is headed by CEO Seifi Ghasemi. It said the boards of its parent company CeramTec AG and of Ceramtec North America will remain unchanged. The private equity company KKR (Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts), New York, and Credit Suisse First Boston PE, London, are the principal shareholders of Rockwood.

For more information, visit: www.ceramtec.de