CHARLESTON PLANT TO MOVE BUSINESS; 140 TO LOSE JOBS

CHARLESTON -- More than 140 jobs will be lost when De-Sta-Co Manufacturing closes its facility in Charleston.

Operations at the Charleston plant, in existence since 1976, will move to the De-Sta-Co facilities in Arkansas.

Employees were notified Wednesday of the plant's closing and layoffs. Layoffs will start Dec. 12.

Some employees will have an opportunity to transfer.

"We've been conducting one-on-one interviews with employees the past two days," said Keith Byrd, Charleston plant manager. "We've been explaining some options concerning transfers."

Some employees, said Byrd, indicated they were interested in a transfer.

Grif Griffey, vice president and general manager of De-Sta-Co, announced Friday that all tubular product cell operations at Charleston will be moved to the Paris, Ark., facility by June and that computer CNC machining blocks and connectors will be relocated to the Russellville, Ark., technology center by the same time.

De-Sta-Co manufactures aluminum tubular products used in the automotive air-conditioning industry.

"It is with much regret that we are having to make these changes," said Griffey. He explained that due to worldwide competition in the automotive market and in evaluating the manufacturing strategy, it was concluded that "we must concentrate our manufacturing energy and skills into one plant and one technology center in the U.S."

De-Sta-Co Manufacturing, formerly Stark Manufacturing Co., is a manufacturer of aluminum tube and block assemblies.

The Charleston manufacturing facility was the first for the company 21 years ago.

The manufacturing facility at Paris was opened in 1988. De-Sta-Co sales, administrative and engineering office is at Russelville.

De-Sta-Co Manufacturing Tubular Products, headquartered at Troy, Mich., is a subsidiary of Dover Resources, a division of Dover Corp.