A Wabash Valley plant will be closed by the end of this year, leaving 39 people jobless. Canada based Stella-Jones owns the plant that treats wooden railroad ties with a tar product that helps the ties last longer.
Stella-Jones Senior Vice President of engineering and operations Doug Fox says this decision was based on three reasons: the economy, the fact the company doesn’t own the property, and, “a major, multi-million dollar upgrade required of the plant because of changes in regulation as far as treating processes through the EPA.”
According to the Department of Engineering in Terre Haute, railroad ties have been at the facility for more than a century. The property owner, CAVU Ops, does not have plans for the site. Owner Joe Card says he is more concerned about how the plant’s closure will affect the economy.
“Stella-Jones was a tax payer and it hurts the economy in this particular area but primarily, we’re sorry about the employees, that’s our main focus,” Card said.
Fox says Stella Jones hopes to relocate most of the employees to other plants in the area.
