Permacel closing will affect 150 workers
Fourth plant closing brings local job-loss
total to 800
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff The Route 1 Permacel facility will be the fourth manufacturing plant to cease operations in North Brunswick this year.

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Another Route 1 manufacturing facility will pack up and leave this year.

Permacel will close its 75-year-old North Brunswick production plant by the year’s end, eliminating up to 150 jobs, according to the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Craig Markel.

"We are very aware of how difficult this plant closing will be for our employees and their families," Markel said.

Permacel’s human resources team will direct the affected employees to state and federal programs that help laid-off workers with job training and acquiring new jobs, Markel said.

Stating that the facility no longer met the needs of Permacel, Markel said the company plans to sell the property. The plant’s production will transfer to other locations in the United States and in other countries, Markel said. The company has another manufacturing plant in Lakewood, and in Japan, Belgium, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Originally founded in 1927 as a division of Johnson & Johnson to produce and market masking tapes, Permacel became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nitto Denko Corp. in 1988 for the express purpose of manufacturing and selling various industrial tapes.

Nitto Denko estimates average sales at nearly $3 billion and employs almost 4,000 people.

Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack said he wasn’t surprised by the company’s announcement to close.

"When Nitto Denko bought Permacel, they made it absolutely clear that they planned on moving," Womack said.

More than 800 employees who work in North Brunswick will lose their jobs this year as Permacel becomes the fourth township plant to close.

Johnson & Johnson and L’Oreal-USA will also cease their manufacturing operations at their Route 1 locations this year.

Marc Monseau, spokesman for Johnson & Johnson, said company officials have not determined the fate of their facility.

In February, 207 positions were already eliminated, Monseau said, adding that although almost 500 workers face termination by the end of this year, about 600 employees at the site remain unaffected by the decision.

"There are two tenant companies and several other Johnson & Johnson companies that operate out of this facility," Monseau said.

The tenants include GAF and American Express, Monseau said. DePuy, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, and Johnson & Johnson Sales and E-Johnson & Johnson still operate at the site, Monseau said.

"We still cannot speculate on what the company intends to do with the real estate," Monseau said.

L’Oreal-USA will close this spring, affecting almost 120 full- and part-time employees.

Womack said the company already has two potential buyers for the 21-acre property, but would not speculate on whether the company will sell its facility to a comparable manufacturing company.

The Snapple facility on Airport Road off Jersey Avenue will close next month, affecting 36 employees.

Womack said job loss has become an issue for the entire state, not just the township.

"We will do anything we can to help these people," Womack said.

With regard to the properties of the closing plants, Womack said his administration will work to draw comparable businesses into the existing facilities.

"We do not want any more development in this community, and we will do all we can to let these companies know that we do not want them to sell their land to developers," Womack said.

Womack has already asked Johnson & Johnson to keep its facility.

Given the location of the three company’s on Route 1, Womack speculates that even if all of the companies sold their facilities, they would not remain idle for long.

"Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) has an initiative for the Route 1 corridor to draw more research- and laboratory-oriented businesses to the area," Womack said.

Holt said his "Einstein’s Alley" program aims to draw more high-end manufacturing companies, such as pharmaceutical- and technological-based businesses, to the area.

"We are seeking to build relationships with universities and other research-based corporations to bring their operations to this area," Holt said, adding that he encourages municipalities like North Brunswick to entice small businesses to their communities.

Womack said the newly developed North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce will help to bolster support between businesses already established in town and those hoping to join the community.

"We are already re-evaluating the Jersey Avenue area of town for renovations and appropriate planning to entice small businesses as well as other manufacturing companies there," Womack said.