SGL Carbon announced on May 5 that as part of the restructuring of its loss-making carbon fiber business unit, the group has decided to close its production base in Lavradio, Portugal. Lavradio is one of the seven factories of the group's carbon fiber business unit. Currently, it has approximately 250 employees and produces acrylic fibers and carbon fiber precursors.
On February 18, 2025, SGL Carbon announced in a press release the reorganization of its carbon fiber business. The goal is to reduce loss-making business activities and focus on profitable core businesses. Separate solutions are being developed for all factories of the carbon fiber business unit, including the closure of unprofitable factories. SGL Carbon said that it was necessary to close the Lavradio factory because the demand for fiber products in Europe has dropped significantly in recent years. In addition, the global production capacity of acrylic and carbon fibers is seriously excessive, and their prices have dropped significantly. This led to a huge loss in the carbon fiber business department. Due to the higher manufacturing costs (including energy costs) in Europe compared to Asia, Lavradio's products are particularly vulnerable to competition and the decline in fiber product prices. It is expected that the market situation in Europe will not improve in the future and the manufacturing cost of fiber products will not be significantly reduced. The closure of the Lavradio factory will be carried out in several phases, and the group will closely consult with all stakeholders. The production of the factory will end in June 2025. If everything goes as planned, the factory will be fully shut down by the end of 2026. SGL Carbon will abide by the existing contracts and obligations. The future prospects of fiber production in Europe are very bad. As one of the last acrylic fiber manufacturers in Europe, we have decided to close the Lavradio factory. We informed our colleagues of the information about the closure steps today. "The first step is to suspend production. Approximately 190 employees will be affected by the layoffs," explained Dr. Stephan Buhler, a member of the management board of SGL Carbon, which is in charge of the carbon fiber business unit. Chief Executive Officer Andreas Klein added, "Given the long history of the factory, the decision to close the Lavradio factory was not easy for us." However, Lavradio has been suffering from severe losses for many years, which has imposed a heavy burden on SGL Carbon as a whole. No improvement can be seen. As the management committee, we must act in the interests of the entire SGL Carbon Group to prevent further damage. SGL Carbon stated that the group is intensively restructuring its carbon fiber business unit and developing separate solutions for all factories and business activities, which will require time and comprehensive analysis. At present, further information on future measures cannot be provided.