Wilton Site Closure

RNS Number : 3201V

Croda International PLC

08 July 2009

Croda International Plc

Wilton facility to close

Croda International Plc ('Croda') today announces that it will close its manufacturing facility at Wilton on Teesside in the United Kingdom. This follows The Dow Chemical Company's ('Dow') announcement today that it intends to close its Ethylene Oxide and Glycol (EO/EG) plant on the Wilton site. Production is expected to cease at the end of January 2010 providing sufficient time for an orderly transition.

Dow is the only company in the UK that currently produces EO, a raw material that Croda is dependent upon to manufacture key products across its Consumer Care and Industrial Specialities markets. Whilst alternative sources of EO are available on the Continent, transportation of large quantities of this hazardous substance is subject to strict regulation making it both a complex and expensive process. Croda will move production to other sites within the Group where EO is more easily accessible and continue to supply its global customer base in the normal way.

The site currently employs 125 people and was part of the Uniqema acquisition in 2006. There will be exceptional cash closure costs of approximately £13m and a relatively small exceptional asset write off of around £5m. Croda expects to achieve annual savings of at least £5m from 2010 as a result of closing its facility at Wilton.

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