C. Falls Aluminum plant shutting down

The Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. notified its employees Tuesday that the plant will be shut down within 60 days, eliminating about 200 jobs.

"We held a meeting this morning and notified the employees that we are issuing the warning notice and we are going to be closing down the plant," said Haley Beaudry, CFAC spokesman.

Federal law requires the warning notice to pay employees for 60 days, but the plant could be shut down sooner.

"This is not a permanent closure," Beaudry stressed, but he said it's too early to speculate about when the plant potentially could be reopened.

The plant, which is owned by the Swiss company Glencore AG, reduced production last July, shutting down one of its potlines and laying off 125 employees.

The mood among the plant's employees was somber but the work continued, said Dave Toavs of the Aluminum Workers Trade Council, the union representing them.

"We're running business as usual," Toavs said. "We're still making metal."

Beaudry said the latest decision was driven by several forces.

"The price of aluminum is still deteriorating like all other metal prices," he said. "There's just a slow domestic and worldwide economy … Inventories [of aluminum] around the world are rather large and the demand is low."

At the same time, raw material prices have been resilient, and that includes electricity prices, Beaudry said.

CFAC is a major electricity consumer, and a decision from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last week would have led to even higher electricity prices.

The case involved the Bonneville Power Administration's contracts with direct service industries that include CFAC and other aluminum producers in the Northwest.

"Last week's 9th Circuit ruling was a significant setback for us," Beaudry said.

The CFAC announcement is the latest in a string of layoffs at larger employers in the Flathead Valley, including Semitool Inc., the Goose Bay construction company and Plum Creek Timber Co.

Among Montana counties, Flathead County ranks relatively high in unemployment. Its November jobless rate was 7.3 percent, compared to 4.9 percent for the state and 6.7 percent for the nation.

The aluminum plant has been in business since 1955 and has weathered a variety of economic storms and shutdowns in its 53-year history.

In 2001, the plant endured its first full shutdown; the facility was idle for 13 months. Since then the plant's production has ranged from 20 percent to 60 percent of capacity.

"As one of theÊNorthwest Montana's legacy industries, Columbia Falls Aluminum Company is a mainstay in the manufacturing segment of our economy," said Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.

"These and other recent developments clearly underscore the urgency for a pro-growth, job-creating agenda in Kalispell andÊ Montana."Ê

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com