Holcim to close Clarksville plant, eliminate 181 jobs

The shock waves were immediate and profound.
Holcim Inc. announced plans Tuesday to permanently close its cement plant in Clarksville by early next year, leaving 181 people without jobs.
The Swiss-owned firm has 16 manufacturing facilities and 76 distribution terminals in the U.S.
It is one of Pike County’s larger employers, drawing workers from a wide swath of Missouri and Illinois.
The sprawling Clarksville plant and barge-loading facility are familiar parts of the landscape along Highway 79 just north of the small community.
“It’s a very black day for Holcim,” said company spokeswoman Nancy Tully. “Our focus right now is our employees and that we operate safely with the time remaining.”
Fred Bridwell is an engineer at the plant and has worked there for 44 years. He helped with its construction and will now assist with the shut down.
“We never saw this coming,” said Bridwell, 64, who planned to retire next year. “Mouths flew open. Nobody expected it. My whole life, I spent there.”

‘Huge impact’
Many fear the long-lasting repercussions of the closing.
“It will be a huge impact to the whole of Pike County,” said Clarksville Mayor Jo Anne Smiley. “It’s a sad time. It’s going to be difficult to digest and look at where we go from here.”
“What a shock,” said Louisiana Mayor Don Giltner. “You just don’t expect something like that. All of a sudden, it will be gone. I wouldn’t have suspected it at all.”
Pike County Presiding Commissioner Dan Miller said the announcement follows what he called a “rough” year for residents, who’ve had to cope with flooding and economic troubles.
“It’s going to make a major impact to Pike County,” Miller said. “The jobs are high-paying jobs.”
Miller said the shut down may force the county, school districts and other tax bodies to re-evaluate their budgets because Holcim is a major source of revenue.
Leisa Dixon’s husband, Jerry, works at the plant.
“I haven’t had time to let it sink in,” Dixon said. “It just happened.”

Former workers react
Former employees also were surprised. Poul Munck worked at the plant for 25 years.
“I’m very disappointed,” Munck said. “It was a good place to work. It was good for the city and the area.”
“Wow,” said Jim Gott, an employee for 33 years who still gathers for coffee once a week with seven other former workers. “It just blows my mind. Half of the people I know work there.”
John Huff, a former purchasing manager, remembers better times.
“I never believed they would close the plant,” Huff said. “When I was there, it was the lowest cost producer of any (Holcim plant) in America.”
Huff, who’s 59, won’t be eligible for his pension for six years. He says it should be safe “as long as Holcim stays open and can make a buck somewhere.”
The company has promised to provide workers with more information about benefits at a later date, one employee said.
Bridwell, the Holcim engineer, had hoped to return to the plant for occasional good-natured visits after he retired. Now, he’s just saddened.
“I guess I was one of the first ones there and I’ll be one of the last to leave,” Bridwell said.

Economy blamed
In addition to the Clarksville plant, a similar facility in Dundee, Mich., will be shut down, resulting in the loss of 159 jobs.
In a statement, the company blamed the closings on “the extensive downturn in the demand” for its products.
“The closures are in response to economic and marketplace conditions,” Bernard Terver, Holcim US president and chief executive officer, said in the statement. “It is with sadness and regret we must take this step in Dundee and Clarksville, as we value the good work all these employees have done for Holcim and their communities.”
Tully called the economic picture “the worst this industry has seen in its history.”
Terver said the slowdown in demand for cement “is especially significant in the Midwest.”
The company cited Portland Cement Association statistics that show a 13 percent decline in demand for 2008, which followed a 10 percent drop in 2007.
A 12 percent decline is forecast for 2009 before an improvement in 2010.
The Clarksville plant each day produces 4,000 tons of clinker, a primary ingredient in Portland cement. Hazardous waste-derived fuels are used to heat the cement kiln.

Timetable
Holcim says the plant will shut down during the first quarter of 2009.
A worker told the Courier-Post that most of the 181 employees would be let go in the next 90 days.
A team of 30 employees will then grind the remaining 170 tons of clinker and finish other tasks. The process could take until September, the worker estimated.
Tully said the Clarksville and Dundee closings have nothing to do with construction of Holcim’s $1 billion cement plant in Ste. Genevieve County 55 miles south of St. Louis.
Work there began in March 2006 and completion is scheduled for next year.
Tully said Clarksville employees are welcome to apply for positions at Holcim’s other Amercian facilities. The company will decide what to do with its Pike County property after operations cease.
Local officials hope to clear up uncertainties before Holcim leaves.
“There’s a lot of questions,” said Smiley, the Clarksville mayor. “We have to be diligent and get all of the answers we can.”
Smiley, who helped lead successful efforts to battle floodwaters earlier this year, is adamant that Clarksville will survive.
“Across the country, people are dealing with things they never thought they’d have to deal with,” Smiley said. “We’re strong. We’ll do what people have always done. We’ll persevere.”