Owens-Illinois Inc. will consider any reasonable proposals to keep open its machine parts plant in Godfrey, Illinois, a company spokeswoman said in late January 2005. However, the company is weighing …
Owens-Illinois Inc. will consider any reasonable proposals to keep open its machine parts plant in Godfrey, Illinois, a company spokeswoman said in late January 2005. However, the company is weighing options for the future of the 300,000-square-foot facility because it is operating at only 40% of capacity, spokeswoman Sara Theis said. The plant, set up in 1958, employs 308 people. Godfrey area leaders met recently with US Representative John Shimkus, (Republican, Collinsville), who agreed to contact Owens-Illinois officials. The plant makes, assembles and distributes machine parts used in glass container-forming machines for Owens-Illinois subsidiaries, affiliates and licensees worldwide. The Toledo, Ohio-based company announced on 6 January 2005 that it planned to “explore various options…including a possible joint venture arrangement or outright sale of the facility.” “Market conditions and a changing corporate focus have prompted this review,” Steve McCracken, Owens-Illinois chairman and CEO, said in a written statement at the time. “Our goal is to find the best option for more productive use of the underutilized assets at Godfrey,” he said. “Whether the outcome is a joint venture or outright sale, we intend to continue using the Godfrey facility as an important supplier for our parts and equipment needs in the future.” Shimkus and Edie Koch of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity met 14 January 2005 with local officials in Godfrey. “We want these jobs to stay in Godfrey,” said Monica Bristow, president of the Growth Association of Southwestern Illinois. Dennis Pearson, a business agent for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 9, said officials in the union“s management were actively looking for potential partners for a joint venture with Owens-Illinois. The Godfrey plant employed 450-500 workers at its peak, but the payroll fell to about 120 workers at one time several years ago, said Pearson. Pearson said Owens-Illinois officials stressed to him that they valued the plant as a supplier of high-quality parts and would continue to purchase those parts even if it sold the facility outright. Owens-Illinois was born of the 1929 merger of Toledo-based Owens Bottle Co. and Alton-based Illinois Glass Co. The company is the world“s largest manufacturer of glass containers and a leading manufacturer of health care packaging and specialty closure systems.