Cooper Tire Announces Intent To Close Albany, Ga., Facility

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE:CTB) today announced the pending closure of its manufacturing facility in Albany, Ga. This announcement follows a network capacity study analyzing the Company's optimal manufacturing footprint in the United States. The impact on net profit of this closure is estimated to be $150 million to $175 million in restructuring charges, between 50 and 60 percent of which will be non-cash charges. Annual savings after implementation are estimated at between $75 million and $80 million. A portion of these savings will begin to materialize in 2009 as production from the plant is moved to other locations.

United States manufacturers have come under intense pressure in recent years from increased lower-priced imports and softening domestic demand for products. Roy Armes, chief executive officer, said, "This was a difficult decision and we regret the impact it will have on our employees in Albany and the surrounding community. The detailed study we performed was fair, objective, and conclusive that we needed to consolidate our capacity and close one of our U.S. facilities. The government and community agencies were actively engaged and involved and offered a high level of support, but the final outcome was clear."

The facility was acquired by Cooper in 1990 and employs approximately 1,400. Cooper intends to realign the mix of products at its remaining U.S. facilities located in Findlay, Ohio, Texarkana, Ark., and Tupelo, Miss., to meet customer demand.

Armes continued, "Cooper customers in the North American market must have competitive products of the highest quality from Cooper in order to grow and prosper in this intense market. This capacity rationalization will help us meet that demand. Employees in Albany were notified of the outcome and will be provided support as the facility winds down operations in the next 12 months. We appreciate the hard work and efforts that our employees have always demonstrated and will assist them where possible through this transition. Unfortunately, this was a very necessary action to position Cooper to compete in a global market environment.

"The current state of the economy and demand for our products in the United States has caused us to rethink how we could best leverage our fixed costs. We will also continue with our existing ongoing lean, six sigma, and automation initiatives to improve our cost structure throughout our operations, in addition to this capacity rationalization effort. This capacity reduction, along with improvements at our other facilities, will allow Cooper to optimize our global footprint and capitalize on current and future market opportunities."

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Airgas to Build 450 tpd Liquid Carbon Dioxide Plant at FUEL Ethanol Plant Near Camilla, GA

BUSINESS WIRE--Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG) today announced that it will build a new 450-ton-per-day liquid carbon dioxide plant at the First United Ethanol LLC, (FUEL) complex in Camilla, GA. Airgas entered into a 15-year agreement with FUEL, which will supply the feedstock of raw carbon dioxide for the Airgas facility.

“By building a new world-class facility at this destination-based ethanol plant, Airgas will better serve carbon dioxide customers in the Georgia and Florida markets,” said Division President Ted Schulte. “We currently serve customers in this region through our plant in Augusta, GA and via railcar to a depot in central Florida. This new site will create a stronger supply chain for our liquid merchant customers as well as for our own dry ice production, and it will also minimize product dislocation costs when we encounter plant outages.”

Airgas Chairman and CEO, Peter McCausland, added, “Our CO2 and Dry Ice business posted 10% organic revenue growth last quarter, and has a great outlook. This plant will further enhance our position as an industry leader in CO2 production and distribution, and the capture of CO2 from a process plant to deploy in commercial use is an environmentally responsible method of production.”

FUEL is building the first commercial ethanol plant in the Southeast U.S. and will begin operations in the fall. At the Airgas facility, the raw carbon dioxide will be refined for food, commercial and beverage-grade use. The facility eventually will employ 15 to 20 people and will be operational by late 2009.

Airgas Carbonic is the second-largest manufacturer and distributor of liquid carbon dioxide in the United States and the largest in the Southeast U.S., with six production facilities serving 19 states, primarily east of the Mississippi River. Two of its plants are the largest in North America and offer state-of-the-art production and quality control capability.

Airgas Dry Ice is the largest producer and distributor of dry ice nationwide with dry ice plants and distribution points across the U.S. Liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice are used predominantly in food service and beverage industries for freezing, chilling and in-transit applications.

Governor Perdue Announces Dicon Technologies to Build New U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Bryan County

Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that Dicon Technologies, Inc., a medical component manufacturer and a supplier to U.S. troops, will construct a new facility in coastal Bryan County. The company will create up to 100 jobs in the next five years and invest almost $3.7 million.

“I am proud to welcome an innovative company to like Dicon Technologies to Georgia,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “Dicon will find that Georgia workers have the kinds of skills and commitment to the job that helps companies grow and thrive.”

Governor Perdue made today’s announcement from the 2008 BIO International Convention in San Diego, the world’s leading conference and exhibition for the biosciences community.
Dicon’s medical components are used in the skin care, foot care and medical industries and are customized for sale to companies and hospitals. The company’s medical products focus on diabetic wound care, cosmeceuticals and foot care, which are sold globally under its own brands and through partnerships with some of the largest retailers in the world, including K-Mart, Albertson’s and numerous drugstore chains. Dicon, which currently manufactures all of its products in China, has made the progressive decision to manufacture many of its current and future technology-driven advanced products in Bryan County. Some of these new medical products are intended to supply U.S. troops serving in Iraq and elsewhere around the world.

“We are very impressed by Georgia’s progressive economic development and partnership programs, as well as the skilled workforce here,” said Sam Ginsberg, chairman of Dicon Technologies. “Those factors, in addition to ease of exporting thanks to our proximity to Georgia’s ports and to Dow Chemical, a key strategic partner, give us great confidence that Georgia is the right location to make the technology-driven, advanced products the health industry demands.”

Dicon will occupy a temporary location in July and will locate in its new building in the Interstate Centre business park in December 2008. The company will use Georgia’s award-winning QuickStart program to train its workforce. The privately-owned company, based in Allendale, N.J., is also considering a relocation of its headquarters, as well as its research and development facility, to Georgia.

“Bryan County is an ideal location for companies like Dicon who are looking for a solid infrastructure, talented workforce and access to the amenities of Savannah and the coast,” said Jean Bacon, executive director of the Development Authority of Bryan County. “We look forward to counting Dicon among our corporate citizens and to helping them grow.”
Andrew Neumann, project manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and Peggy Jolley, of Georgia Power, collaborated with the Bryan County Development Authority, Herty Advanced Materials Development Center and Quantum, Inc. special needs center to assist the company with its location.