(Updated at 5:42 p.m. 1-5-12) Workers at Bowling Green’s Cooper-Standard plant on Van Camp Road were
informed today of a corporation review that could result in the facility closing.
Plant Manager Bob Huey confirmed the meetings with employees, but said of the prospect of the plant
closing: "No final decision has been made on that."
Late Wednesday afternoon a union official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Sentinel-Tribune that
closing the plant is "far more certain" than Cooper-Standard officials are saying.
The union official said the plant has been designated as the one to close. The Cooper-Standard board will
vote on the closing next week. He said most of the work would go to Mexico and that the union workers at
the BG plant have made $2.3 million in concessions.
Sharon Wenzl, corporate spokesman for the Novi, Mich.-based firm, said that the plant is being studied as
part of a continuing review of the company’s facilities. "Certainly it’s something they’re looking
closely at."
The company, she said, is "always looking at capacity utilization" of its manufacturing
operations.
"This particular business has some redundant capacity," she added. In the current highly
competitive auto industry, constant attention to reducing costs is necessary.
About 200 are employed in the plant which manufactures low pressure rubber hoses for Nissan-Renault,
Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.
Other Cooper-Standard plants also make those products. According to the company’s Web site, another
Cooper-Standard plant in Mt. Sterling, Ky., also produces that specific product.
Wenzl said the decision will be made based "on the overall cost of manufacturing."
She said there was no "specific timeline" established to make the decision.
The company’s plant on North Main Street in Bowling Green produces rubber seals and trim.