Hydro plans to close fertiliser plant
7 March 2000
Hydro plans to close fertiliser plant
By FWi staff
SIGNIFICANT job losses are expected following the proposed closure of the 600,000t-capacity Hydro Agri fertiliser plant at Immingham near Grimsby.
The companys proposal to close the nitric acid manufacturing facility was revealed to staff on Monday (6 March), Farmers Weekly has learned.
About 200 people are employed at the factory, which is expected to close during the summer following a period of consultation, confirmed the company.
The move would end the UK manufacture of Hydro nitrogen fertilisers, liquid ammonium nitrate and the granular ammonium nitrate brand, Hydro Extran.
Overcapacity in the fertiliser sector in western Europe, rather than the farming crisis, is to blame for the closure, said a company spokesman.
“We have made the decision that we have to take out one million tonnes of capacity, of which Immingham is taking a share,” he added.
However, Farmers Weekly understands that the packaging and distribution facilities at Immingham and other UK sites will remain open.
It is likely that Hydro products will still be sold and distributed. But the days of quality granular Extran being traded at cut-throat prices look to be over.
Extran, which has a unique place in many farmers affections as a granular, rather than prilled, ammonium nitrate, will be available from Sluiskil in Holland.
But significant changes in the way product is distributed and the type of product concerned are inevitable and job losses are likely to be high.
- Hydro Agri to cut nitrate capacity, Farmers Weekly, 18 February, 2000
- Hydro nitrate rationalisation goes on, FWi, 16 February, 2000
- Hydro loses 197m on fertiliser, FWi, 15 February, 2000