In late July, Italian nylon giant RadiciGroup formally notified unions of a restructuring plan for its Novara production site.
The facility, operated by subsidiary Radici Chimica, is the group’s core vertically integrated base for PA66 production. The restructuring centres on shutting down three key chemical units at the site – adipic acid, nitric acid and MAB – all of which are essential intermediate production lines for PA66. The plant currently employs between 287 and nearly 300 people; the capacity reduction will directly affect 140 jobs, nearly half the workforce.
The Novara plant has posted heavy losses for three consecutive years. Intense market competition from low‑cost Asian nylon capacity, persistently high European energy and raw material prices, and weakening demand in the automotive, textile and construction sectors have combined to create a structurally soft market.
After an assessment, the group concluded that there is no viable path to restore profitability at the Novara adipic acid line. In a statement, the company said: “The most responsible course is not to keep running a heavily loss‑making production unit that is subject to the Seveso Directive and located close to a major urban centre, but rather to concentrate resources on the future development of the site and on personnel support.”
Radici Chimica had previously joined Germany’s Lanxess in filing a complaint that led the EU to impose anti‑dumping duties of 29.1% to 42.3% on Chinese adipic acid imports on 5 May 2026. The EU estimated that total adipic acid imports from outside the bloc were worth about €160 million, of which roughly €130 million came from China.
Even so, RadiciGroup acknowledged that the duties are not enough to stop Chinese imports from continuing to pressure European producers: “Similar products from China and the United States in the nylon supply chain are now being sold below our variable costs.”
Italy’s chemical industry unions are awaiting the social plan that the company has promised to submit by 14 September, which will set out specific measures to safeguard jobs and handle redundancies. The Novara city government has convened a council committee meeting and said it would “commit with maximum effort to protecting workers’ rights”, while exploring solutions such as early retirement and redeployment.
In 2026, RadiciGroup’s specialty chemicals and high‑performance polymers businesses were formally acquired by US private equity fund Lone Star Funds, and the Novara plant was part of that acquisition. Lone Star also acquired the engineering materials business of Belgium‑based DOMO Group. By combining the two highly complementary operations, Lone Star is building a global, independent compounding platform.
The Novara shutdown represents a strategic contraction under the new owner, shifting focus towards higher‑value‑added modified plastics and gradually divesting loss‑making basic chemical intermediate capacity in Europe. RadiciGroup will secure raw material supply through its Zeitz site in Germany and overseas bases in Asia‑Pacific, while continuing to expand its modified materials business through its plants in Suzhou, China, and North America.
