LOCAL BUSINESS
Omnova profit jumps
Omnova Solutions Inc., the Fairlawn surfaces and laminates maker and supplier of specialty chemicals, said its profit jumped to $7.9 million, or 17 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, up from $700,000, or 1 cent per share, for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Revenues for the fourth quarter fell roughly 7.7 percent to $234.4 million from $253.9 million last year.
Adjusted income from continuing operations was $5.5 million, or 12 cents a share, for the fourth quarter of this year.
The company said it had stronger results in engineered surfaces, which had its best quarter and full-year operating profit since 2001 and that overall it saw “encouraging signs” in areas such as oil and gas exploration, automotive and transportation.
PPG fined $69,000
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined PPG Industries $69,000 and issued three citations against the company for a fatal accident last year at the company’s Barberton plant.
Wendy Breiding, 51, of Barberton, died after becoming entangled in an unprotected spindle winder in July.
“It’s unacceptable that PPG Industries failed to ensure adequate machine guards were in use and that the equipment was properly de-energized,” Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland, said Wednesday in a prepared statement.
The federal agency issued one “willful citation” for failure to ensure machine guarding was provided to protect the operator and other employees working in the machine area from its hazards.
A willful violation is committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for, or plain indifference to, employee safety and health, OSHA said.
The agency also issued two serious citations to PPG Industries for failure to use lockout/tagout procedures and ensure equipment was de-energized before servicing equipment.
The company also failed to conduct periodic inspections of authorized employees on lockout/tagout procedures, the agency said.
PPG, which manufactures optical products and silicas at the facility, has 15 business days to respond to the citations. The company said it intends to cooperate with OSHA and local authorities.
The company employs 160 at Barberton.
RPM buys coatings business
RPM International Inc., the Medina maker of coatings and sealants, said its Rust-Oleum Group has acquired Citadel Restoration and Repair Inc., a producer and marketer of concrete and wood deck floor coatings for professional contractor and do-it-yourself (DIY) markets. Citadel, headquartered in North St. Paul, Minn., has annual sales of about $10 million. Terms were not disclosed.
The company’s Citadel brand is marketed to professional contractors; its Rock Solid brand is targeted to the DIY market.
Earlier this month, RPM boosted its full-year earnings estimates 13 percent to 15 percent following strong second-quarter results. The holding company said it sees continued improvement in the U.S. residential housing market and ongoing benefits from recent acquisitions and new product introductions. The company increased its full-year earnings-per-share guidance to a range of $2.05 to $2.10, or 13 percent to 15 percent year-over-year growth, versus the earlier forecast of $2 to $2.07.
Goodyear deal reached
Striking workers at a Goodyear tire plant in France agreed to accept severance pay that they said was three times bigger than what the company had initially offered, clearing the way for the facility to close.
The agreement “provides significant improvements in benefits to be received by employees as part of the closure of the plant” in Amiens, about 93 miles north of Paris.
The CGT, the dominant union at the facility, agreed to end the occupation of the plant and halt legal action meant to delay its closing.
The company did not disclose the terms of the settlement with the plant’s 1,173 workers, but a union statement said Goodyear had agreed to pay “three times more severance for all employees” than had been proposed as part of a plan announced in 2012. A news channel in France cited a union lawyer as saying that the payout would be about $163,000 to $176,000 per worker.
Paolo Ghilardi, a spokesman for Goodyear in France, said the company would have no comment beyond the statement.
Compiled from staff and wire reports