The closure will affect 122 employees.
Production and service for the customers currently provided from the Weldon plant will be transferred to other Flambeau operations based on product type, asset requirements, and customer proximity. Operations at the Weldon plant are expected to be discontinued in, and transferred from, Weldon by June 30.
Flambeau has completed a number of significant increases and improvements in its manufacturing base in the last two years including the acquisition and expansion of its Phoenix, Arizona facility and acquisition of its Sharon Center, Ohio operation.
However, following the recent closure of its Redlands, California, plant further analysis revealed that closing the Weldon operation would help Flambeau effectively meet its customer requirements while also better matching utilization levels for the remaining plants with overall near-term and future demand requirements.
Jason Sauey, chairman and CEO of Flambeau said, “While we would rather keep all our plants open and active we have found that sluggish general economic conditions, particularly with respect to demand for domestic blow-molded products, make it unlikely we will soon achieve an acceptable utilization level for our company’s total blow-molded capacity and associated fixed cost structure.
“This fact combined with Weldon’s more distant proximity to our major customers and markets compared with our other Flambeau facilities were the primary elements that made the case for the closure of the Weldon operation.”
David Burke, operations manager for the Flambeau-Weldon facility, was lauded for the results and performance he achieved as well as the high level of operational effectiveness the Weldon plant maintained under his leadership. Sauey noted, “I want to thank David Burke and his leadership team as well as all Weldon associates who have applied themselves in such a dedicated manner and helped us endure through significant challenges and achieve better results than we otherwise might have.”
Burke has agreed to stay on in his role at least through the time the plant ceases operations to insure the transition is completed effectively and all affected employees and customers are taken care of appropriately.
Faced with the reality of the decision at hand, Sauey said, “When we acquired the Airmold division of W.R. Grace back in 1994 we had every expectation of making a permanent home for that business in Weldon, North Carolina. Unfortunately, life sometimes provides circumstances that force us to make changes and adapt in a way other than how we expected. This is one of those moments.”
Flambeau has completed communications with the associates at the Weldon operation and is further engaged in helping them make transitions in their career pursuits while also providing for a smooth transfer of ongoing business with customers.
The company’s remaining facilities in Baraboo, Wisconsin; Columbus, Indiana; Middlefield, Ohio; Sharon Center; Ohio; Madison, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona; Saltillo, Mexico, and Ramsgate, England provide many options from which to service customers effectively without any interruption.
Flambeau has begun a communications process with all its customers to inform them of their new manufacturing and service locations. “We expect to have communication clearly completed with all our customers by the end of this week,” assured Dave Schoell, Flambeau’s vice president of sales and marketing for its Industrial Markets and Packaging Group.
