A temporary shutdown of Pittsburgh Corning Corp.’s Port Allegany
plant is set to begin July 1 and last about eight weeks.

Pittsburgh Corning officials announced the shutdown Thursday
afternoon.

According to Dan Lhota, human resource director at Pittsburgh
Corning, the shutdown will allow the company to “rebalance supply
and demand in the glass block business.”

About 175 employees will be affected – 139 of those are members
of the United Steelworkers Union, Lhota said. Those workers who are
not part of the union include management, supervisors,
professionals and office workers.

The company expects to resume production early in September;
employees could be called back earlier pending an increase in
sales.

During the time production will be halted temporarily, staffing
will be limited to support sales and distribution operations. Also,
routine maintenance will be done at the facility.

Pittsburgh Corning is a manufacturer of residential, commercial
and industry building materials, including glass block and cellular
glass insulation.

The Port Allegany facility manufactures architectural glass
block products for the commercial and residential markets.

This shutdown is the only Pittsburgh Corning facility affected
because it’s Pittsburgh Corning’s only North America facility
producing glass block products and is tied directly to the
residential and construction industry, Lhota said.

“Our Port Allegany location is a crucial part of our glass block
business, having produced high-quality products since 1937,” Lhota
said. “During the past two quarters, our glass block business has
built up an unusually high inventory, which we attribute to the
slowdown in the housing and construction markets and pressure on
our retail customers in the home improvement sector. We anticipate
that an eight-week halt in production will give us adequate time to
balance supply with demand.”

Unlike other companies that do shut down for some time during
the summer, Pittsburgh Corning has never done this before.

“This temporary shutdown is not a part of any normal procedure,”
Lhota said.

Executives at Pittsburgh Corning have discussed the shutdown
with union representatives. Union members will be eligible for
unemployment benefits under the Pennsylvania Unemployment
Compensation as well as other benefits under the current
contract.

The Port Allegany facility operates three shifts per day, seven
days a week.

In February 2007, the company laid off 45 workers as a result of
the permanent closure of one of its two melters at the Port
Allegany plant. Then, in October, the company announced the
temporary lay off of 20 employees due to a downturn in the housing
industry.

Pittsburgh Corning is the 18th largest employer in McKean
County, according to the Center for Workforce Information &
Analysis.

The news of this shutdown comes on the heels of an announcement
of a layoff of 35 workers by Zippo Manufacturing Co. in Bradford.
Zippo is the second largest employer in McKean County.