Daramic closes Owensboro facility
Daramic LLC has closed its Owensboro manufacturing facility, putting more than 150 employees out of work.
Daramic, which manufactures battery separators for vehicle batteries, filed a WARN notice, announcing its intent to close its manufacturing facility in Owensboro on Kentucky 2830.
Jill Midkiff, executive director of communications for the Cabinet, says state officials received the WARN notice Tuesday.
Companies are required to file federal Worker Adjustment Retaining Notification (WARN) Act announcements. A copy of the WARN notice on the Cabinet’s website says 156 employees will be terminated effective Sept. 6.
The plant, however, is already closed. The WARN notice says, “The Owensboro Plant will cease all operations effective July 8.”
No one at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company answered their phones Tuesday. Charles McManus, Daramic’s global director of human resources, filed the WARN notice, but also did not return a call for comment.
A security guard at the Owensboro plant referred calls to the human resources office, which also did not return a call for comment.
The Owensboro plant was the last Daramic facility in the United States.
According to its website, Daramic has manufacturing facility in France and one in Germany, three plants in India, two plants in China and one plant in Thailand.
Darmaic is owned by Asahi Kasei. The company’s stock was trading for $12.85 per share Tuesday afternoon, down from $12.91 at the start of business.
The WARN notice says 122 workers at the Owensboro plant were represented by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (AFL-CIO). The remaining 34 were non-union positions.
In a statement sent Tuesday after the initial story was published, corporate communications director Beth Kitteringham said the “Owensboro Daramic Technical Center,” which does product research, will remain open.
Of the closed manufacturing facility, the statement says: “The Owensboro site is one of our older, less efficient production sites and the main decision to stop manufacturing was due to the Owensboro plant’s lack of long-term profitability. We have seven remaining large-scale manufacturing facilities positioned around the world and we can balance production across our other facilities and meet customer demands where we operate globally.”
Employees will be paid and have medical coverage through the WARN notice period, the statement says.
Local business and economic development officials said they were ready to help the displaced Daramic workers.
“We were surprised and saddened that Daramic announced on Monday that they were closing,” Candance Castlen Brake, Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said in a statement. “Daramic has been a Chamber member since 1967. Since that time, thousands of men and women in our region have devoted their careers to contributing to the success of the company.
Brake said, “We have already heard from existing manufacturers in the region who are reaching out to Daramic officials to connect and fill openings in their respective operations.
“We know above all else that our manufacturing community is one of the strongest in the country,” Brake said. “We have premier manufacturers who choose to expand here because of our workforce.”
Companies looking for workers “will have the opportunity to find meaningful employment for the displaced workers, some of whom have spent decades working” at Daramic, Brake said.
Claud Bacon, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp., said in a statement: “The closure of Daramic’s Owensboro plant and the subsequent loss of jobs represent an unfortunate event for the community. This event not only disrupts the livelihoods of the affected workers and their families but also impacts local businesses that rely on the plant’s operation.”
Bacon said, “Our priority must now be to support displaced workers through job placement services and retraining programs while attracting new industries to revitalize the local economy and create sustainable employment opportunities.”
In a statement, Midkiff said, “Cabinet officials are working with local officials and the Green River Workforce Investment Board to assist individuals affected by this closure as they seek to regain meaningful employment. Assistance is available year-round through the local Kentucky Career Center located in Owensboro.”
By Jim Mayse Messenger-Inquirer