WARREN, Ohio – North Carolina-based Insteel Industries Inc. has shut down its Engineered Wire Products facility along West Market Street, less than two months after acquiring the building and land for $7 million.
The closure affects 35 employees, the company said in a press release. The Warren operations were expected to be completely idled by the end of November and consolidated with the company’s other manufacturing sites.
“Given the low-capacity utilization levels at our Warren facility and the dim prospects for improvement, we believe this action is essential to reducing our operating costs and strengthening our competitive position,” H.O. Woltz III, president and CEO, said in a statement. “Closing a facility is never easy, and we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for employees affected by this change.”
The company also reported it anticipates incurring a restructuring charge of approximately $1.9 million related to the closure.
Insteel Industries announced October 21 that subsidiary Insteel Wire Products Co. had purchased Upper Sandusky-based Engineered Wire Products for $70 million in cash. The transaction included the Warren manufacturing plant at 3121 W. Market St. and another site in Sandusky.
At the time, Woltz said in a statement that the acquisition would “expand our geographic footprint and bolster our competitive position in the Midwest market” and “enhance our customer service capabilities and drive down operating costs through operational synergies.”
Insteel, based in Mount Airy, N.C., operates 12 manufacturing plants across the United States.
Mike Keys, Warren Community Development director, said the company had not filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, indicating the plant would be shut down. “All we heard were some rumors,” he said.
Companies with at least 100 employees are required to file a WARN notice, according to compliance regulations.
According to its website, Insteel is the largest manufacturer of steel wire reinforcement products used in concrete products for mostly nonresidential construction.
The Warren plant was constructed in 2008 as Reinforcement Systems Inc. and was developed by Warren native Mark Marvin. The factory was among the first industrial investments in years on the city’s west side. Engineered Wire purchased the plant for $3.25 million in 2014, according to data from the Trumbull County Auditor’s website.
Keys said that despite Engineered Wire’s closure, this quadrant of the city is primed for new growth, evidenced by progress with the West Warren Industrial Park development.
“The shell of the first building is going up now,” he said.
The West Warren project is an initial $9 million development spearheaded by Sapientia Ventures of Warren. Sapientia, also the majority owner of The Business Journal, has begun development on an 86-acre site on the west side, beginning with a 98,200-square-foot spec building. Ultimately, the goal is to develop 1 million square feet of industrial space there.
“One thing that’s positive is that we’re identifying other areas around there that are good for development,” Keys said.