Delphi shaken by shutdown
Residents, officials react to impending production closure of city furniture plant.
Kevin Howell
Reporter
DELPHI - Delphi resident Richard Marion is concerned about the future of Delphi after hearing of the approaching production shutdown of the city's Chromcraft Revington furniture plant.
"This community is in a sad situation because it's lost so many businesses," said Marion. "This is the second factory and nobody seems to care if we have any jobs."
The cut back at Chromcraft follows the closure several years ago of the neighboring Globe Valve plant which remains vacant.
Marion said the area needs more manufacturing plants for people like him who earn their livings with their hands and not computers.
"People like myself work with our hands, and we need something for people like that, but no one seems to care," said Marion.
"In my opinion, the governor said there would be more employment, more jobs, but where are they?"
Although Chromcraft Revington will not close entirely like Globe, about 150 employees are expected to be laid off, with roughly 35-40 employees remaining to man what will become a distribution and light assembly plant according to Human Resources director Erik Jensen.
"There are approximately 190 employees now and roughly 35-40 will remain, but first we need to understand what this will be," Jensen said.
Exact details for the plant are still being ironed out, but Jensen said some assembly will be done there as well as customer services and accounting work.
Jensen said his company is just one among many that has moved production out of the country over the past decade.
"It's been a real challenge for the furniture industry in general," he said. "There has been a steady decline over the past five, potentially 10 years in U.S.-based manufacturing of furniture products."
The shutdown is part of a continuing restructuring effort on the part of the company, said company officials Monday.
Over the past two years the company has been shifting production to overseas sources and integrating marketing and product development activities, combining divisional units and establishing Asian-based sourcing and quality control.
Jensen noted that the Delphi plant is one of the last surviving production facilities of its kind.
That will end as May runs its course and areas of production shut down one by one.
During that time, Jensen said he will be talking with employees before making decisions on who will remain.
"We are right now in the process of talking with folks about what their wants and desires are, and under the new business model we will be making some decisions," Jensen said.
He said first and foremost the company wants to make sure the people who are laid off have a transition plan.
"We're going to be working very hard with some agencies on interviewing training, resume preparation, and talking with other local manufacturers to put together a job fair and other types of things," said Jensen.
He said the goal for the employees to have them positioned as best as possible to re-enter the job searching regimen.
A severance package including an undisclosed amount of money will also be provided.
"I want to appeal to the community that there are a lot of good people here and we want to give them the best opportunity possible," said Jensen.
Closing rumored
As far as the community, it's been rumored for a number of years the plant may close.
Marion said his wife retired from Chromcraft, or more commonly known as Peters Revington.
"My wife worked there and when she retired in 2001 she said it was probably going to close in five years," Marion said. "She was off just a couple of years."
Sharon Wilson said she has a lot of friends who work at the plant and can easily rattle off the names of at least half a dozen.
"I know a lot of people who work there. It's going to be hard, terrible for the people who won't have jobs," Wilson said.
The impact of the closing will be felt as a domino effect that won't be fully realized for a while yet, said Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser.
"There is going to be a negative effect for us. I know we'll lose where the water utility is concerned," said Strasser.
Strasser did not have exact numbers available, but loss of revenue there could run more than $1,000 per month.
He's is also concerned about losses in the wastewater and tax departments as well.
But repercussions could go further than that if former employees have to leave the community to find work.
"If employees don't stick around it could affect us there," Strasser said citing students leaving local schools, homes being foreclosed and other negative impacts.
Strasser said he and Carroll County Economic Development Corporation director Daryl Smith attempted meetings with Chromcraft representatives to forestall the shut down.
"We tried to meet with them, but there was nothing we could do to help them compete," Strasser explained.
"Globe and Peters Revington are the kinds of manufacturers we see go to Asian markets and we can't compete with that."
While city officials continue to look for someone interested in older facilities like the Globe Valve buildings, they also set their sights on the future and the coming Hoosier Heartland Corridor to offset economic losses.
"We're still hoping the highway will help out when it gets here. We need patience until then and need to do the right things to lay groundwork for the future," Strasser said.
"We're just on the bad end of all this, but we'll keep trying to market Delphi."
For now though, his greatest concern is for the employees losing their jobs at Chromcraft Revington plant.
"I'm concerned about the employees and the loss of their jobs," said Strasser.
Source: http://www.thehj.com/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=32&ArticleID=23257&TM=21960.05 
