117-year-old U.S. manufacturer shuttered by Puerto Rican parent

117-year-old U.S. manufacturer shuttered by Puerto Rican parent A longtime U.S. plastics manufacturer with operations in three states including New York shocked workers Monday with an announcement that the firm's Puerto Rican owners were shuttering the firm for good.
   Officials at Baldwinsville, N.Y.-based Syroco Inc. cited the rising costs of raw materials and production as a reason for owners shuttering the firm's operations in New York, Arkansas, and California.
   The closure of the 117-year-old firm leaves 370 workers across three states without jobs. It comes less than three years after its $40 million purchase by Puerto Rican plastics conglomerate Industrias Vassallo Inc. Headquartered in Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico, Vassallo reported $50 million in profit last year.
   Syroco was a leading U.S. producer of PVC fittings, plastic outdoor furniture and resin household decorations with clients such as Target, Sam's Club, Lowes and Walgreens.
   Workers were let go on Monday and the company's Web site had been shut down as of this morning.
   Since the Monday announcement, more than a dozen Central New York businesses have contacted the firm asking to hire the 154 workers laid off at the firm's Van Buren, N.Y. facility.