Ross Sand Casting, a gray iron foundry in Orrville, OH, will cease operations later this year, according to a local news report. The Wooster Daily-Record reports that the foundry signaled its intent to close Monday through a “rapid response form” to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. The agency coordinates programs that assist workers dislocated by plant closings or layoffs.
Casting production will end on December 10, though finishing operations will continue until orders are completed.
A total of 87 workers will be unemployed by Ross Sand Casting’s closing, according to the Daily-Record, 69 hourly and 18 salaried positions. It indicated the plant site may be purchased by the nearby J.M. Smucker Co, which is expanding, but that has not been confirmed. The newspaper also noted that the foundry has been unprofitable.
Of the workers to be laid off, 69 are hourly and 18 positions are salaried. The company noted a small maintenance crew might remain at the site for an undetermined amount of time. It also said it is not possible to avert the layoffs, and there is no pending buyout or rescue plan. It also said it is unknown whether the company's assets and plant equipment are for sale.
The Orrville foundry operated as Technocast Inc. until 2004, when it was acquired by from receivership Lawrence F. Ross, owner of Ross Mould International, a global organization with holdings that includes Ross Sand Casting Industries in Winchester, IN; Union City Non-Ferrous Inc., Union City, OH; Ross Sand Casting Industries Ltda. and Andes Cast Metals Foundry Ltda., both in Colombia; and Ross International Foundry, in France. The organization also includes manufacturing operations for glass molds in the U.S., Colombia, Hungary, and South Africa.
The new ownership implemented a variety of capital improvements, according to contemporary reports, including new molding equipment, conveyor systems, dust collection system, heat treat capability, and product testing systems.