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Pennsylvania’s Antitrust Efforts to Save Charleroi Pyrex Plant Hit Legal Roadblock

By  |  November 17, 2024

Pennsylvania’s efforts to block a private equity firm from shutting down a historic Pyrex glassware plant in Charleroi and moving its operations to Ohio have suffered a setback. According to a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Nicholas Ranjan in Pittsburgh, the state failed to provide sufficient grounds to justify halting the plant’s closure, allowing the planned relocation to proceed, per Reuters.

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    Judge Ranjan’s decision, issued on Thursday, denies Pennsylvania’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have delayed Centre Lane Holdings and its affiliate Anchor Hocking from closing the Charleroi facility and transferring its equipment to Lancaster, Ohio. According to Reuters, Pennsylvania’s attorney general had argued that the relocation could violate antitrust laws by reducing competition in the glass bakeware market. However, the judge noted that the state had not demonstrated that this move would restrict production capacity or increase consumer prices.

    The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office expressed disappointment with the ruling but emphasized that the lawsuit is ongoing. “The decision makes clear that the case is not over, so our antitrust litigation will go on,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement cited by Reuters. The litigation comes in response to Centre Lane’s acquisition of Corelle Brands—including Pyrex—in March 2024, which was subsequently transferred to Anchor Hocking, an asset already under Centre Lane’s management.

    In September, Anchor Hocking announced its intention to shut down the Charleroi plant and relocate its equipment to its Lancaster facility. Pennsylvania antitrust regulators sought to halt the closure to investigate whether the merger could harm both workers and consumers. As part of the legal filings, Pennsylvania claimed that hundreds of employees and millions of customers might suffer negative consequences if the plant closes.

    Anchor Hocking, meanwhile, said it had offered Charleroi employees the opportunity to transfer to Lancaster, including a “generous benefits package for the transition.” According to Reuters, Centre Lane and Anchor Hocking argued in court that “antitrust law is not the solution to an aging factory and a manufacturing decline caused by robust, low-cost, global competition.”

    Ranjan encouraged both parties to negotiate an agreement regarding job relocation and other concerns related to the plant’s operation. The Charleroi facility, which began producing Pyrex bakeware under Corning Glass Works in 1936, holds a significant place in the history of American glass manufacturing.

    The case, titled Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Centre Lane Partners et al, will continue in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, leaving the door open for further proceedings as Pennsylvania pursues its antitrust claims.

    Source: Reuters