Negotiations related to the possible shut down were announced in September
About 150 workers will lose their jobs in 2020 following Metso’s decision to shut down its rubber and poly-met manufacturing operations in Ersmark, northern Sweden.
Such wear parts are widely used in the mining industry.
In a media statement, the Finnish company said that work at the Swedish plant will be ramped down in stages from the beginning of Q2 2020 with full closure expected in Q3 2020.
“Our strategy is to improve productivity and reduce logistics costs by building on the most efficient manufacturing and sourcing opportunities at a regional and global level to ensure the best value and availability for our customers. During the negotiations, we evaluated the EMEA region as a whole and came to the conclusion that consolidating the rubber and poly-met manufacturing operations in Sweden was the only feasible solution,” Sami Takaluoma, president of Metso’s minerals consumables business area, said in the brief. “This is a very unpleasant yet necessary action. Going forward, our focus will be on ensuring a sustainable transition for Ersmark as well as uninterrupted service to our customers.”
In addition to Ersmark, Metso has another factory continuing synthetic wear part production in Trelleborg, southern Sweden, and nine other factories for synthetic materials in different countries.