East Sparta, OH, January 31, 2007--Dwindling business is prompting the closing of United States Ceramic Tile Co., a major community employer since 1913, according to CantonRep.com.
Now a division of Laufen International, the company announced Tuesday its plans to close its ceramic tile manufacturing facility in August. The plant has about 145 full-time employees, according to David Reader, division vice president of manufacturing, who said there will be layoffs leading up to the actual closing.
"The company has decided to cease manufacturing activities at this plant due to several factors," Reader said in a statement. "Sales volume of wall tile, which is East Sparta's exclusive product, has declined and the lack of flexibility to convert the facility to other ceramic products is financially prohibitive. At the same time, operating costs have substantially increased.
"The plant is outdated compared to Laufen's state-of-the-art facilities located elsewhere. The plant's condition and its remote location have dictated this decision."
Human Resources Director Greg Carpenter said the plant is running a total of four shifts during its seven-day operations.
"Five years ago, we were running a lot more lines, and we were running everything at a seven-day operation," Carpenter said. "Now, we're running one line at the seven-day operations and another couple of lines at five-day operations. Five years ago, we were running about nine lines at seven-day operations."
He said the current number of lines operating can change daily.
"Sales are down everywhere on wall tile," Carpenter said. "It could be that people aren't using tile as much as they used to--they're going to different wall coverings. And, there's a lot of competition. With low sales, we're not able to run our plant to capacity, and it makes it rather expensive to run."
A floor tile plant in the multi-acre complex that was a different operation of the same company shut down in 1993.
Reader, whose job will be eliminated, began working at the company in 1979 as a project engineer. He and his wife have lived in the East Sparta area--less than two miles from the plant--for several years.
"It is very difficult to make this kind of announcement," he said in the statement. "Both the company and I have enjoyed being an active part of East Sparta. We regret the impact that this decision will have on the employees, their families and the community."
Nora Lewis of Mineral City, who retired in 1986 after 46 years at the plant, recalled that it employed at least 1,100 area residents in the 1940s.
"It's a shock," she said. "There's been talk of that for years and years, but it's still unexpected. It's always been one of the major employers in the area. I worked with five generations of families while I was there. My mom, Lilly Weisen, used to work there."
Reader said in the statement that by transferring production elsewhere, Laufen will be better able to serve its customers through its recently expanded warehouse system. The new warehouses include ones in Los Angeles; Houston; Miami; Savannah, Georgia; and Suffolk, Virginia, all "considerably distant from Stark County," he said of the complex in Pike Township.
