Guardian to Close Fullerton, Calif., Plant

Auburn, Mich.-based Guardian Industries has announced the closing of its patterned glass manufacturing plant in Fullerton, Calif. The company says the plant is in need of significant refurbishments that the company says are required by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, but that business conditions do not justify the expense to implement these.

"The South Coast Air Quality Management District has insisted that the facility install extremely costly pollution control equipment at the next furnace rebuild rather than allow us to purchase emission credits to offset emissions from the new furnace," says group vice president Peter Walters. "The Fullerton plant could not recover this substantial additional cost, and would have to operate at a continuing loss. No business can operate in this fashion. We regret that we have not been able to persuade the District to allow us to continue to operate through this commonly accepted market-based approach to environmental issues."

Guardian has operated this facility since it was acquired in the early 1980s and has produced glass for use in the shower door, patio furniture and solar energy markets.

Guardian has additional patterned glass manufacturing capacity on the East Coast and will continue to serve all of Fullerton's customers with product shipped from this alternative manufacturing site. The Fullerton plant employs 41 people and over the coming weeks, Guardian will be working with its employees to minimize the impact. It is expected that the plant will close in an orderly fashion by the end of the year, but will not likely make any product past mid-November, according to the company.

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