Exterran sends workers home; plans temporary closure by March

YOUNGSTOWN — The downturn in the oil and gas industry has hit another company with Youngstown operations.

Exterran, located at 2572 Salt Springs Road, will go on a temporary closure by the end of March.

"We fully expect to return to full production," said Susan Moore, head of corporate communications for the Houston-based energy company. "We just don't know when that will be. "

Today, 11 workers were terminated and another 57 will be by the end of March. The $13-million, 65,000-square-foot fabrication plant was opened in 2013. Production equipment for the oil and gas industry is manufactured there.

Another company with Youngstown operations, Vallourec Star, located near Exterran, has made several cutbacks to its workforce this year because of the downturn in oil and gas. The plant on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, produces steel pipe for the industry.