N. Side foundry to close in 2013

February 21, 2012 at 12:02a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A Parker Hannifin Corp. foundry on the city’s North Side will close early next year, the company said Monday.

The company said it will phase out 50 employees from its foundry, which makes metal castings at 1755 Logan Ave., during the next 15 months.

“The foundry is not running as an economically viable option,” a company spokesman told The Vindicator. “It would need a substantial investment to work at proper levels.”

The Cleveland-based company said it will help the 50 employees find new work and will offer severance packages pending a discussion with a bargaining-unit representative.

The workload from the foundry will be shifted to another U.S. facility, the company said, though at present time it is unclear whether it will be a Parker Hannifin facility.

The company also said that 34 employees not part of the foundry but with a cluster of Parker Hannifin businesses near the Logan Avenue foundry will be shifted to other company locations.

Those facilities include its Mobile Cylinder Division, commercial offices and an engineering center.

A representative for the workers could not be reached to comment Monday afternoon.

Parker Hannifin, which employs more than 4,000 in Ohio, bought Commercial Intertech in 2000.

Before that, the company was known as Commercial Shearing Corp.

Parker Hannifin’s sales topped $12 billion last year. The company last month lowered its annual earnings projections from $7.25 to $7.85 per share to $6.90 to $7.30 per share.