Norcros Adhesives has announced it is ceasing operations. All 70 jobs at the tile adhesive and grout manufacturer are to be terminated.
The closure process will be put into effect immediately, although the business says it will continue to manufacture in the short term to fulfil any important outstanding orders. Customers will be contacted to discuss any current or future purchase order commitments.
According to managing director Simon Poe, despite implementing a programme of profit improvement measures, the Stoke-on-Trent business has unfortunately continued to be loss-making.
“All legal liabilities will be met in full, and the closure will be managed accordingly,” says Poe.
As reported in the Stoke Sentinel, Chief executive officer Nick Kelsall said: “We deeply regret that we are having to take this action, and it’s not something that we have come to lightly. Unfortunately, despite implementing a number of profit-improvement programmes, the business remains loss-making, and we have been left with no other option than to close the business. It was with a heavy heart and deep regret that we announced the decision to our employees on Wednesday.”
“We started this business in the early 2000s and have grown it. Unfortunately due to the global situation with the cost inflation of our raw materials, which have increased significantly over the last few years as our suppliers face increased costs, we can’t get the business into profit. It is a regrettable situation and we are trying to manage the closure as sympathetically as we can.”
Founded 20 years ago, Norcros Adhesives produced tile adhesives, grouts and floor products for consumers (with its NX brand), builders merchants, tile distributors and the specification sector. The company also had a strong sustainability platform, having won the TTA’s Best Environmental Initiative award three times running in recent years.
Sister company Johnson Tiles, the UK’s sole remaining volume tile manufacturer which operates from an adjacent site, is reportedly unaffected by the closure of Norcros Adhesives.
Picture: Simon Pöe
