North Adams Anodizing Plant to CloseBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
04:49PM / Monday, September 14, 2015 | |
 Colonial Anodizing is expected to close its doors on Sept. 25. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Colonial Anodizing is expected to close its doors by the end of the month, putting about 35 people out of work.
Employees were informed on Aug. 25 of the closure, according to Keith Gros, director of human resources for parent company Keymark Corp.
Gros said Keymark had made "significant investment" in the plant at 59 Hodges Cross Road since assuming the operations last year but sales have failed to develop as expected.
"There's not been enough to sustain operations," he said. "We couldn't continue the losses."
Keymark entered into a long-term lease with Berkshire Anodizing in March 2014 with the objective of increasing its customer base. A new company was formed, Colonial Anodizing Inc., and the North Adams staff and employees were kept on.
The anodizing plant has struggled for nearly a decade. Originally organized as Modern Aluminum Anodizing, a subsidiary of a Hackensack, N.J., corporation, it moved into the Greylock (Cariddi) Mill in 1959 and opened a short-lived plant in Pownal, Vt., in 1964.
The company moved to Hodges Cross Road in the early 1990s and was run for many years by the Sigsbury family. It was purchased by Arthur Grodd of Northampton in 2010 after three years in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Grodd, at the time, had seen a future for the 96,000-square-foot facility. Berkshire Anodizing still owns the property.
Keymark's president, William L. Keller III, had said in creating Colonial, "we remain optimistic that the markets we serve will continue their positive momentum. Colonial provides a wide footprint for expansion with its current capabilities and future opportunities."
Anodizing is an electrolytic process that finishes raw aluminum with a color or clear protective coat to ensure it doesn't corrode.
Reports on the plant has put the work force variously at 30 to 40 people over the years. Colonial had already laid off a number of workers in July.
"We've been working with the Massachusetts Labor and Workforce Development's Rapid Response team to provide outreach and resources," said Gros, who added the "target date" for closure is Sept. 25. "We had them in [the plant] last Wednesday."
The state's employment team is helping workers with resumes, unemployment documents and training opportunities. Those who are still employed at the closure will receive severance pay.
Some workers will be able to apply for positions at Keymark's two plants in Fonda, N.Y., in Montgomery County, where it operates anodizing and aluminum extrusion plants. Those plants were described as "robust." It also has a facility in Lakeland, Fla.
"We certainly regret the impact this has on the Colonial employees and on their families, Gros said. "Regrettably, you can only sustain significant losses for just so long."
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