Japanese-owned factory near Charlotte is closing, laying off over 280 workers
Over 280 people will be laid off this summer after a fiber glass manufacturer closes its facility in Cleveland County, effectively ending operations in the U.S.
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Japan-based Nippon Electric Glass is restructuring operations. As part of that transition, one of the largest glass fiber manufacturers in the world is ending its U.S. presence by shutting down one factory in Shelby and selling another facility in Lexington.
Shelby is 42 miles west of Charlotte and Lexington is 60 miles northeast. Both factories were operated by Nippon’s subsidiary Electric Glass Fiber America.
With the Shelby facility closing, 282 people will be laid off Aug. 31, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) report filed on July 6. Such notices are required by federal law during mass layoffs. The report was made publicly available on July 8.
The Shelby plant has operated for almost 70 years and was previously owned by PPG Industries.
The Lexington site is being sold to Saint-Gobain Adfors America, and the acquisition will close on July 31, according to a Saint-Gobain news release.
The Pennsylvania manufacturer is committed to expanding its footprint in North Carolina. The Lexington plant will continue operations and Saint-Gobain plans to keep those workers, a representative for the manufacturer said. Saint-Gobain also operates in Claremont, Oxford and Roxboro.
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It’s unclear if some of the workers from the Shelby site will transition to the Lexington location. Nippon did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Saint-Gobain did not say whether Shelby employees will move to the Lexington site.
Nippon purchased PPG Industries almost a decade ago for $541 million, according to The Shelby Star. That purchase included the plants in Shelby and Lexington, along with a plant in Chester, South Carolina.
Nippon’s U.S. division employed about 1,000 people at one point, according to the manufacturer’s website. But since 2019, Nippon has been downsizing due to market structure and competition, the manufacturer said in a news release Monday.
The Chester site was shuttered in 2019, and Nippon laid off 145 people.
In 2023, Nippon closed its Dutch subsidiary and last year, it suspended operations in the United Kingdom.
In the last year three years, net sales in Shelby and Lexington have decreased. Sales went from $266 million in 2023 to $237 million last year. Net assets also fell from $131 million in 2023 to $99 million last year.
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