Tata Chemicals Europe to close a soda ash factory in the UK

As a part of its restructuring proposal for its business in Northwich (Cheshire), Tata Chemicals Europe (TCE), a part of the Mumbai-headquartered Tata Chemicals, will close its soda ash and calcium chloride factory in Winnington, the UK. TCE is the UK's sole manufacturer and supplier of soda ash and sodium bicarbonate.
 
The proposed restructuring will result in TCE retaining & expanding the sodium bicarbonate factory in Winnington and retaining its soda ash & sodium bicarbonate factories in Lostock. Tata Chemicals Europe's sister company, Middlewich-based British Salt is unaffected by this proposal.
 
“This action is in response to the serious threat posed by high and rising energy prices and it would result in around 220 redundancies across Winnington and Lostock operations and from support services. As such, TCE has commenced a 45-day period of statutory consultation with unions and employees about the proposal,” said the company in a press release.
 
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Closure of Winnington's soda ash plant would enable Tata Chemicals Europe to reconfigure the combined heat and power plant supplying power and steam to both Winnington and Lostock in order to make it more sustainable and reduce its massive energy costs.
 
"It is hugely regrettable that we have had to announce proposed redundancies today, but it is necessary to secure a sustainable future for our business. In the face of high and rising gas prices, we have to reconfigure our business to focus on higher-value products and reduce our energy bill in order to continue manufacturing in Northwich. We believe that this proposal will help TCE to achieve that,” commented Martin Ashcroft, Managing Director, TCE.
 
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TCE operates from three sites in Cheshire: Winnington (Northwich), Lostock (Northwich) and Middlewich. Formerly known as Brunner, Mond and Company, it was originally founded in 1873 and was a major constituent of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) when it formed in 1926. It was divested from ICI in 1991 and was acquired by Tata Chemicals in 2006.