Ohio-based Real Alloy Holding Inc. plans to close its Mount Pleasant facility and move work to Indiana and Michigan as it works through the federal bankruptcy process.
The 180,000-square-foot foundry, located at 7505 Durand Ave., employs 39 people. No closing date was given. Real Alloy acquired it in late 2016 as part of a $24 million deal with Beck Aluminum Alloys. At the time the company described it as a plant operating at high capacity and an opportunity to expand its geographic footprint.
Real Alloy and its holding company, Real Industry, initiated chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings last year, citing severely tightened liquidity.
The company provided an update last week, indicating it had negotiated 2018 production contracts with several longstanding customers, but felt shutting down the Mount Pleasant facility “allows the business to better utilize production capacity and reduce overall capital needs.”
“Given our strong liquidity position, the support from our customers and suppliers and the favorable spread prices, we believe we are well positioned for strong performance in the future,” said Terry Hogan, Real Alloy president. “We look forward to completing our sale process with the right capital partner in the near future and continuing to grow our core operations in North America and Europe.”
Before the deal with Real Alloy, Beck Aluminum was awarded $300,000 in tax credits by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. in 2015. The company was to invest nearly $5.5 million in the facility while creating 25 new jobs and retaining 52.
Beck invested $8.8 million but only created seven new jobs, according to WEDC records. The agency verified $122,160 in tax credits based on that performance, but Mark Maley, a WEDC spokesman, said the credits were revoked in August.
Once WEDC revokes tax credits the state Department of Revenue takes over efforts to recover money claimed by the company. A DOR spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an inquiry about those efforts.
