Ascend to close compounding site, industrial fibers production

January 16, 2024

Ascend Performance Materials has announced plans to close its engineered materials compounding site in Tilburg, Netherlands and its industrial fiber spinning operation in Greenwood, South Carolina. 

In Europe and pending agreement with the relevant bodies, Ascend intends to transfer its Vydyne® production from Tilburg to Mozzate, Italy in April. The facility in Mozzate houses state-of-the-art equipment, a recycling R&D center and in-house masterbatch production. 

For industrial fibers, shipments will cease in early Q2 2024. Ascend will continue supplying high-quality polymer to the industrial fiber industry. The site in Greenwood will continue to produce staple fiber, bulked continuous filament and specialty polymers. 

“The teams in Tilburg and Greenwood have worked safely and diligently in the face of ongoing and unprecedented economic challenges for nearly two years,” said Phil McDivitt, Ascend’s president and CEO. “We made these difficult, but necessary decisions to better serve our customers long-term.”