Falling oil prices have resulted in the layoff of approximately 80 workers from a plastics recycling company with locations in Gainesville and Gwinnett County.

Sundance Products recycles industrial waste and turns it into plastic pellets

"We had to respond to the current market. Our products are tied in to the oil prices," said Jim Frentheway, director of human resources for Sundance Products.

The company operates two Gainesville plants — one on Athens Street and another on Candler Highway.

Frentheway said the drop in oil prices made the cost of new or virgin plastic more economical. "Recycled products make the margins so close. Right now, new product is more attractive to our customers at this point in time," he said. "We hope that will change soon."

He said when oil prices were at record highs a few months ago, the company’s goods were in high demand.

The layoffs involved both hourly and salaried workers, most of whom were told on Friday.

Sundance Products was founded in 1989 on Athens Street. The company later added its headquarters and second manufacturing facility on Candler Highway. A third location in Buford opened in 2005.

In 2006, a 70 percent stake in the company was sold to Soin Capital, a private multinational holding company based in Dayton, Ohio.

Soin, headed by Rajesh K. Soin, has a variety of holdings, among them is Composite Technologies Co., a manufacturer of custom compression molded thermoplastic and thermoset composite materials for consumer and industrial applications.