Archiv – The planned merger of two aluminium alloy companies in the US states of Arkansas and Minnesota has collapsed, with the result that a plant will be closed and about 150 employees there will be out of work. United States | The planned merger of two aluminium alloy companies in the US states of Arkansas and Minnesota has collapsed, with the result that a plant will be closed and about 150 employees there will be out of work.
The merger of Arkansas Aluminum Alloys Inc. and Spectro Alloys Corp. seemed a done deal only five months after officials announced in April that they had agreed to merge their assets and form a new, consolidated company.
However, Spectro CEO Michael Tryon says that both sides have since agreed it would be unwise to proceed with the merger, given the economic slump. ’Here, recently, it points to a challenging outlook going into ’ 09,’ Tryon says. ‘€˜It really just came down to the economy.’ Arkansas Aluminum’s parent company, A. Tenenbaum Co. says acceptable financing terms became unavailable as the economy worsened.
Workers’ last day at the Arkansas Aluminum plant in Hot Springs will be in late November or early December, Jack Grundfest, Tenenbaum’s CEO and president, says. Grundfest explains reopening the Hot Springs plant at some point hasn’t been ruled out, but that would depend on economic, market and industry conditions. The plant is Tenenbaum’s only secondary aluminium smelting facility.
The automotive industry is the primary consumer of Arkansas Aluminum products. The Hot Springs plant melts aluminium scrap metal and other elements to make aluminium bars and other products to customer specifications, Grundfest explains.
However, he added that the secondary aluminium industry has been ’trying at best’ for most of the past 10 years. Among other factors, the industry ’suffers from overcapacity, which tends to drive down prices for finished goods,’ he said. Tryon said Spectro would hire some of the Arkansas workers from the Hot Springs plant and purchase scrap metal from A. Tenenbaum.
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