Chevron Oronite Co. said it will close a manufacturing plant in Brazil in an effort to streamline its business.
In its place the company will set up an operation that imports products to the region, according to officials who added that some of the 127 people now working at the plant will keep their jobs.
The plant is located in Maua, a city on the eastern edge of Sao Paulo, and Oronite has operated it for 25 years. The plant makes lubricant and fuel additives for Brazil and other parts of Latin America. In a Jan. 26 news release, management said the facility was assessed as part of a worldwide review of the companys manufacturing sites.
When the various options were evaluated, it became evident that selling or shutting down Maua would result in streamlining our global manufacturing structure and maximizing capacity utilization at our major plants,” President Ronald Kiskis said.
Officials said Oronite remains committed to the region and will establish a third-party terminal at Santos Port and perhaps elsewhere. The company did not say where the products imported to Brazil will come from, but its closest remaining plant is in Mexico. It also has factories in the United States, France, India and Singapore.
Oronite said the Maua facility will close during 2005. It said it has not yet decided how many of the 127 jobs will be eliminated but that sales positions and some in supply chain, finance, human resources and other administrative functions will remain intact.
Oronite is based in San Ramon, Calif., and employs approximately 2,000 people worldwide.