By Matthew Spieler
SEAFORD, DEL.— Invista announced restructuring plans that involve moving several carpet fiber manufacturing operations to other facilities in the U.S. and Canada by mid-2009. The initiative, which will begin during the first quarter next year, is part of a broader business plans to completely transition out of producing staple fiber in the U.S.

“Many carpet mills are shifting preference away from staple carpet fiber toward bulked continuous filament (BCF) carpet fiber,” said Dan Stone, Invista’s president of performance surfaces and materials. “This [move] should come as no surprise since today, staple fiber within the Stainmaster portfolio represents a very small percentage of our total business, as most mills have already completely made the transition.”

For those mills still using staple fiber, Stone explained Invista “will work closely with them to make decisions on the future of staple carpet fiber in their offerings and to minimize any potential disruptions,” as this type of fiber will continue to be produced in Europe.

While the company is exiting staple production in the U.S., he noted the move should not be taken as anything other than “a restructuring to strategically place our manufacturing sites on the best platform possible as we evolve more efficient ways to satisfy future demand.

“We want to make it clear to our customers we do not have any plans to exit the business,” Stone stressed. “Invista remains committed to the long-term growth of its nylon polymer and carpet fiber businesses.” In fact, centralized supply to the carpet industry will continue to flow through the company’s warehouses in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“By making this step-change in business operations,” he added, “we create an opportunity to capture volume for other Invista sites, be more competitive and create long-term value for our customers.”

The initial move primarily affects Invista’s plant here, which will have a new mission focusing on the production of nylon staple fiber for technical applications such as military apparel, conveyer belts used in paper manufacturing and other specialty products.

Invista officials said the restructuring will impact approximately 80% of the Seaford plant’s 500 employees—among all levels, including management. “We anticipate that there will, in fact, be additional roles, but it would be premature to speculate where and how many until such time we determine there is available capacity and technical capability,” they told FCNews.

“Seaford should be proud of its contributions and accomplishments for the past seven decades,” Stone concluded. “We will build on this legacy as we transition operations across our broad asset base in 2009. Invista is making the announcement far in advance of the changes to ensure employees, contractors and the community have as much time as possible to plan for the future.”

For more information, call Invista at 800.438.7668.