Finland: Following negotiations with staff Paroc has decided to shut down its Oulu stone wool plant in July 2017. The closure will involve the transfer and centralisation of support functions currently in Oulu to other Paroc plants and locations. Production of building insulation will be moved mainly to the Paroc plant in Parainen and support functions will be moved to other Paroc locations. 64 members of staff will lose their jobs, including all of the production workers at Oulu, and five staff will be moved to other locations.
“The decision to shut down the factory was difficult due to the considerable impact it will have on the personnel. However, the utilisation rate of the current capacity of Finnish stone wool factories is too low to ensure competitive operations in Finland. The factory located in Oulu is old and, in addition to the already high cost structure, continuing operations would require significant investments in the near future,” says Kari Lehtinen, chief executive officer of Paroc Group.”
