The owners of a factory in south Wales with 96 staff have announced its closure due to “difficult conditions” in the industry.

Belgium-based Tessenderlo Group said there was no “viable path forward” for its PB Leiner plant in Treforest, Rhondda Cynon Taf, blaming “difficult market conditions” for its bone gelatin which is used in food manufacture.

The GMB union called the plans a “potential hammer blow” for the area, pledging to fight for the best deal for their members.

Tessenderlo will begin a consolation process, and although it said no final decisions had been made, the company regretted “that this announcement may bring unrest and uncertainty to our people and community”.

“We regret that this announcement may bring unrest and uncertainty to our people and community for the coming times,” the company said of the closure in Treforest and a restructure of its Vilvoorde site in Belgium.

“The company believes that the European bone gelatin will continue to experience difficult market conditions.

“Given these ongoing challenges, combined with the need for substantial further investments to maintain an efficient production, we find the European bone gelatin business lacking any viable path forward,” the company added.

GMB regional organiser Gareth Morgans said: “This factory has been here in Treforest for generations.

“This would be a real hammer blow for the local community.”

He said the potential to lose “more good, unionised, manufacturing jobs” is a “disaster and would leave another scar in the history of Wales deindustrialisation.

“No decisions have been made yet, and GMB will fight… for the best deal for our members.”