Basel, Switzerland-based Lonza said it will shut down its Swords plant near Dublin, Ireland which the company says has experienced a low capacity utilization for some time with no foreseeable change to this trend.

In early March of this year, Lonza informed its 32 employees and 11 contracted staff at the Swords facility about the closure of the site. Swords was part of Arch Chemicals Inc. which Lonza acquired in October 2011 and manufactures biocides for metal working fluids and marine anti-fouling paints since 1966. The Swords plant is expected to cease its activities in June 2013. Lonza will transfer all products manufactured in Swords to other operations within Lonza’s global network, mainly to its plants in Rochester, NY and Suzhou, China. Lonza states that with its two larger well established sites in Rochester and Suzhou global demand can be met effectively in the years to come.

Lonza acquired the Swords plant in 2011 when it acquired Norwalk, Connecticut-based biocides maker Arch Chemicals in a $1.2 billion deal.

In the first quarter 2013, Lonza’s said its business performance was solid and in line with expectations. While the Specialty Ingredients market segment showed a good performance, the Pharma&Biotech market segment had a slow start as anticipated. Performance for 2013 will be geared towards a stronger second half-year 2013. Lonza reiterates its 2013 EBIT guidance growth of approximately 10%.

Lonza, with its main US office in Atlanta, GA, produces and markets additives and biocides/fungicides for metalworking fluid under the OMADINE, TRIADINE, OMACIDE, Proxel and Densil brand names.