Local CertainTeed to lay off 100

WRIGHT TWP. – The national collapse in home building has taken a local toll as up to 100 workers at an insulation manufacturing plant in the Crestwood Industrial Park have been told they’ll be laid off as early as April.

Plant manager Brett Ostrowski called the layoffs temporary and said the CertainTeed plant that’s been in Mountain Top since 1964 will not close its doors.

Ostrowski said the plant has taken a hit as the economy has been in a downspin, and home construction along with it. He said the plant, which employs 265, ordered several week-long furloughs last year while company officials hoped the economy would turn around.

He said by early January it became apparent that would not happen any time soon and word came down from corporate headquarters in Valley Forge that layoffs would be needed. Employees were informed in mid-January.

Ostrowski said the company will offer displaced workers training on how to write a resume, how to look for jobs and job interview tips beginning next week.

He said the laid off workers would be given first crack at getting their jobs back once the economy turns around and the company gives the go-ahead to rehire.

“Hopefully the market improves. And we do expect it to improve,” Ostrowski said. “We will absolutely look first to those employees for rehire.”

Ostrowski said the company has deep roots in the Mountain Top area and a decision like this impacts more than just the plant workers and their families. It has a ripple effect on area businesses, he said, and as a Wright Township resident himself, he takes the layoffs personally hard.

On the bright side, Ostrowski said building insulation is a necessary product and once things turn around the need will exist again. He said the hardship “isn’t companywide, but nationwide.”

Michael B. Loughery, a CertainTeed spokesman, said the entire industry is hurting but the company is trying its best get through tough times and help its employees.

“It seems every day we see an announcement from somebody else that’s downsizing,” Loughery said.

Other CertainTeed plants have announced they’ll completely close, including those that manufacture vinyl siding in Social Circle, Ga., and London, Ontario, Canada. The company’s Chester plant, which manufactures roofing material, has announced it will close on May 2, putting 54 people out of work. Other plants throughout the company have announced layoffs.