Posted on 12/28/2003 4:25:44 AM PST by petuniasevan
Mirro plant sold for $4.5 million
New firm, Koenig & Vits, buys mill from Rubbermaid
The Associated Press
MANITOWOC — A startup company has agreed to purchase the Mirro plant for $4.5 million, the company’s chairman said Saturday.
Koenig & Vits Chairman Tim Martinez said an agreement has been reached to purchase the Mirro plant from Newell Rubbermaid. They were to write a check and get the deed to the nearly 1-million-square-foot plant on a 160-acre site Tuesday, he said.
The new name will be Koenig & Vits, he said.
Through a combination of major contributions by local investors, and state and federal money, the purchase was made with no bank debt.
“What is novel about what we’re doing with this plant is what I would consider a representation of what could be done with many of the facilities being left behind by companies that relocate manufacturing overseas in hopes of cheap labor,” Martinez said.
He said they want to be fully operational in producing coil aluminum and plan to grow into contract manufacturing in the rest of the plant within six months.
Martinez said additional applications for employment will be taken in January. The company hopes to hire 50 to 60 more employees for aluminum rolling by March. They hope to have 313 employees by 2006, he said.
Former Mirro employees are especially encouraged to apply, he said.
The rolling mill is the only one of its kind in Wisconsin, and one of only a few in the country.
The plant has $2 million in test orders in January, and Newell-Rubbermaid agreed to buy $1 million of orders over the next 12 months, Martinez said.
The 26 employees currently working at the rolling mill could receive their first paychecks within the first two weeks of January, although many have decided to reinvest the money in company stock, Martinez said.
Between 60 and 80 percent of the current employees have purchased stock in Koenig & Vits, Martinez said.
If you know anyone who worked at Mirro, let them know about this. They are encouraged to apply.
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