BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP, MI — A drop in demand will put 30 employees at a local aluminum manufacturer out of a job at year’s end, an official says.
Aleris International, 2600 Nodular, will close its Buena Vista site after the plant’s lone customer lowered its demand for the liquid-form aluminum produced there, Aleris spokesman Jason Saragian said.
“Without this demand, we can’t continue there,” he said.
Saragian said he would not identify the plant’s lone customers other than its role as an automotive manufacturer from the region.
The plant’s 30 employees — a group that includes full-time managers, production manufacturers and maintenance — were informed of the plant’s December closure on Wednesday, May 29, he said.
Saragian said Aleris International’s other plants internationally — including 17 facilities in the United States — are not affected by the local demand drop.
He said Buena Vista employees “are welcomed” to apply for positions at other facilities. The closest Aleris International site is in Coldwater, he said.
Saragian, who works out of the company’s Cleveland office, said he was not aware of employees’ reaction to the news.
The plant opened in 2000. It was known as Alchem Aluminum Inc. and, later, as IMCO Recycling.