Dura Automotive plant's future uncertain

BY SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com

February 29, 2008 04:00 am

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MANCELONA -- Jim Nowak can't catch a break.

In March 2006 the Elmira resident lost his longtime job at Gaylord's Georgia-Pacific particleboard plant, and now his new job at Dura Automotive in Mancelona could be in jeopardy.

"I went through this once. I made it through the last one and I'll make it through this one," Nowak said. "But it's a good place to work. I like it there."

Auto-parts supplier Dura Automotive Systems Inc. may close its latch-and-hinge manufacturing plant in Mancelona, company officials said this week. The factory is the town's largest employer with about 300 workers and also is one of the biggest in Antrim County.

"It's not good news if it closes," said Kathleen Kitchen, vice president of the Mancelona Regional Chamber of Commerce. "If they close, it will affect a lot of people, not just in Mancelona, but also in surrounding communities."

Dura officials contend they've made no final decision, although company executives made a preliminary recommendation to shutter the site. The proposal is based on the company's need to improve its competitiveness in the automotive supply market, officials said.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2006 and attempted to sell the Mancelona factory for much of last year, said Shawn Brumbaugh, company spokeswoman.

"Obviously, Dura is in the midst of restructuring and marketing began in April 2007 for the sale of this facility in Mancelona," she said.

The company gave up those efforts in November and this week announced the potential plant closure -- one of an expected 12 worldwide -- after union members rejected a collective bargaining agreement, Brumbaugh said.

Union officers could not be reached for comment. Their current contract expires in June and negotiations with the company continued on Wednesday.

Dura officials described their latch-and-hinge business as a "non-core, underperforming operation" with declining earnings in documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The company is based in Rochester Hills and has about 13,800 employees at 36 plants in 16 countries.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.