ECKART will be closing the production site for aluminum pastes at Porto Marghera near Venice, Italy, at the end of 2006 and relocating production to the existing European sites. ECKART has had four production sites for aluminum pastes at its disposal to date: two in the Italian towns of Rivanazzano and Porto Marghera and two in Wackersdorf and Velden, Germany. Some 38 employees are affected, though a number of them will be offered jobs in other sites where possible.

The closure of the Italian plant in Porto Marghera is a consequence of excess capacity in Europe and satisfies the adjustment measures required of the European operating sites of the Division Effect Pigments. The ECKART Group is thus concentrating on seven production sites globally, with another in China in the planning. The ALTANA Chemie Group today has five sites in Italy: Ascoli Piceno, Quattordio, Collechio, Rivanazzano and Porto Marghera. www.altanachemie.com/