US Ascend to close South Carolina plant, move polymer production to Florida

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Ascend Performance Materials plans to shut down its remaining operations Greenwood, South Carolina, and move the site’s polymer production to its complex in Pensacola, Florida, US-based nylon producer said on Friday.

The Greenwood site produces nylon 6,6 products based on monomers made from its other locations. The site makes nylon 6,6 polymer chips for textiles, bulk continuous filament (BCF) fiber for carpets, as well as industrial fibres for high-tenacity and technical fiber applications such as tire yarn and airbags.

In January 2024, Ascend said it would end industrial fiber spinning operations in Greenwood. By early 2025, it will end all other operations in Greenwood.

Earlier on Friday, Ascend confirmed that was laying off workers at its Pensacola complex in the face of lower demand for automobiles, housing and consumer goods, a global trend that has persisted for the past two years. It did not specify the number of people who were laid off.

Thumbnail Photo: Nylon. (By Shutterstock)