Simsboro glass plant to close
Leader photo by Nancy Bergeron
The Ardagh glass plant in Simsboro, which has been in operation in some form since the 1960s, will close its doors next month.
SIMSBORO — The Ardagh Glass Packaging in Simsboro is closing in mid-July.
Workers got the news Wednesday from corporate officials who were on site. The plant employs approximately 245 people.
The Simsboro plant is one of two that are being shuttered. The other is in Wilson, North Carolina.
Ardagh said it’s closing the two plants at least partially because of decreased demand.
“Our multi-year performance optimization program, involving targeted investments in enhanced capacity and ongoing cost optimization, underpins our ability to continue to provide existing and prospective customers with high quality, American-made sustainable glass packaging,” a statement from the company said.
Though the statement references only mid-July, several sources said the actual closure date is July 17.
Existing customers of both plants will continue to be supplied from alternative locations in the network, the statement said.
The glass plant has been in operation since the early 1960s when it opened as Laurens Glass. Early on, it primarily made soft drink bottles.
As the soft drink industry switched to non-glass containers, the company’s main product became food jars, according to an online history of Laurens Glass.
The plant was later acquired by Saint-Gobain Containers.
The Ardagh Group, headquartered in Luxembourg, is one of the largest glass producers in the world. In 2013, it merged with Saint-Gobain Containers, Inc., the company that struck a deal with former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration to get millions of dollars in tax incentives for the Simsboro plant to keep its workforce.
The Simsboro plant makes glass jars and bottles. Though the plant apparently has two furnaces, sources said it’s operating only one of them.
