Brick-firing plant to close, leaving many out of work

MEXICO, Mo. -- A.P. Green said Tuesday it will close its brick-firing plant effective March 31, likely leaving between 80 and 110 people out of work.

Though the announcement was disappointing to city leaders, it was no surprise, they said.

Firebricks, or refractories, are heat-resistant materials that line high-temperature furnaces and reactors used to make products such as steel, aluminum or cement.

At the peak of employment during World War II, the company was thriving, employing nearly 4,000 workers in Mexico. About 1,200 people worked at the plant in the 1970s.

But the company has been hurt in recent decades by the downturns in the steel industry. At last count the plant employed about 118 workers, said Michael Elias, Mexico's director of economic development.

"It has been a declining industry for a number of years, so its critical impact on our economy will not be that great," Elias said.

Evolving economy

It has not been determined if management at the plant will be transferred, according to Elias. Right now, much of the concern is for the soon-to-be laid off workers, many of whom were longtime employees with sizable salaries.

"We are moving into a post-industrial society. Those high-paying labor positions are dwindling, our economy is evolving," Elias said. "Those jobs will not be replaced and that hurts."

The plant closing will be a blow, but Mexico's economy took an even bigger hit in 1998 when A.P. Green was sold to Dallas-based competitor Harbison-Walker for about $218 million, city leaders say.

The city lost a corporate headquarters as well as the economic activity that came with it.