By Eric Fetters
Herald Writer
Workers at a concrete pipe plant that’s operated for decades in southwest Everett have been told they will be laid off as the facility is closed and its assets are sold.
Rinker Materials Corp., formerly known as CSR America, is closing the plant at 6300 Glenwood Ave. later this month, according to workers.
The assets are being sold to Hanson Pipe &Products, a division of British-based Hanson PLC and the largest concrete pipe maker in North America, workers said.
Rinker officials had no comment on the announced closure, only confirming that the plant might be sold.
"We are in a possible sale process, which is governed under a confidentiality agreement," said Peter Trimble, a spokesman for the Florida-based company. "Until something happens, nothing is definite."
But the plant’s employees — currently numbering 35 — were given their two weeks’ notice on Tuesday.
"They said, ‘You’ve got two weeks and you’re out of here.’ No thank you or nothing," an upset employee said after being told that he would be laid off. He said he had worked at the plant for 17 years. "I’m just really disappointed."
Dan O’Connor, business manager with Laborers Union Local 292, started meeting with workers and management after Tuesday’s announcement. He said he was still getting details on the closure late Wednesday.
In addition to the Everett pipe plant, Rinker owns asphalt, concrete and aggregate plants in Snohomish County. None of those other facilities, some of which are located next to the pipe plant, will be affected by the closure, Trimble said.
Before coming under the ownership of Rinker in 1990, the plant and other materials facilities were owned by Everett’s Associated Sand &Gravel Co., which was founded in 1938 by business partners George Duecy and Howard Sievers.
Workers and the union office said they believed the pipe plant has operated for about 50 years. During the peak production season, it normally employs more than 80 people, O’Connor said.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Fetters at 425-339-3453 or send e-mail to fetters@heraldnet.com.
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