Pella to Close South Carolina Plant

By the end of 2011, Pella Corp. will close its West Columbia, S.C., vinyl window manufacturing plant.  In addition, the window and door manufacturer is offering incentives for team members at some of its manufacturing locations to retire or voluntarily leave the company to adjust its workforce numbers to align with continued projections for a declining housing economy, reports Kathy Krafka Harkema, a Pella spokesperson.

“We consider plant closures and workforce reductions as a last resort, but new home construction has dropped more than 70 percent since 2006 and construction activity is predicted to remain soft,” she states. “Therefore, unfortunately, we must reduce excess manufacturing capacity.”

The company has operated the South Carolina facility, which currently employs 147, since 2004. Pella plans to partner with state officials to help employees prepare new potential careers.

“As consumer confidence weakens the willingness of Americans to build new homes, our goal is to use creative approaches like voluntary incentives and furloughs to help keep as many team members at work as possible during this highly-volatile economy,” Krafka Harkema notes.