BENS RUN - A Tyler County aluminum recycling facility will cease operations next year.
Aleris will close its Bens Run recycling facility March 1.
Jason Saragian, director of communication for Aleris, said 30-40 employees will be impacted. Employees were notified of the closure Friday.
"Despite our best efforts, the facility was not meeting our business goals," Saragian said. "We put a lot of thought into this decision, because it impacts people."
Aleris' Bens Run facility produces pyramid and cone-shaped deoxidizers used in the steel industry that help remove impurities during the steel-making process. The facility also produces aluminum ingot in multiple alloys and manufactures recycled secondary ingot and sows.
The facility was opened in 1989.
According to the company website, Aleris manufactures coils of aluminum sheet, aluminum plate or aluminum rods, bars or billets tailored to customer specifications.
The company also has a recycling facility in Friendly, and a rolled products facility in Buckhannon. Saragian said the Friendly plant will be unaffected by the Bens Run closure.
The Friendly recycling facility is a milling operation where aluminum byproducts are crushed and ground into aluminum concentrates and sold to aluminum processors. It was opened in 1998.
According to the company website, Aleris was formed in 2004 through the merger of Commonwealth Industries Inc. and IMCO Recycling Inc.
In 2006, Aleris acquired Corus Group PLC for $900 million, which doubled the company's size and significantly expanded its presence in Europe and China. Between 2005 and 2008, $560 million of additional acquisitions were made. In 2007 the company sold its zinc business to focus on its core aluminum business.
Aleris was acquired by Texas Pacific Group in December 2006 and taken private. When the markets collapsed in 2008, Aleris filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 U.S. Bankruptcy code. The company is now led by majority-owner Oaktree.
