It was the end of an era Wednesday as tire cordmaker Firestone pulled the plug on its Woodstock plant after 80 years, a move that will throw 170 employees out of work during the next year.

But Woodstock officials believe the booming auto city won’t skip a beat, predicting the empty factory will be rented out quickly.

Woodstock’s economic development commissioner Len Magyar said he’s hopeful many Firestone workers can find other jobs, noting Woodstock is on an economic roll.

“There are four or five other companies looking for employees,” he said.

He said construction will begin soon on a new plant for Soprema, a building supplies manufacturer. That plant will employ about 75 initially, but there are plans to expand.

As for the Firestone building, Magyar said it has access to a rail line and there’s a good chance it will be snapped up once it is on the market.

Firestone management summoned all its workers to an early morning meeting to tell them the plant will close,

The textile plant, which mainly produces cord material for automobile tires, would scale back production gradually and close by the end of 2018.

“It’s a sad day for industry in Woodstock,” said Rob Nicholas, a regional director of Local 175 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents the workers.

Nicholas said the closing had been rumoured for some time.

“There’s been rumours for numerous years. In each set of contract negotiations, there was the question of whether the plant was going to close,” he said, adding management told workers the closing was due to “global markets.”

“There’s not as much need for nylon cord. Some of the work will not be continued at all. Some of the production will be transferred to North Carolina.”



Firestone Textiles Company in Woodstock. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press/Postmedia Network

Bridgestone, Firestone’s parent company, issued a statement saying the closing will begin in phases starting Dec. 31, with operations ceasing in the second half of 2018.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision that has come about only after extensive consideration and a thorough assessment of our business and operations,” Bill Thompson, chief operator for Bridgestone Americas, said in the statement.

“There is a strong team at the Woodstock plant, and we are grateful for our employees’ contributions to our business and the community. In light of increasing global competition and difficult market conditions, however, it is no longer viable to maintain operations in Woodstock.”

The plant will continue to produce during the transition, with assistance from a plant in Kings Mountain, N.C.

“We are committed to helping to reduce the impact of this decision on affected employees and the community,” Thompson said. “We are proud of our long-­standing presence in Woodstock and our Canadian footprint, and are focused first on our employees through this transition, but also on our customers, suppliers and community partners.”

Firestone opened its first plant on Oxford Street in Woodstock in 1936. The second plant on Dundas Street East was opened in 1967 and the original plant was later shut down and turned into a warehouse.

The closing of Firestone will bring an end to a long history of textile plants in Woodstock. At one time, the city also was home to LaFrance Textiles, Paquette sock factory and several Harvey Woods plants. All but Firestone have closed.

Employees leaving the morning meeting were tight-lipped about the details, referring all media questions to human resources.

One worker joked the meeting was “like a bad episode of The Office.”

Others employees took the news more philosophically.

“It is what it is. What are you going to do about it?” said one.

Nicholas said the 135 unionized workers will receive “enhanced severance” under the terms of the collective agreement, and the UFCW will meet with management to discuss the details. About 35 ­salaried employees also are affected.

Magyar said the company’s long history in the community makes the plant’s closing hard to stomach, adding many new immigrants to Canada got their first job there in the 1950s.

“A lot of people worked there. So many families have had members work there. There’s a lot of history there.”

Magyar said he and Birtch were planning to talk to Bridgestone officials on a trade trip to Japan later this year.

“We were trying to reach out to them and not having any success,” said Magyar. “Now you can kind of see why.”

Reaction

“It’s very sad to see them go. There are a lot of great people there. As a community, we will work to try to assist employees find alternative work in the community.”

– Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch

“Firestone Textiles and their employees have been generous supporters and volunteers with United Way for many years. Their support has impacted many lives; it has impacted our community. We are saddened by the news of the plant closure and our thoughts are with the employees at this difficult time.

– Shelley Lachapelle of United Way Oxford, who encouraged workers to call 211 to find out about programs and services that can help in the wake of closings

“My thoughts are with the employees and families impacted. Oxford has been hard hit by job losses over the last year and I continue to push the government to support businesses in Ontario and protect jobs in communities like ours. I support the workers at Cami, who are also fighting to keep jobs in Ontario. At times like these, it is especially important to support our local businesses and the jobs they create here in Oxford.”

– Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman, in a statement on Facebook

About the plant

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company was founded in Akron, Ohio, at the turn of the last century by Harvey S. Firestone after he discovered a new way of making carriage tires.

By 1936 the company had expanded into Canada, with the company purchasing the property known as Oxford Knitting Mills in Woodstock.

Called the Firestone Cotton Mills of Canada, the plant employed about 200 local residents and manufactured cotton into tire cord and other products.

During the Second World War many of the positions at Firestone were filled by women.

Cotton was phased out in 1975, with greater emphasis on synthetic fibres such as nylon, polyester and rayon.

The first plant was closed in 1984 after 48 years of production.

Plant 2 was christened in 1965 and was designed to expand Firestone’s tire cord production, using larger, more cost-efficient spools.

A $6-million expansion in 1984 integrated Plant 1 employees in Plant 2.

Plant 3 was completed in 1967, producing Nylon 6, used in tire yarn, as well as small nylon chips used in injection mouldings.

At the time the company said the style and quality of yarn has steadily improved to meet increasingly higher customer demands.

Over the year Firestone Fibres and Textiles and its employees have been generous to charities that included Sakura House, the Alzheimer Society of Oxford, the Canadian Mental Health Association Oxford, United Way Oxford and Lymphoma Society.

Other Woodstock plant closures

Bickle/King Seagrave: 1913 to 1985

Harvey Woods: 1906 to 1990

King Equipment: Closed 1993

Fisher Controls: Closed 1997

Thomas Built Buses Inc.: 1963 to 2001

Eureka Planter Company/Kelsey Hayes/Metal Technologies: 1904 to 2005

Timberjack/Deere and Company: 1967 to 2006

E.E. Paquette and Sons: 1923 to 2007