Evart glass plant closure sealed, set for March 31

After two weeks of negotiation, the closure of the Evart glass plant was confirmed by Pittsburgh Glass Works (PGW).

"Essentially, we are to cease production by March 31," explained Plant Manager Mark Soderberg. The majority of employees will be let go before that time, with a few remaining for clean up and shipment of any remaining product.

The closure of the plant was a direct result of the declining automobile industry, PGW explained in a press release.

"The (plant is closing) because of the continuing decline in demand for auto glass, brought about by the slump in the U.S auto industry. The company is responding to excess capacity resulting from the decline that is not expected to improve in the foreseeable future."

"Definitely, the economy is such that it’s obvious the automotive market is very difficult right now," ¨ Soderberg said.

He explained that the Evart plant is "a smaller plant compared to some of the others. We don’t have some of the capabilities some of the other plants have," which likely led to its selection for closure.

PGW will also close ¨ another plant in Canada in addition to two small ¨ assembly sites.

"We couldn’t afford to keep plants under-utilized," Soderberg said. "It’s definitely a difficult time for everyone here."

He explained that PGW will redeploy some of the equipment in the facility but was unsure what the next steps would be for the actual building.

"The employees did everything that they could to make the plant viable," Chief Operating Officer Joseph Stas said in the ¨ release.

"It’s unfortunate, because this was a good plant with a lot of great people," he ¨ concluded.