JW Peters Inc., a Burlington-based manufacturer of precast and pre-stressed concrete, has merged with IPC Inc. of De Moines, Iowa. IPC is also a precast and pre-stressed concrete company.
Both companies are owned by Cretex Companies. The corporate offices of JW Peters have been moved to Des Moines, and the two companies now share an administration and accounting staff, a company spokesperson said.
Last week, JW Peters told the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that it would lay off about 81 employees between April 6 and May 59.
Most of the layoffs in Burlington – 72 – are in the company’s manufacturing operations. In its letter to the state, the company said most of the layoffs would be temporary. Matt McAllister, president of IPC said he hopes the laid off manufacturing workers will be called back within six months.
“It all hinges on when contracts start coming back in,” he said.
If all of the layoffs are made, the Burlington company will have about 40 workers.
However, nine positions will be permanently laid off, because of consolidations in administration and accounting. Included in the layoffs are the company’s president, payroll administrator, materials manager, accounting manager, director of operations and several other administrative positions.
JW Peters and IPC are similar companies with common ownership and are a logical consolidation, McAllister said.
“Merging these firms allows us to streamline the support areas of accounting, engineering and administration and enhances our efforts in the areas of lean manufacturing and best production practices across a number of precast plants,” he said.
