Simonton Closing Oklahoma Plant

In response to the sustained downturn in the housing market, Simonton Windows is planning to close its McAlester, Okla., plant by year end.  The vinyl window maker reports it will relocate production lines for its impact-resistant vinyl coastal products to the company's West Virginia operating sites.

Additional manufacturing operations will be relocated to Simonton's facility in Paris, Ill. This decision does not affect the company's operations in Vacaville, Calif., it is noted.

"After extensive evaluation, we have decided to pro-actively consolidate our manufacturing operations to keep us competitive in the marketplace and to more fully utilize our facilities in West Virginia and Illinois," says Mark Savan, Simonton president. "In the challenging environment facing all building products companies, we are aligning our manufacturing operations with current and future demand indicators."

Even with the closure, Simonton will maintain its record of "the industry's shortest, most dependable lead times," Savan adds. "We will also continue to explore the development of new products and services that can support our customer's business needs as we grow our company in the future."

Production at the Oklahoma facility is expected to continue into December of 2011. Approximately 252 employees at the facility will be offered severance packages and support with job placement.

"We understand this decision impacts the lives of many people in the McAlester community, and we sincerely regret that," Savan notes. "This was a very difficult decision. McAlester has been a good place for us to do business and I wish to thank our employees and the community for their support of Simonton over the past 10 years."