Ohio-based aluminium billet and slab manufacturer Matalco Inc. is set to shut down its Canton, Ohio, facility this summer. This announcement is expected to impact the life of 71 employees, with layoffs beginning on June 6 and continuing over a period of up to 90 days. The company produces the billets and slabs using recycled aluminium.
According to a letter dated April 8, 2025, submitted to the Ohio Office of Workforce Development, the plant will begin the closure process on June 6. The notice was issued in compliance with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires companies with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 days' advance notice before a plant closure or mass layoff involving 50 or more workers.
The Canton site is one of seven locations operated by Matalco. The company noted that some affected workers are being offered opportunities to transfer to positions at one of Matalco's five other U.S. facilities, located in Bluffton, Indiana; Lordstown, Ohio; Shelbyville, Kentucky; Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; and Franklin, Kentucky.
Matalco also operates a facility at its home base in Brampton, Ontario. Matalco acquired the Canton facility in 2010 through a receivership sale from Thakar Aluminum. The company's most recent expansion came in December 2022 with the launch of its Franklin, Kentucky plant, a $65 million investment capable of producing 135,000 tonnes of aluminium ingot slabs annually.
In a major development in late 2023, London-based Rio Tinto purchased a 50 per cent equity stake in Matalco for $700 million from the Giampaolo Group, headquartered in Canada. According to a Rio Tinto news release, the partnership combines the strengths of North America's leading primary and secondary aluminium producers.
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