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No One Will Say If Plant To Reopen

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: October 15, 2008

PLANT CITY - Union representatives for workers at a Plant City manufacturing plant said the company has locked the gates on the facility, putting 160 people out of a job.

Golden Aluminum Extrusions, 1605 Alumax Drive, is a sister company to Golden Aluminum Inc., a manufacturer of rolled aluminum based in Colorado. Some of the investors of Golden Aluminum Inc. last October purchased plants, including the one in Plant City, from Alcoa and Excel Aluminum, an Alcoa subsidiary.

After renegotiating a contract with former Alcoa employees and attempting to make the plant a viable part of the world aluminum market, the plant closed Oct. 3 without advance notice to the workers.

Johnny Parrish, president of United Steel Workers Local 7858 Union, said the union gave the new management sizable concessions to keep the plant in operation.

"It seems like it was all a lost cause from the beginning," Parrish said. "The failing economy and the lack of financial support from the mortgage holder was apparently too much for the company to overcome. Not only are we out of work, many of our workers have lost vacation pay and other benefits due them.

"Medical coverage has been denied, and the workers are finding it difficult to enter the plant to retrieve personal items."

Allen Cain, the president of Golden Aluminum Extrusions, wouldn't say why the plant closed or if it would reopen.

"We regret the closing of the business," Cain said a week ago.

A spokesman for Golden Aluminum in Colorado couldn't be reached for comment.

The factory, which covers 400,000 square feet on 27 acres, opened in 1970 and was one of the city's largest employers. The plant's products included transportation and industrial materials and patio doors and windows.

Union staff worker Frank Bragg said Cain was working without pay and doing his best under trying circumstances. Cain, who remains at the plant, is helping set up times for workers to retrieve personal items.

Parrish said the current crisis began during the first week of September.

"It seemed strange, but management called us and said there was a gas line rupture and the plant would be shut down for a couple of days," Parrish said. "Then a few days later we were told the company was in financial trouble and they hadn't paid their gas bill. It turns out they haven't been paying any of their vendors for a while.

"Then Wells Fargo Bank denied them a loan to continue operations and management said the plant would remain down until the finances were settled."

Bragg said that on Oct. 3, without warning, the plant was shut down to all employees except Cain.

"That is when we were told about the two-hour window to retrieve personal items," Bragg said. "The problem was there was no attempt by management to contact the employees. We scrambled around the best we could and notified about 60 percent of the workers."

George Guthrie, a United Way employee who works as a liaison with the AFL/CIO to provide information services to union employees, has been contacted by Parrish and Bragg. United Steel Workers Local 7858 is part of the AFL/CIO.

"We help workers move forward and provide information that will help them adjust to a changing financial situation," Guthrie said. "We provide contacts and information that help employees make the best use of the financial resources they have available to them. We give them contacts for legal and financial advice that might be helpful to them in their new circumstances."

The aluminum plant has operated at the location off Sydney Road under several owners. Several generations of workers have made a good living at the plant.

"Now we will have to see if the plant will ever reopen," Bragg said.

Leland Lorentzn, president of Golden Aluminum Inc., said the economy in general is affecting many manufacturing companies. He said there are no financial ties between his company and the Plant City factory, although some of the investors are the same.

"Vendors and manufacturers are all hurting in today's economy," Lorentzn said. "The mortgage holder for Golden Aluminum Extrusion, Wells Fargo Bank, has the majority of control in the financial matters they are now facing."

Lorentzn said he had no idea what the ultimate outcome might be at the plant.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451.

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