For immediate release
03 August, 2005
Arnprior, ON – IAM members of Local Lodge 1542 in Arnprior, Ontario are breathing a collective sigh of relief today as details of the Boeing plant purchase were announced.
Boeing announced yesterday that the plant was sold to Arnprior Aerospace Inc., owned by Consolidated Industries Inc. of Cheshire, Connecticut, a supplier of aircraft components.
“A whole year of being on tenterhooks has caused a lot of stress,” said Bill Shipman, IAM Grand Lodge Representative. Boeing announced it wanted to sell the Arnprior plant in August 2004, saying it no longer fit into their new strategy. Boeing has also sold a total of five plants in Washington State, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
“It was critical that any new company declare their intentions to respect all provisions of the existing collective agreement which terminates March 2006 and this is the commitment that we have from John Wilbur, CEO of Consolidated. This has helped to calm membership apprehensions,” he added.
“Our members have really been through the wringer since 2001 as the plant has had nearly 400 layoffs due to the downturn in aerospace,” he said.
The sale includes an agreement to supply parts and sub-assemblies to Boeing. But Consolidated President John Wilbur was quoted as saying he has no intention of relying exclusively on business from Boeing. The company would, instead, be courting new clients such as Raytheon Co., Sikorsky Aircraft and even Boeing’s French rival Airbus necessitating expansion of the Arnprior facility.
The plant fabricates metal trays and shelves for electronics boxes on all Boeing aircraft, as well as miscellaneous sheet metal work. They currently employ 370 workers, ninety percent of whom are Machinist Union members.
Local Lodge 1542 was chartered on 20 June, 1964 and has a long history of winning national and international recognition for the quality of their work in the aircraft and aerospace industry.
