Novolex to shut down Henrico County facility, laying off 118

Plastic bag maker Hilex Poly, a subsidiary of Charlotte, North Carolina-based packaging company Novolex, announced this week that it plans to permanently close its Henrico County facility, laying off 118 workers.

Hilex notified the state of the layoffs in a May 11 letter filed under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The letter said the company had decided to permanently close its facility at 2800 Sprouse Drive in eastern Henrico, resulting in permanent job eliminations for employees at the site. Layoffs are expected to begin July 14 and be completed by Sept. 11.

The employees do not have bumping rights.

“We have decided to close our Richmond, Virginia manufacturing facility to optimize our operating footprint to better match our capacity with industry demand and position the company for sustained profitable growth,” Novolex Vice President of Government Affairs Philip Rozenski said in a email. “We are committed to supporting impacted employees throughout this process, working with local officials on managing the Richmond closure, and partnering with the state of Virginia.”

Rozenski did not respond to further questions about the closure. According to the letter, affected employees include operators, mechanics, packaging associates, managers, maintenance workers, coordinators, supervisors and inspectors.

County property records show the site includes a nearly 149,000-square-foot building, constructed in 1991 and expanded in 1999, with approximately 133,900 square feet of warehouse space and about 15,000 square feet of office space. Loopnet has listed the 10.73-acre site for lease on its website.

According to Plastics News, the location opened in 1993 as part of Vanguard Plastics’ effort to build a national manufacturing network, with the company at the time describing itself as the second-largest plastic bag maker in the country. Hilex Poly acquired Vanguard in 2005.

Chicago-based private equity firm Wind Point Partners acquired Hilex Poly in 2012 and later reorganized its packaging businesses under the Novolex name in 2014. Novolex was sold to The Carlyle Group in 2016. In 2022, New York-based asset management firm Apollo Global Management acquired a majority stake in the company.

Novolex manufactures food, beverage and specialty packaging for customers across a wide range of industries, including foodservice, restaurant delivery and carryout, food processing, grocery and retail and industrial sectors. The company operates more than 100 locations and employs about 23,000 people worldwide, with seven regional distribution centers and more than 250 brands.