A Schulman : Announces Two Restructuring Actions In Its Americas Segment Related To Recent Acquisitions

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

• Company realigns manufacturing operations to improve capacity utilization, resulting in the planned closure of its Stryker, Ohio facility
• SG&A reduction actions taken to drive additional efficiencies gained from eliminating redundancies
• Total annualized savings from these two initiatives expected to be approximately $4 million while restructuring costs associated with these two initiatives will be approximately $3 million

A. Schulman, Inc. (Nasdaq-GS: SHLM) announced today that it is consolidating its North American production facilities. As part of its ongoing review of its manufacturing footprint, the Company will close its plant in Stryker, Ohio, in April 2015 and shift the plant's production to other facilities in North America.

The Stryker plant has been producing products primarily for markets in the United States and Mexico. It employs approximately 70 people and was part of A. Schulman's acquisition of the Ferro Specialty Plastics Business, which was completed in July 2014.

Additionally, the Company announced that it is making SG&A reductions in North America as part of its ongoing effort to drive further synergies from recent acquisitions and eliminate duplicate functions. As a result of this effort, the Company expects headcount reductions at various locations to total approximately 10 people.

"While demand remains strong in the U.S., our recent acquisitions have added seven plants over the past three years. Based on our evaluation of a variety of factors including capacity utilization, location and laboratory and manufacturing capabilities, we have decided to consolidate our North American production capacity to drive efficiencies," said Bernard Rzepka, Chief Operating Officer. "This is a difficult decision, but the consolidation illustrates our enduring commitment to right-sizing our global capacity to best serve customers and allow for profitable growth in key markets. In addition to evaluating our manufacturing footprint, we continually look for other ways to improve efficiency and have identified further opportunities to achieve additional savings by streamlining our back office operations in the U.S."

The majority of the costs associated with the manufacturing consolidation, approximately $2.5 million, are expected to be included in the Company's financial results for the fiscal 2015 first quarter ending November 30, 2014. The annualized savings, approximately $3 million, will be realized in the second half of fiscal 2015.  A portion of these savings were part of the previously stated $5.5 million in net synergies related to the acquisition of Ferro's Specialty Plastics business.

The majority of the SG&A efficiency costs, approximately $500,000, are expected to occur in the first quarter of fiscal 2015, while the annualized savings, approximately $1 million, will start to be realized in the Company's second quarter of fiscal 2015. 

About A. Schulman, Inc.
A. Schulman, Inc. is a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins headquartered in Akron, Ohio.  Since 1928, the Company has been providing innovative solutions to meet its customers' demanding requirements.  The Company's customers span a wide range of markets such as packaging, mobility, building & construction, electronics & electrical, agriculture, personal care & hygiene, sports, leisure & home, custom services and others.  The Company employs approximately 3,900 people and has 42 manufacturing facilities globally.  A. Schulman reported net sales of approximately $2.5 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014. Additional information about A. Schulman can be found at www.aschulman.com.

Cautionary Statements
A number of the matters discussed in this document that are not historical or current facts deal with potential future circumstances and developments and may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts and relate to future events and expectations. Forward-looking statements contain such words as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and include known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which management is unable to predict or control, that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements, and that could adversely affect the Company's future financial performance, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• worldwide and regional economic, business and political conditions, including continuing economic uncertainties in some or all of the Company's major product markets or countries where the Company has operations;
• the effectiveness of the Company's efforts to improve operating margins through sales growth, price increases, productivity gains, and improved purchasing techniques;
• competitive factors, including intense price competition;
• fluctuations in the value of currencies in major areas where the Company operates;
• volatility of prices and availability of the supply of energy and raw materials that are critical to the manufacture of the Company's  products, particularly plastic resins derived from oil and natural gas;
• changes in customer demand and requirements;
• effectiveness of the Company to achieve the level of cost savings, productivity improvements, growth and other benefits anticipated from acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring initiatives;
• escalation in the cost of providing employee health care;
• uncertainties regarding the resolution of pending and future litigation and other claims;
• the performance of the global automotive market as well as other markets served;
• further adverse changes in economic or industry conditions, including global supply and demand conditions and prices for products; and
• operating problems with our information systems as a result of system security failures such as viruses, computer "hackers" or  other causes.

The risks and uncertainties identified above are not the only risks the Company faces. Additional risk factors that could affect the Company's performance are set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014. In addition, risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect the Company. Should any known or unknown risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, these developments could have material adverse effects on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.

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SOURCE A. Schulman, Inc.