InterfaceFLOR set to close UK factory

INTERFACEFLOR is planning to close its factory at Shelf, near Halifax, in a bid to save £4m. The closure could cost the jobs of up to 115 production workers.

The Shelf site, which is home to InterfaceFLOR’s UK headquarters, has the capacity to manufacture 1,600,000sqm of carpet tiles a year. The company plans to retain the headquarters in Shelf along with sales and marketing offices and R&D facilities.

The closure is part of a rationalisation plan for InterfaceFLOR’s European operations. The company wants to relocate volume production currently undertaken in Shelf to its factories in Craigavon, Northern Ireland and Scherpenzeel, Netherlands.

Lindsey Parnell, president and CEO of InterfaceFLOR in Europe, described Craigavon and Scherpenzeel as ‘world-class factories that offer the expertise and the capacity to meet the requirements of customers and to accommodate growth when the economic situation in Europe improves.’Mr Parnell said he regretted the decision to close Shelf, but he added: ‘The business case for the proposed closure is strong.’

Despite investing in high tech manufacturing technology for the Shelf facility, demand in Europe has not been strong enough to support its continuing activity, he explained. ‘By consolidating our European manufacturing operations into a smaller number of sites and taking advantage of our recent investments, we would be able to increase efficiency and achieve annual cost savings in excess of £4m.’

Mr Parnell stated: ‘We remain 100% committed to the UK market, our largest and most important in Europe. ’He added that the company hoped to avoid compulsory job losses by seeking volunteers for redundancy and by redeploying staff to other parts of the business.


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