Ardagh to close Illinois glass plant

Ardagh Group, headquartered in Dublin, announced Thursday that it will permanently cease operations at its Lincoln, Illinois, glass container production facility.

The closure, which will take place April 30, will affect 150 employees. The company says customers affected by the closure will be serviced by its other facilities in North America. 

“This footprint adjustment, combined with our ongoing focus on cost reduction, aims to enhance our competitiveness, as well as optimizing the effectiveness of our capital investments,” the company says in a statement. “Ardagh continues to pursue improvements in flexibility, quality and services to further strengthen our position in the U.S. glass market and progressively restore appropriate levels of profitability in Glass-North America.”

Ardagh reports glass packaging revenue in North America declined by 14 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the same time in the previous year.

The company closed a glass container production facility in Milford, Massachusetts, in March 2018 because of lower volumes in the beer and wine end market. In addition, the company shut down furnaces in Ruston, Louisiana, and Seattle.

Ardagh says it will continue to focus on "stronger performing" end markets, while footprint adjustments rebuild profitability and competitiveness "against a challenging market backdrop."

Ardagh Group, a global leader in metal and glass packaging solutions, will publish its fourth quarter and full 2018 results Feb. 21. Ardagh operates more than 100 facilities in 22 countries, employing approximately 23,000 people.