Wapak Machine closing its doors

WAPAKONETA — Workers at Wapakoneta Machine Co. know they will soon be out of a job, they just don’t know how soon.

Employees at the 118-year-old Wapakoneta machining company saw the company sold to Pennsylvania-based ASKO in a deal completed on October 28. Most assumed they would be let go eventually, but it appears it will be happening sooner than they originally thought.

“At the time, they told us they’d be keeping us around for awhile. About a week ago they said it would be at least until November 19. But there’s not enough work in there to keep everybody busy for the next couple weeks, so I don’t think it’s going to be that long,” said Steve Fisher, president of United Auto Workers local 105, which represents eight of the 12 employees at the plant.

Fisher said company officials have said the plant will close, but have been unwilling to supply details of when or how it will happen. Reached by phone on Thursday, an ASKO spokesman, Bob Thomas, refused to comment on the Wapakoneta plant.

“It’s ASKO’s policy not to comment on its future plans for its operations,” Thomas said.

Meanwhile, employees are forced to take the plant’s former owners to court in hopes of getting vacation pay and benefits owed them through their contract, Fisher said.  The company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before the sale.

“We have to go through bankruptcy court to get vacation pay and severance in their contracts. They don’t care about the guys down on the floor, that’s the shame of it,” Fisher said.

ASKO representatives refuse to say what they will do with the plant and equipment. The company has other plants in the U.S., Mexico and Europe. Fisher said he was told they plan to move the equipment to some of those other plants.

“They said some of the machinery is going to be moved to Mexico. Some of it’s going to South Carolina. I just know it’s leaving here,” Fisher said.