Ralph Tantlinger of Greensburg came out of the Army in 1968 and landed a job with Standard Steel, the Latrobe-based company that manufactures steel and other alloy components
But escalating raw materials and energy costs have put Tantlinger's job, and the jobs of roughly 100 other workers, at risk, as the company is being shopped for sale and may be closed by June 15 if a buyer cannot be found.
"I've worked here for 35 years...What am I going to do⢠The plant has treated me pretty good through the years, but it's still a shock," said Tantlinger, as his time card was being punched Monday afternoon.
The natural gas fields, which helped to fuel the plant for many years, will also be sold.
Standard Steel survived a potential closing in June 2002 when a bankruptcy court in Delaware awarded the assets of Freedom Forge Co., which operated Standard Steel at the time, to an investor group headed by Michael J. Farrell. Farrell was also chief executive officer of Freedom Forge.
The buy-out preserved 128 jobs at Latrobe Steel, and also kept about 650 jobs in place at the company's plant in Burnham, Mifflin County. Hourly workers at both locations are represented by the United Steelworkers union.
"I'm disappointed, but there's such a significant change in business. ... It was uneconomical for us to continue operations," Farrell said Monday. He said the situation does not affect the Burnham operation, which employs about 600 workers.
Farrell said discussions for the sale of the Latrobe plant are under way, but he did not disclose the identity of the potential buyer.
"We're trying to sell all or part of the Latrobe plant. If we are unsuccessful, we will close June 15, " Farrell said. "But we would like to find a buyer to maintain the operation in Latrobe, in some form or another."
The 116-year-old Latrobe plant, formerly called Latrobe Forge and Spring, manufactures steel and other alloys using a modern electric smelting furnace and hydraulic presses that forge and shape steel ingots into shafts and axles for the rail industry.
The news surprised Emory Lawson, 57, of Indiana County, who has worked at the company for more than 32 years and feels he may not be employable if the plant closes. "I thought they were doing pretty good. It (the possible closing) surprised me," said Lawson, a member of Local 1551 of the United Steelworkers union.
Dave Goblinger, 53, of Latrobe, wasn't so surprised. "We figured it was coming. You have to take it one day at a time and hope everything turns out all right," he said.
Farrell said company's exit from the industrial steel ingot ring business at its Burnham operation at the end of last year created problems for the Latrobe operation, causing it to lose a substantial, consistent demand for its steel.
In a Feb. 27 letter to employees, Farrell said the market for natural gas over the past two years has been near an all-time high. "While these prices have hurt manufacturing costs, it creates opportunity to sell gas fields," Farrell wrote. He said proceeds from the sale will offset some of the losses incurred during a "difficult" past two years.
