Former rising star of U.S. wind energy industry Cardinal Fasteners is shutting down By DAN SHINGLER January 12, 2015 Once the darling of the U.S. wind energy industry and a success story that made it a presidential photo op, Bedford Heights-based Cardinal Fasteners is now set to close. Dokka Fasteners Inc., part of the German-based Wurth Group that purchased Cardinal in 2011, told customers on Friday, Jan. 9, that it will close Cardinal sometime around the end of the first quarter and move its equipment to Dokka’s operations in Auburn Hills, Mich. “The decision to close the Cardinal Fastener operation was difficult after being in business over 30 years,” Dokka said in a statement. “Unfortunately, having two separate plants with similar capabilities located so close together became increasingly difficult to justify.” Cardinal makes fasteners such as large bolts, and in 2009 it was selling them to the wind energy industry. As a result of that, and the popularity of renewable energy at the time, the company became a stop for President Barack Obama in 2009. However, Cardinal survived neither its own rapid growth nor the recession intact, and in 2011 it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and was sold to Wurth. At one point, the company employed 65 people, but it had cut its workforce to fewer than 50 people by the time of its bankruptcy. Companies that reduce employment by more than 50 people must notify the state within 60 days of doing so, and there was no filing by Cardinal on the state of Ohio’s page for filings under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Dokka will try to provide more information on the move later this week, said its director of sales, Jim Witucki. In correspondence with customers, Dokka has stressed that the move is not a bankruptcy, but a strategic decision. The company hopes to take Cardinal’s customers to Dokka in Michigan. “It means that no new orders will be accepted by Cardinal Fasteners for production in the Bedford Heights facility. New orders and quoting activity will be suspended during the closure and transition period,” Dokka wrote to its customers. “Dokka Fasteners will be gearing up to support your future hot-forged and large diameter requirements. There will be (a) transition period as Cardinal is closed and equipment is moved to Dokka before quoting and order acceptance will start again.” Dokka opened its 90-employee bolt-making facility in Auburn Hills in 2011. crainscleveland/article/20150112/FREE/150119978/former-rising-star-of-u-s-wind-energy-industry-cardinal-fasteners-is?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 01:41:59 +0000
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