Golden Aluminum set to close June 6

By Don Shilling

A sharp increase in aluminum prices forced the plant shutdown.

WARREN — The slowdown in the housing industry has claimed another victim — Golden Aluminum Extrusions.

The Warren plant has filed a federally mandated notice that says it will close June 6. The plant has 110 total employees, plus about 20 who were laid off previously.

The company is calling it an “idling” because it hopes to reopen the plant if market conditions improve, said Mary Frazzini, human resources manager.

“It’s a very sad day here,” she said. “This is in no way, shape or form a reflection of the employees or their hard work.

The housing market has been down for some time, but the final push to close the plant came from a sudden spike in aluminum prices, she said.

The company is paying 30 percent more for aluminum this month than it did last month. The company’s products are made of aluminum.

“We don’t have enough orders to offset the cost increase,” Frazzini said.

Golden Aluminum Extrusions bought the plant last September from Alcoa. The plant used to be known as Excel Extrusions and primarily extrudes aluminum which is made into items for home construction, such as window and door frames.

Golden takes thick sections of aluminum and produces thin strips that are sent to customers for processing.

Alcoa had been struggling with its domestic extrusion business before the sale. Workers in the Warren plant were working only 32 hours a week because of low orders.

Last year,Alcoa also sold two other extrusion plants and closed one. To replace that production, it moved its extrusion business into a joint venture with Sapa Group, which is based in Sweden but has plants in the U.S. and other countries.

Golden Aluminum Extrusions was a new company created to buy two Alcoa plants — the one in Warren and one in Plant City, Fla. The company is owned by Golden Metals of Fort Lupton, Colo. Frazzini said production from the Warren plant will be moved to the Florida plant, which has 140 employees.

Earlier this year, Indalex Aluminum Solutions closed extrusion plants in Girard and Niles, citing a downturn in orders. The closings eliminated about 325 jobs. The Girard plant produced aluminum for the building and construction industry, while the Niles plant targeted the transportation industry.

shilling@vindy.com