New Millennium Building Systems, a joist manufacturing company based out of Fort Wayne, Ind., has announced the closing of its plant in Florence.
About 70 employees will lose their jobs when the plant discontinues its local operation Dec. 8, said Chris Graham, general manager of the Florence and Lake City, Fla., plants.
“It’s with regret that we make this announcement,” Graham said during a telephone interview Monday. “It is not a reflection on the employees or the community, which we hold in the highest regard.”
Despite the passage earlier this month of a $700 billion rescue plan, which aims to keep the financial industry afloat, Graham said the recent “credit crunch” has forced New Millennium to curtail operations at all five of its joist plants around the country, including the closure in Florence.
“It’s been a long haul here,” he said. “The entire year has been soft in the construction business, and this final round of issues with credit, and things like that, pretty much have sealed the deal.”
New Millennium sent a letter Friday to Florence Mayor Frank Willis, Florence County Council Chairman Rusty Smith and the S.C. Department of Commerce announcing the closing of the Florence plant, located at 2527 E. National Cemetery Road.
“It certainly is disturbing news in these trying economic times,” Smith said. “But Florence County is working extremely hard to bring in new jobs to help alleviate the unemployment in the area.”
The announcement of New Millennium’s local closure comes several months after H.J. Heinz Co. and Monster announced the companies would invest millions of dollars and bring more than a thousand jobs to the Florence area.
“There are plant closures and failures all over. Unfortunately, this is another one,” Smith said. “But we are working hard to ensure that we bring in more jobs than we’re losing.”
Most of the New Millennium employees who are losing their jobs are joist fabricators, while a few hold administrative positions. All local employees who show an interest in relocating will be considered for transfer, Graham said.
The New Millennium plant in Florence used to be owned by Socar Inc. In 2006, New Millennium merged with Socar and John W. Hancock Jr. LLC, according to the company’s Web site.
New Millennium laid off 13 workers at the Florence location Aug. 8 in a bid to restructure the company, citing market setbacks as a deciding factor.
The following month, on Sept. 18, Wellman Inc. announced plans to close the Palmetto Plant in Darlington and the Johnsonville plant. More than 500 employees at the Palmetto Plant lost their jobs, as did 170 in Johnsonville. The company also cited Wall Street’s recent downturn as a major reason for the closings.
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