The Lenox crystal manufacturing plant in Mt. Pleasant will cease production today, a move that forces James O'Connor and 157 other workers to search for new careers.
When the Mt. Pleasant Township plant opened in 1970, it was the first glass factory built in the United States devoted solely to production of hand-blown lead crystal.
But competition from cheaper foreign labor, coupled with a lack of demand for fine crystal, sounded the death knell for production of the handmade, high-quality glass made there.
"It's a shame, but there's not really anything we can do," said O'Connor, president of Local 597 of the American Flint Glass Workers union.
O'Connor said he was laid off New Year's Eve, a move that ended his 25 years with the company.
"It's hard to find a job, I'll tell you that. I'm going to go to school for something," he said.
He said only a handful of production workers will be walking through the gates for the last time today, as the work force has been dwindling since December by a staggered series of layoffs.
The Westmoreland County plant is a division of Lenox Inc., based in Lawrenceville, N.J. Since 1983, Lenox has been a subsidiary of Louisville, Ky.-based Brown Forman Corp., a distiller best known for making Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, Southern Comfort, Korbel California champagnes and Bolla Wines.
Brown-Forman announced in October its intention to close the plant in October, and confirmed the decision a month later.
Of the 158 workers, 26 are salaried employees. Along with Local 597, about 35 skilled workers are represented by Local 24 of the Flint Glass union.
Judy Roche, an instructor with the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland County, said about 30 former Lenox workers are enrolled in classes designed to help them re-enter the work force. The non-profit agency is funded by tax dollars.
Brown-Forman said that after the Mt. Pleasant operation closes, all Lenox crystal will be made by European suppliers who can do the work at 40 percent of the cost, according to spokesman Phil Lynch.
"It's all a matter of economies of scale," said Lynch.
He added that 70 percent of production from Mt. Pleasant will be moved to a Nachtmann Industries plant in Germany.
"They can produce 4 million units a year. At Mt. Pleasant we had been doing 100,000 units," Lynch said.
He said about 58 workers remained at the plant this week, a number that will be cut to 20 after today to shutter the plant and mothball equipment. The retail store adjacent to the local factory will remain open.
Lynch said efforts to sell the plant were unsuccessful. "We never got any buyers. The factory will be for sale, but we're not optimistic in finding a buyer in the middle of a recession," he said.
He said there are no plans to conduct a "fire sale" or auction off leftover equipment. "We'll consider all options, but we're not going to do an auction.
When the economy picks up, there may be some interest," Lynch said.
O'Connor said he has heard rumors of potentially interested buyers, but nothing concrete. "They tore a lot of the equipment out, but the main production equipment remains intact," said O'Connor.
