Warren Steel Holdings announce permanent closure of plant

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

January 18, 2016 06:20:28 AM

CLEVELAND (Scrap Monster): Warren Steel Holdings has decided to close doors of its steel making plant located at 4000 Mahoning Ave., Warren. The Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) letters were sent to as many as 162 employees of the plant. The company had shutdown the plant during last November, but was planning to resume operations in March this year. The decision will leave all 162 plant employees without jobs.

According to WARN letter, the shutdown will be permanent. The company blames prevailing uncertainty in business conditions, loss of customer demand and deteriorating economic conditions as some of the reasons behind the plant shutdown. The recently received utility disconnection notice from FirstEnergy also forced the company to arrive at the decision.

During August last year, Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission had approved supply of electricity at discounted rate for its Warren steel making plant. In response, First Energy-the utility provider had cut the electricity rates by almost one-third. The cheaper electricity rates had renewed the hopes of a possible restart of the idled facility. Meantime, First Energy officials stated that the company officials failed to respond to its proposal to work with the company on delinquent bills.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Warren, Ohio, Warren Steel Holdings (WSH) is a producer and supplier of high-quality carbon and alloy steel continuously cast products. The central Midwest location had offered the company many logistical advantages including easy accessibility and savings in cost and delivery time. Warren Steel Holdings produces products used in a variety of different industries, including aerospace, mining and construction.