About 100 workers north of Denver are expected to lose their jobs after Intertape Polymer Group said this week it plans to close its Brighton tape-manufacturing plant at the end of the year.
The tape and packaging company, with headquarters in Montreal and Quebec, Canada, saw a 15.6 percent drop in sales for the first three months of the year, compared with the same time last year, according to a first-quarter earnings report released this week.
That translated into a loss of 24 cents per share, compared with earnings of 15 cents per share for the same period in 2005.
At the same time, the company reported sales of $216.9 million in the first quarter, bolstered by its purchase of packaging and lamination company Flexia Corp. in October. Flexia is based in Ontario, Canada.
“This facility rationalization will strengthen the company,” Melbourne Yull, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Intertape company officials did not return phone calls Wednesday.
The company plans to spend about $13.6 million to close the Brighton plant. It also recently closed its bulk-container-manufacturing plant in Piedras Negras, Mexico.
Yull is expected to retire in June. He may cash in about $1.5 million in stock options and up to $2 million in pension benefits, the earnings report said.
Staff writer Beth Potter can be reached at 303-820-1503 or bpotter@denverpost.com.
