Joist manufacturer to close Fallon plant

Commercial Metals Co., one of the 15 largest employers in Churchill County, will close its Fallon plant next month.

Debbie Okle, a spokeswoman for the Dallas-based company, would not release the number of employees who will be laid off because of the closure.

Figures compiled last fall by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation show the facility employed between 90 to 99 employees.

The closing date for the Fallon plant is set for April 29.

"This will have a huge impact on us," said Eric Grimes, executive director of the Churchill Economic Development Authority. "We'll see foreclosures go up and people moving out."

Grimes said the next two weeks will be critical because CMC will re-evaluate its assets and facilities.

"I would like to hear from them about the future of their plant," Grimes said.

The economic development official wants to know if CMC will permanently close the plant or re-tool its Fallon operation. If CMC decides to sell the plant, Grimes said the site, which has rail accessibility, could attract another business into the county.

The plant was one of seven facilities operated by CMC that make joists and decks for construction markets.

"The outlook for joist consumption in the North American markets is weak. This product line has suffered low demand, depressed prices, and shrinking margins all leading to unacceptable losses. By exiting this business, we believe the capital invested in these operations will be better deployed in our other downstream fabricating operations," said Murray R. McClean, CMC's chairman, president, and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.

Shirley Walker, retired executive director of CEDA, worked with CMC to open the Fallon facility in the mid-1990s. Construction of the Fallon facility began in 1996.

"They built here because of the proximity to their Western markets California and the Pacific Northwest and surrounding areas," she said.

Churchill County Comptroller Alan Kalt said the closure will hurt taxable sales, demand for services and property tax.

By using the state employment department figures, Kalt estimates the loss of the local CMC payroll will be somewhere between $3.5 million to $5 million a year. Kalt isn't optimistic that many of the laid off workers will be able to find another job in the county because of the tight employment market.