Westech Building Products closing Indiana profile extrusion plant

Westech Building Products LLC is closing its Mount Vernon, Ind., vinyl fence, deck and railing factory, the company told Indiana state regulators in an Aug. 23 letter.

The company said in a letter required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that 81 employees at the nonunion plant will lose their jobs and that the shutdown is expected to be completed by Nov. 21.

"This action is expected to be permanent, and the entire plant will be closed," the company wrote.

Westech, which is part of publicly traded resin maker Westlake Chemical Corp., did not respond immediately to questions about the closing.

Westech's website said it also has a window, door, decking and custom profile extrusion plant in Calgary, Alberta, as well as a production facility in China.

Westlake's vinyl building products unit reported that sales in the first half of this year fell to $607 million, down from $646 million in the first half of 2018, as the parent company noted slower global economic growth and uncertainty over international trade.

But company executives noted in a second quarter earnings conference call with analysts that they've been making other investments in the building products unit.

Westlake bought composite roofing making DaVinci Roofscape LLC in June through its Royal Building Products wing and purchased France-based global PVC compounder Nakan last year.

"[Building products] is a business that has continued to grow through these acquisitions and it is an attractive business as you can see with the capital we've put toward the acquisitions of Nakan and DaVinci," said Steve Bender, executive vice president and chief financial officer.