a day ago
Last day of production arrives at Fairmont Novelis plant
FAIRMONT — At some point Friday evening, Novelis employees will hold a dinner amongst themselves.
The mood will be somber.
'We have a dinner today to celebrate, but, you know, it's not really a celebration to me,' Novelis mill operator and Fairmont Deputy Mayor Josh Rice said. 'A lot of the other guys that were retirees came in there and just kind of wanted to give the guys a shoulder and let them know that they were there for them. And how sad it was that this place is ending.'
Novelis stopped production at its Fairmont facility on Friday. The company announced it would close its Fairmont plant on March 31, with a final date set for June 30. The plant manufactured aluminum fin stock, which is used in heat exchangers for automotive radiators and heating and cooling equipment such as HVAC. For a while, however, plant employees held out hope the plant would be purchased by a different company. It was not to be.
'We thought we was going to get bought out by a company called Commonwealth,' Randy Hines, a 30 year employee, said. 'So we thought we was gonna still be here for a little bit, or they would just take over and resume as normal. But that deal fell through. It's kind of like being divorced and then getting back together and getting divorced again.'
Hines said it was like being fired twice.
Rice said the company called employees on Tuesday and told them to just stay home, and that the company would continue to pay through June 30. Rice and a few others kept working to make sure the last items were shipped out of the plant and everything was closed and powered off correctly. The power actually went off during an outage from a storm on one of the nights. Rice said there was a certain finality to it.
While the plant has ceased operations and sent employees home, a skeleton crew is staying behind for final shutdown checks. They will ensure no oil leaks from the machines and that nothing hazardous is left in the building. Those employees will remain for an additional three months and are receiving bonus pay.
The plant has been a mainstay in Fairmont for over 100 years. It's closure has also impacted longtime residents emotionally.
'We have said goodbye to so many other factories in Fairmont during my lifetime,' Marcella Yaremchuck said. 'But this last goodbye seems to be the hardest.'
Emotions have run high at the plant. Rice said he saw some of the employees cry. He said all the equipment is still at the plant, some of it brand new that hasn't even been used yet. It's sitting there waiting for someone else to come in and take over.
Hines said some employees applied to work at the Novelis facility in Alabama. Hines' nephew actually runs the place. However, uprooting family and relocating is hard, so those five employees are carefully considering if they want to make the move, Hines said. As for employees who have left completely, Hines said between 10 and 15 went underground, to work in a coal mine. Those employees lacked the longevity at the company to get good severance, so they got out when they could, Hines said.
Hines said rumors the plant would shut down surfaced every few years. Hines didn't pay to much attention to them, since they never came to pass. Until one day they did.
The Times West Virginian reached out to Novelis for comment but they couldn't provide comment by press time.
Fairmont City Manager Travis Blosser said the city has seen an amazing outpouring of support for the families and employees that will be affected by the closure.
'Several organizations and local companies have held job fairs specifically for the workers who need to find new employment arrangements,' Blosser said. 'We at the City will continue to work with Novelis and the state development office to ensure that property gets back into productive use as soon as possible.'
Blosser said the City is committed to making Fairmont an attractive place to do business. However, the City's business environment may also feel the downstream effects of the plant's closure. Rice pointed out that plant employees spent their wages in Fairmont, procuring goods and services for themselves and their families. Rice added the loss of health insurance will mean a lot of patients will lose coverage and medical providers will lose patients.
Rice is cautious with hope these days. There's rumors of another interested buyer. But after having their hopes dashed, no one wants to risk having their hearts broken again, he said.
'It hurt harder the second time than it did the first time,' Rice said. 'So people don't have very high hopes that it's going to open back up. But I hope it will. I have faith in it. That plant can't sit there, as nice of a plant as it is. It's kept up. I just don't see it sitting there for too long, empty.'
