Trinseo Announces Potential Closure of Stade, Germany Virgin Polycarbonate Manufacturing Facility

Trinseo (“Trinseo” or “the Company”) (NYSE: TSE), a specialty material solutions provider, today announced it has initiated an information and consultation process with the Works Council of Trinseo Deutschland Anlagengesellschaft mbH regarding the potential closure of its virgin polycarbonate (“PC”) production site in Stade, Germany. The Company expects to seek board approval of the closure in 2024 following the Works Council consultation process. If an agreement is reached, Trinseo will no longer produce virgin PC and will obtain PC for its downstream businesses entirely via external purchases. In comparison to 2023 results, the action is expected to increase annual profitability by $15 million to $20 million.

“Unfortunately, we continue to see demand soften, and price declines due to the oversupply caused by offshore producers pushing material into the EMEA market. We anticipate these conditions to continue in 2024 and beyond. Additionally, our fixed operating costs at Stade are significant, placing a further strain on our financial viability at this location,” said CEO, Frank Bozich.

In the third quarter 2023 earnings call, the Company identified Stade as a potential location for a PC dissolution facility. The Company is committed to the integration and application of modern recycling technologies, such as PC dissolution and depolymerization, to help customers develop more sustainable product offerings. Trinseo is exploring numerous options for viable locations to ensure recycling plants are both resilient and adaptive to customer requirements. Developing commercial scale operations in recycling remains a key pillar of the business strategy moving forward as evidenced by the polycarbonate-dissolution pilot facility recently opened in Terneuzen, the Netherlands.

About Trinseo
Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), a specialty material solutions provider, partners with companies to bring ideas to life in an imaginative, smart, and sustainably focused manner by combining its premier expertise, forward-looking innovations, and best-in-class materials to unlock value for companies and consumers. From design to manufacturing, Trinseo taps into decades of experience in diverse material solutions to address customers’ unique challenges in a wide range of industries, including building and construction, consumer goods, medical and mobility.

Trinseo’s approximately 3,100 employees bring endless creativity to reimagining the possibilities with clients all over the world from the company’s locations in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Trinseo reported net sales of approximately $3.7 billion in 2023. Discover more by visiting www.trinseo.com and connecting with Trinseo on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and WeChat.

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This press release may contain forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, projections, forecasts, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are not statements of historical facts or guarantees or assurances of future performance. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “will,” “may,” “might,” “see,” “tend,” “assume,” “potential,” “likely,” “target,” “plan,” “contemplate,” “seek,” “attempt,” “should,” “could,” “would” or expressions of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s evaluation of information currently available and are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy, our current indebtedness, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Factors that might cause future results to differ from those expressed by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability to successfully implement proposed restructuring initiatives and to successfully generate cost savings through restructuring and cost reduction initiatives; our ability to successfully execute our business and transformation strategy; increased costs or disruption in the supply of raw materials; deterioration of our credit profile limiting our access to commercial credit; increased energy costs; compliance with laws and regulations impacting our business; any disruptions in production at our chemical manufacturing facilities, including those resulting from accidental spills or discharges; conditions in the global economy and capital markets; our current and future levels of indebtedness and ability to service our debt; our ability to meet the covenants under our existing indebtedness; our ability to generate cash flows from operations; and those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, under Part I, Item 1A —"Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our other reports, filings and furnishings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. As a result of these or other factors, our actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Therefore, we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

The descriptions and statements in the document are subject to ongoing discussions and subject to compliance with the applicable information and consultation rights of employee representatives / works councils.

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Contact information

Trinseo
Andy Myers, Investor Relations
Tel: +1 610-240-3221
Email: aemyers@trinseo.com

Contact:
Trinseo
Brian Risinger, Corporate Communications
Tel: +1 704-460-1827
Email: brisinger@trinseo.com