Agfa reorganizes media capacity

Agfa-Gevaert Group is consolidating its x-ray film production facilities. The plan involves bringing all related U.S. x-ray film production activity to the company's Bushy Park, SC, facility and closing down operations at its Brevard, NC, manufacturing facility by year's end. The action reflects a market shift from medical screen-film to dry hard-copy media and the need to realize worldwide manufacturing efficiencies. It also reflects the company's transition to more environmentally friendly products, according to Robert S. Pryor, president of Agfa HealthCare, Americas. The Brevard facility manufactures aqueous-coated medical x-ray film. North American product demand is shifting from that product to solvent-coated hard-copy media, Pryor said. To keep the Brevard facility in tune with North American customer demands, the company would have to invest in solvent-coating capability, which Pryor described as "financially unattractive." Instead, the company can structure operations in Bushy Park to support North American customers' demand for high-quality diagnostic x-ray film, along with other film and media products. The consolidation is part of a larger, global efficiency initiative that began last year. Facilities in Germany, Belgium, Spain, and the U.K. have also been affected.