Westlake to Close 165,000-Ton PVC Plant in Germany

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Westlake Corporation has announced the closure of its polyvinyl chloride plant in Cologne, Germany. The site has an annual PVC production capacity of approximately 165,000 tons, with production scheduled to cease in the first quarter of 2027. Westlake will continue to supply existing customers through its other PVC production facilities in Germany, including the Wilhelmshaven site acquired in June of this year.

Westlake expects the closure to incur approximately $205 million in pre-tax charges, of which about $100 million will be cash charges and about $105 million will be non-cash charges. The company expects to recognize approximately $110 million of related charges in 2026, with the remainder to be recognized in 2027.

The Cologne plant is smaller than Westlake's other PVC production sites in Germany and also bears higher logistics costs. Following this adjustment, Westlake's PVC supply in Germany will shift more toward lower-cost existing facilities. The company just completed the acquisition of the Wilhelmshaven PVC and VCM production site in June of this year; that site has an annual PVC production capacity of approximately 380,000 tons and benefits from deep-water port conditions for raw material unloading.

The Cologne closure and the Wilhelmshaven acquisition occurred in the same year. Based on publicly available capacity data, Westlake's added PVC capacity at Wilhelmshaven exceeds the Cologne capacity being exited, forming a manufacturing footprint adjustment in Germany characterized by one addition and one subtraction. The Wilhelmshaven site had previously been in insolvency administration, and Westlake took over its operations upon completing the transaction.

Westlake has also continued to streamline other underperforming vinyl assets this year. In December 2025, the company ceased approximately 1 billion pounds per year of PVC capacity at Aberdeen, Mississippi, in the United States, while also shutting down some VCM and chlor-alkali units at Lake Charles, Louisiana; the related shutdown plans are expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2027.

The company attributes the Cologne plant closure to weak demand in the European chemical market, high energy costs, and increasing import pressure from Asia. Westlake also expects average PVC and polyethylene prices in the third quarter of 2026 to be lower than in the second quarter, with its European vinyl business continuing to be in a profitability adjustment phase.