O.C. Cluss to close
Corhart reducing workforce by 26By GARY MALLONEE, Staff Writer
One longtime Buckhannon business closed its doors this week leaving six employees out of a job. O.C. Cluss Lumber and Building Supplies located in the Kroger Plaza made the decision to shut down the Buckhannon location and consolidate with the Fairmont location. Meanwhile, Corhart officials announced a second round of temporary layoffs scheduled for November.
On Monday, O.C. Cluss vice president Carl Fike said the closure is effective immediately.
Two of the Buckhannon employees have received transfer offers to the Fairmont location, while the other four have not.
According to Fike, the reason behind the closure is the national and local markets that have required O.C. Cluss to change its costs.
Just last week, O.C. Cluss closed its White Sulphur Springs location and consolidated with the Beckley store.
"It's unfortunate for this to happen," said Upshur County Development Authority Director Steve Foster. "They have been here a long time and it's a tough to see them close the doors.
"There was just not enough demand," Foster said. "This has been happening all around the country with the economic issues and now it is catching up to West Virginia."
In 1997, Cluss purchased Brown Lumber Yards in West Virginia with locations in Fairmont, Summersville and Buckhannon. In 1997, a modern $3 million pro-yard and distribution center was build in Pleasant Valley replacing the old Brown's yard in Fairmont. In November 2000, the Summersville operation was replaced with a new pro-yard distribution center in Beckley.
O.C. Cluss, which was founded in 1918 in Uniontown, Pa., and currently has stores in Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, has an annual sales volume of $120 million ranking in the top 50 lumber yards in the United States. Cluss currently has three locations in Pennsylvania, at Union Town, Greensburg and Center Township; one in Oakland, Md.; and three West Virginia locations at Beckley, Canaan Valley and Fairmont. Today, O.C. Cluss is firmly established as a major regional supplier in the lumber and building materials industry and is currently ranked as the 34th largest lumber and building materials supplier in the country.
"It's always a blow when people lose their jobs," said Buckhannon Mayor Kenneth Davidson. "I am always concerned when this type of thing happens because it affects the entire community."
Upshur County Administrator William Parker said, "It is very unfortunate for the workers, but it was a corporate decision."
According to Foster, the Saint-Gorbain Plant (Corhart) in Buckhannon also announced layoffs.
Saint-Gorbain Ceramics announced Monday that it will reduce its workforce by an additional 26 employees in late November, according to Bill Seiberlich, Saint-Gorbain communications director. This is in addition to layoffs which the company announced earlier this year, which took place in September. This latest workforce reduction will bring the total number of employees at the Buckhannon plant to around 75.
"The sustained economic downturn has significantly depressed market conditions, and therefore has affected our customers' demand for our products," said plant manager Jay Martin. "Regrettably, this made a second layoff necessary. However, we believe that the layoff will be temporary. When business conditions improve, we hope to be able to offer the affected employees the opportunity to return to work at Saint-Gorbain."
Saint-Gorbain Ceramics in Buckhannon began operations in 1961 and produces refractory products used in glass furnaces.
