Ford buys back Tulsa glass plant, plans to demolish factory and sell land

Ford Motor Company repurchased the Zeledyne auto glass plant, 15 months after the automotive and architectural glass manufacturer closed down.

But Ford doesn't plan to reopen the facility and in fact will likely demolish the building and sell any equipment and the 187-acre property, Ford spokeswoman Becky Sanch said.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based auto manufacturer purchased the property last week for 4 million from Zeledyne LLC, less than half the 8.5 million price that Ford sold it for in 2008, according to documents filed with the Tulsa County Clerk and other public land records.

"It's unlikely that we would be able to the property in its current form and Zeledyne has been unsuccessful in trying to do so for more than a year," Sanch said. "We had a strong relationship with Zeledyne, so we stepped in here and to help them."

She said it was not uncommon for Ford to work with troubled suppliers. She did not have a timeline for a demolition.

The 187 acre-property includes an one million-square foot factory with two float glass furnaces that were fully functional until the plant closed down in July 2011.

Ford, various subsidaries and spin-offs owned the property, once known as Ford Auto Glass, from 1974 until 2008, when it was sold to Tulsan Robert Price.

Price formed the Zeledyne LLC company, which continued to make automotive glass for Ford Motors and employed 650 workers.

But the plant saw a rapid decline in demand from Ford Motors and customers in its commercial building glass divisions as the economy deteriorated in late 2008 and onward, especially the automotive and construction industries.

After spending millions on upgrades, Zeledyne began laying off employees and finally put the plant up for sale in 2010. When no buyer emerged, the factory closed in July 2011 and let go of the final 200 workers there.

Della DiPietro, a spokeswoman for Zeledyne LLC said the deal was a "standard land transfer."

The sale also marks the end of practical business operations for Zeledyne LLC, which also operated glass factories in Tennessee and Mexico.

The plants in Tennessee and Mexico were sold previously and the shuttered Tulsa plant was the final piece of capital for the company, DiPietro said.

There are no plans for Zeledyne to restart any form of manufacturing, she said.