Fifty Cochocton jobs are being outsourced to other countries as Coshocton experiences the loss of another plant, Ansell Occupational Healthcare.
Port Authority Director Dorothy Skowrunski said her office, the city, county and Ohio Department of Development all reached out to the company to see what could be done to keep them in town. However, Ansell is an Australian company and has been phasing out production in Coshocton. Mexico and Sri Lanka will be the beneficiaries of the outsourcing.
It’s not a total loss, as the 50 jobs represent the production arm of the company that manufactures protective gloves for the health care and industry. About 25 regional technical/quality support employees will remain. They can operate independently of manufacturing, according to the company’s statement.
Coshocton, which has a 12.2 percent unemployment rate according to the June figures, has been rocked by job loss. In all, the county has lost 1,792 manufacturing jobs from 2001 to 2009, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Labor Market Information. Some of those were the results of companies like General Electric, JII Promotions and Pretty Products leaving town. American Electric Power Conesville Generating Station will lose about 20 good-paying jobs by the end of 2012 as it shuts down a generating unit to meet environmental protection agency air quality standards.
The end of an era
Ansell, which started in Coshocton as Edmont Manufacturing Co., has been making gloves in Coshocton for 78 years. At its height, more than 400 people were employed locally.
The layoffs will begin in late November, with all transitions completed by the end of December, according to company officials.
The plan aligns with Ansell’s strategy to optimize its operational footprint and streamline its supply chain, according to a statement released by the company.
Skowrunski said local discussions included help with the Coshocton Job Creation Tax, the Enterprise Zone tax, the Port Authority Revolving Loan Fund and Coshocton County Job and Family Services committed to training new employees or continued training for current employees.
The Port Authority did assist in a search for a location for about 25 regional technical/quality support employees who will remain.
“The Port Authority has served as a liaison as they searched for a location, so we’ve been able to keep those jobs,” Skowrunski said.
The fate of the existing buildings is yet to be determined, according to the company.
The company owns several parcels on 14th and Orchard streets. The largest parcel, at 1300 Walnut St., is valued at just more than $1 million, according to the Coshocton County Auditor’s website.
With the local economy being hit hard, Skowrunski said the county hopes to get a financial boost from the Marcellus Shale drilling industry.
Skowrunski said talks with nearby Guernsey County officials have yielded some positive information. As leases are signed for drilling rights at $3,000 to $4,000 per acre, farmers in that area are paying off mortgages, buying new equipment and spending money in other ways, she said.
Likewise, Guernsey County officials said office space and private rentals are filling up, and businesses like restaurants, hair cutters, grocery stores, gas stations, and merchants are reaping the rewards as employees of the gas drilling companies come to the area.
“It’s coming, and it’s going to be about a four-year boon,” Skowrunski said. “We’re looking for entrepreneurs who’ll be able to take advantage of this boon and make it through the bust.”
She and Chamber of Commerce Director Carol Remington have been compiling information to assist area business owners with taking advantage of the influx of visitors that’s expected to arrive in the coming months.
Mayor Steve Mercer could not be reached for comment.
Coshocton’s employment status
While closures have occurred in recent years, some long-time larger employers have been able to weather the economic storms.
Clow Water Systems, a division of the McWane Co., was able to bring its work force back up to about 380 employees, including production and office staff, after a layoff of more than 100 employees in the fall of 2009.
After experiencing financial concerns the past couple of years Coshocton Hospital has started to see a positive financial turn around. It came with a personnel loss, as 21 employees were laid off, another 50 were let go with the extended care sale, and others have left or retired and their responsibilities were redistributed, reducing payroll from 667 people in February 2010 to 552 now.
Employment at RockTenn, the former Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., remains constant at about 200 employees. There are currently about 415 employees at AK Steel Coshocton Works, back up from a drop to 342 when layoffs took place in 2008.
In the meantime, with 2,100 people out of work, jobs are being patched together one business at a time.
Skowrunski said small businesses continue to chip away at the unemployment at a rate of one, five or 10 employees at a time.
The Port Authority has helped some small businesses in the county startup or expand, including Three Rivers Therapy Services, Uncorked, Evo Manufacturing, Party Package, Too and Mission Auto Connection.
Other businesses that have opened or expanded without Port Authority help in the past couple of years include Crowtown Pizza, Woodbury Outfitters, Coshocton Furniture and Edie Ryan’s Family Restaurant.
Source:http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20110819/NEWS01/108190306
