Losses for three consecutive years! Radici shuts down core PA66 raw material plant in Italy

This restructuring plan involves the shutdown of three key chemical units within the plant: adipic acid, nitric acid, and MAB. The aforementioned units are production lines to essential intermediates in PA66 manufacturing. The plant currently employs nearly 300 people, and this capacity adjustment will immediately affect 140 jobs.

The Group stated that the Novara factory has incurred significant losses to three consecutive years, with operational pressure stemming from multiple external and sector factors:

· Fierce market competition brought by low-cost capacity in the Asian nylon sector chain;

· prolonged high-level operation of energy and basic raw material prices in Europe;

· Continued weakening demand in the three major downstream terminal industries of automotive, textile, and construction, forming a structural softness.

After a thorough assessment, the adipic acid production line at the site has no feasibility of returning to profitability, and the Group has chosen to shut down inefficient units, concentrating resources to coordinate the remaining business of the site and the resettlement of employees.

Review of the Century-Old Nylon Giant's Full sector Chain Layout, Constructing a Global PA66 Integrated Map

Radici is a century-old enterprise deeply cultivated in the polyamide field, having fully opened up the entire chain production from chemical intermediates such as adipic acid and PA6/PA66 monomers to engineering plastics and chemical fiber yarns. The history of its manufacturing chain layout is clear:

1986: The founder acquired the original Montedison Novara factory and established Radici Chimica, officially entering the chemical intermediate track and building the foundation to regional PA66 raw material production in Europe;

1992: A new HMDA unit was built at the Novara site, completing the capacity to the two core monomers of PA66. The Group achieved independent mass production of PA66 resin, extending the manufacturing chain from textile fibers upstream to chemical raw materials;

2001: The adipic acid factory in Zeitz, Germany, went into operation. This base remains the leading adipic acid production site in Europe in terms of methodology to this day, forming a "Italy Germany" dual raw material base pattern;

2003-2006: Established a trading company in Shanghai, followed by setting up the Radici Engineering Plastics (Suzhou) base. The Suzhou factory gradually grew into the group's largest production base globally, with a thorough layout in the Asia-Pacific market;

2016: Acquired Invista's PA66 modified plastics business, significantly expanding market share in North America. Invista subsequently focused on nylon resin raw material production, and the two parties formed a differentiated competition;

2026: The company's specialty chemicals and high-performance polymers division was acquired by US private equity firm Lone Star, simultaneously incorporating the engineering materials business of Belgium's DOMO Group. The integration of these two complementary assets created a global independent modified plastics platform.

Change of Ownership in Business Segments Combined with European Cost Pressures, Capacity Contraction Becomes a Core Strategic Action

The shutdown of the Novara units is not an isolated event, however a strategic contraction under the dual background of changes in the Group's equity and regional cost imbalances.

From an external ecological stability perspective, the European chemical sector has long been suppressed by high energy costs. regional intermediate production has a significant cost disadvantage compared to integrated factories in Asia; domestic downstream demand recovery is sluggish, and coupled with the continuous emit and export of Asian PA66 capacity, the profit margins of European regional raw material factories continue to be compressed.

From the corporate capital perspective, following the sale of the Group's high-performance polyamide business in 2026, the new shareholder Lone Star is integrating global modified materials assets. The research focus is shifting towards high value-added modified plastics, gradually divesting loss-making basic chemical intermediate capacity in Europe. It relies on the Zeitz base in Germany and overseas bases in the Asia-Pacific to ensure raw material supply, optimizing global capacity allocation.

sector analysis points out that following the shutdown of the Novara adipic acid unit, Radici will rely on the German base to stabilize raw material supply in the European region, while relying on its Suzhou, China and North American factories to deeply cultivate the modified materials market, weakening inefficient regional basic chemical capacity in Europe and completing the cost reduction and reconstruction of the global manufacturing chain.