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Antrim County News



Local News

PUBLISHED: Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Dura announces proposed sale of Mancelona plant



MANCELONA - DURA Automotive Systems, Inc. Tuesday announced that as a continuation of the company's strategic restructuring initiative called 50-cubed, it is proposing to sell the 173,000 square feet Mancelona facility and close four manufacturing facilities in Indiana; Ontario; Missouri; and Pennsylvania.

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Separately, but as part of the ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring currently underway, the company has announced its intention to sell its jack business, and its hinge and latch business. The proposed divestitures will include the sale of facilities in Butler, Indiana; and Mancelona. The Mancelona location is a 173,000 square foot facility and employs 237 people. It manufactures automotive latch assemblies. The Indiana location employs 181 people, consists of 140,000 square feet and manufactures jacks and jack tool kits

Further information regarding these divestitures will be made as sale agreements are reached.

Phone calls to Mancelona plant manager Drew May were not returned prior to presstime. The plant has balked at participation in the Mancelona Area Water and Sewer Authority, citing the costs of the hookup.

The 50-cubed program was launched in February, 2006 and established heightened performance goals in quality, worldwide efficiency and profitability. The program is projected to result in the idling of approximately 10 DURA manufacturing facilities worldwide by the end of 2007. The company also anticipates the announcement of further consolidation strategies in the third quarter of 2007.

In 2006, DURA announced planned closures of sites in Llanelli, United Kingdom; Brantford, Ontario; Stratford, Ontario; and a U.S. site in LaGrange, Indiana, as part of its restructuring program. The following additional plants are slated for closure by year-end 2007:

"We recognize the impact that these announcements will have on our employees and these communities," said Larry Denton, chairman and chief executive officer of DURA Automotive. "The decisions to consolidate facilities and transition assembly lines are extremely difficult but necessary. Our restructuring programs are designed to improve our long-term competitiveness and assist the organization to emerge from Chapter 11 protection in an expedited timeframe."

DURA currently has a presence in 16 countries with 69 locations, including its manufacturing facilities, technology and customer service centers, and joint venture companies.

On October 30, 2006, DURA Automotive Systems, Inc., and its domestic and Canadian affiliates filed voluntary petitions for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company and its domestic and Canadian affiliates continue to operate their businesses as Chapter 11 debtors-in-possession.





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