Armstrong to Close Hardwood Plant

Nashville, TN, November 14, 2006--A slow down in home building nationwide is being blamed in part for the pending shutdown of Armstrong World Industries hardwood flooring plant in Nashville, according to the Tennessean. Armstrong notified the 270 employees at the factory on Centennial Boulevard last week that the plant will close Jan. 7. Salaried workers will get severance packages and help finding other work. Details of severance packages for hourly workers will be negotiated with officials from Carpenters Industrial Council Local 2825, which represents hourly workers at the plant. The news came as a surprise, but not a shock, said Steve Herring, the union's service representative. "Two or three years ago, it looked like they were going to shut down part of it and then the economy got better," Herring said. The plant opened in 1977 as a Bruce Hardwood Floors mill, according to state records. Armstrong bought the plant in 2001. Armstrong plans to produce floors formerly made in Nashville at other plants, including its mill in Jackson, Tenn., the company reported.