BOLTON METAL: Most of 94-year-old Bellefonte facility to shut down
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February 2, 2008
BELLEFONTE — Bolton Metal Products announced Friday it is shutting down its brass rod business, eliminating almost all of the 200 jobs at its Bellefonte plant.
Bolton Metal Products has announced that it is selling its brass rods business and shutting down almost all of the Bellefonte plant’s operations. Almost 200 jobs will be lost.
The company, which was Cerro Metal Products until it was acquired by United Kingdom- based Bolton MKM a year ago, has been a fixture in the Bellefonte area for 94 years. Employment at the plant along Logan Branch reached a high of about 1,200 in the late 1970s and early 1980s — second only to Penn State at the time.
“The facility was synonymous with Bellefonte and Bellefonte history,” said Chip Aikens, executive director of the Bellefonte Intervalley Area Chamber of Commerce.
When Bolton acquired it last February, 300 people worked at the plant at 2022 Axemann Road. On Dec. 31, the company laid off 78 union employees and some additional staff.
Bolton President John Hussa on Friday declined to provide any information beyond that contained in a news release issued by the company.
“We have no further comment,” he said.
The news release stated that: “Employee meetings will be held to facilitate a safe and orderly shutdown of the Bolton brass business.”
At 3 p.m., when shift change would normally occur, there were only about a dozen cars in the plant parking lot. The only employee who appeared around that time said he had “no comment.”
A union representative could not be reached for comment Friday.
The plant manufactured brass rod, wire and low-melt alloys for the plumbing, hardware, valve and fitting, electronics and other industries.
According to the news release, Bolton sold certain operating assets of its brass rod business to Chase Brass and Copper Co., a subsidiary of Global Brass and Copper Inc.
The release noted that Global Brass, a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, operates a fully-mechanized brass rod facility in Montpelier, Ohio.
The specifics of the sale were not immediately available Friday. A call to KPS for comment was not returned.
In a news release on its Web site, KPS stated: “Chase Brass will service the customers of Bolton Metal, and GBC intends to move certain equipment to the Chase Brass rod facility in Montpelier, Ohio.”
It also stated that the Bellefonte brass rod manufacturing facility closed Friday.
Bolton stated in its news release that the Bellefonte plant has stopped accepting new brass orders, but that low-melt products will continue to be manufactured there.
An employee who was among those laid off on Dec. 31 said Friday that low-melt production accounted for only six or seven jobs at the end of the year.
It’s a vastly different picture from a year ago, when Bolton announced its acquisition.
“When Bolton came to town, we really had high hopes they could salvage the plant, but it’s difficult to compete with low-wage markets,” Aikens said.
When December layoffs were announced, Hussa said they were part of a strategy to implement a new business model to develop specialized brass products, sizes and alloys at the Bellefonte plant.
Hussa said the job cuts would secure the plant’s future amid a declining U.S. brass market facing increased pressure and declining demand.
Aikens said that news of the shutdown Friday was devastating, particularly for Bolton employees and their families.
“A lot of these guys started there right out of high school and don’t have any other skills,” he said. “This is simply devastating.”
Bolton’s news release said that the company’s decision to close follows a “strategic review of the business, taking into account the declining volumes available in the market place.”
“I suppose with the economy taking a downtown that it is, it’s not a shock, but it’s a very unpleasant announcement,” said Centre County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jon Eich. “This has been a long downward spiral.”
Commissioner Rich Rogers said this is a sad day for the county and an especially sad day for those in Bellefonte. He said he has friends and family who have worked at the facility over the years.
“My heart goes out to the employees there that have put virtually their entire lives into the industry there,” he said.
In December, Hussa said the average age of Bolton employees was 58.
Rogers said workers previously laid off from Bolton have had difficulty finding new positions with comparable wages and benefits.
“It’s my hope we can begin to attract business and industry to our area at a greater pace than we may be doing,” Eich said. He said he hoped Bolton would consider donating the property back to the community.
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