Myers Industries Consolidates Production

June 1, 2007
Myers Industries, Inc. (Akron, Ohio, www.myersind.com), maufacturer of Buckhorn pallets and containers, announced that its board of directors has approved

Myers Industries, Inc. (Akron, Ohio, www.myersind.com), maufacturer of Buckhorn pallets and containers, announced that its board of directors has approved a plan to consolidate production facilities in the company’s Lawn and Garden and North American Material Handling segments. This consolidation is part of the company’s previously discussed operating strategy and assessment of resources to balance capacity, which will further strengthen competitiveness in strategic markets.

The consolidation impacts three facilities in total, consisting of the following:

The company will close two facilities in the Lawn and Garden Segment, including the Kord products plants in Brampton, Ontario, and Lugoff, S.C. These facilities, which were part of the company’s acquisition of ITML Horticultural Products in January 2007, produce nursery containers, specialty retail horticultural products and custom plastic products. The plants employ approximately 170 and 72 people, respectively, and are expected to close by the end of 2007.

The company will close one facility in the North American Material Handling segment in Dawson Springs, Ky. This injection-molding plant produces plastic reusable hand-held containers. The plant employs approximately 95 people and is expected to close by the end of 2007.

Production from the facilities will be transferred to other Myers Industries operations in North America. The company anticipates that it will make severance and outplacement support available to affected employees.

President and Chief Executive Officer John C. Orr said, “The decision to close any facility is extremely difficult. But to remain competitive and position the business for the future, it is absolutely critical that we further consolidate work across our facilities to fully utilize our high-speed molding capacity, reduce operating costs and achieve greater efficiency gains.”

Myers Industries expects to incur total costs of approximately $8.4 million before tax in connection with the consolidation actions.