Babcock & Wilcox Closes Texas Plant

The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W), based in Barberton, Ohio, announced on March 17 that it will be closing its Paris, Texas, plant, which manufactures fossil fueled boilers and components for the power generation industry.

The decision to close the Paris plant was made after an intensive analysis of all B&W's manufacturing facilities. The focus was on economics, quality, productivity, and capability of the facilities and long-term labor agreements. This move, expected to be complete by late summer, will improve that company's financial and operation performance, which has been affected by an industry-wide ovear capacity of manufacturing capability, say B&W officials.

"This will result in a reallocation of work to our Canadian facilities in Cambridge, Ontario, and Melville, Saskatchewan, increasing our requirements for skilled manufacturing workers," says Paul P. Koenderman, president of Babcock & Wilcox Canada. "This decision will result in greater stability and a much more secure level of business volume for our facilities in Cambridge and Melville. This does not affect the fabrication of nuclear steam generators and components, which are currently manufactured exclusively at the Cambridge, Ontario, plant," he continues.

Koenderman noted that the relationships Babcock & Wilcox Canada has with its employees, the provincial and federal governments and their agencies, such as Canada's Export Development Corporation, were also factors in the decision.

While B&W will complete as much of the existing work in progress as practical at the Paris plant, some work will be transferred to other North American plants. The company's West Point, Mississippi, Melville, Saskatchewan, and Cambridge, Ontario, plants will remain in full operation.

The Paris plant employs 525 hourly and salaried employees. Some of those employees will be offered an opportunity to transfer to other B&W locations. Employees who do not transfer will be offered extensive outplacement assistance.

Based in Cambridge, Ontario, Babcock & Wilcox Canada serves the electric utility and industrial markets in Canada and the nuclear utility market worldwide.

The Babcock & Wilcox Company is an operating unit of McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR), a worldwide energy services company. McDermott and its subsidiaries manufacture steam-generating equipment, environmental equipment, and products for the U.S. government. They also provide engineering and construction services for industrial, utility and hydrocarbon processing facilities, shipbuilding industries, and to the offshore oil and natural gas industries.