Eastman To Close Workington Acetate Tow Site

KINGSPORT - Eastman Chemical Co. announced Wednesday it has decided to close its Workington, U.K., acetate tow manufacturing site.Production at the site will cease in April, and site closure is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015, Eastman said in a prepared release. Earlier this year, Eastman entered a consultation process with employee and union representatives in response to changes in global market demand for acetate tow.The Workington site has 24,000 metric tons of acetate tow manufacturing capacity.