Grede Holdings LLC closed its gray and ductile iron foundry in Omaha, NE, in mid August, according to a local report, and the property and assets have been listed for auction. A representative of the Michigan-based foundry holding company confirmed that Grede Omaha LLC had been closed and some assets had been sold at auction -- but Grede has not commented on the reasons for the closing.
The report from Omaha indicated 46 hourly and eight salaried employees of Grede Omaha have been affected by the end of operations there on August 23.
An online auction site lists the foundry and machine shop buildings, two other structures, and a parking lot, available for bidding later this month.
Grede Holdings purchased the former Paxton-Mitchell Corp. foundry in Omaha late in 2011. Paxton-Mitchell had been in operation for over 100 years, and specialized in castings for pump and valve bodies and housings, flanges, mounting brackets, and similar castings for agriculture and construction machinery and equipment and hydraulics systems industries. It was one of several acquisitions that followed the merger of the former Grede Foundries and Citation Corp. in 2010, to form the current organization, which is comprised of 14 foundries and three specialty-machining operations.
Grede Omaha counts as the second foundry that Grede Holdings has closed this year, though apparently the shutdown preceded the closing at Grede Radford LLC in Virginia. In that instance, the company cited economic conditions for the closing.
Grede Holdings is expanding production capacity at one of its foundries in Mexico, by way of new automated pouring equipment that will be in operation early in 2014.