A glass manufacturing plant in Wigan, UK could close.
Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) has started a strategic review of its composites business Electric Glass Fibre UK.
NEG said its UK composites arm had been 'facing a challenging competitive environment with high prices for raw materials, energy, and logistics costs' that had led to a reduction in sales.
The company added: "This review is part of our ongoing efforts to recover performance."
The Wigan site produces fibreglass that is used to reinforce plastic for composites found in wind turbine blades and electric cars.
The review will last for two months.
The Electric Glass Fibre business made a loss of £3.47m in 2023, according to its most recent financial accounts, compared with a profit of £7.4m in 2022.
The company said in its accounts that its profits had fallen because of 'lower customer demand resulting from competition from Chinese imports' as well as other factors including higher costs for raw materials.
NEG said it would consider various options during its strategic review of the fibreglass factory, including selling the business or 'forming strategic partnerships'.
NEG said that if it was not successful in finding a partner or a buyer, it would consider potentially closing down the business' operations.
