Document text
Photo by Jim Craven Construction workers build a silo at CertainTeed Corp. that will hold silica, used in making fibercement siding. The White City plant, which will employ about 50 people, could be in production by May. Workers hired for new plant CertainTeed to make house siding from fibercement By DAVID PRESZLER WHITE CITY -- Workers are being hired and construction is in the final stages at a new CertainTeed plant that will manufacture house siding from a material the company calls fibercement. The building materials company hopes to complete construction by the end of March and begin production as early as May. CertainTeed has named Ed Ryan, a former engineering manager at Eastman Kodak Health Imaging, as the new plant's manager, the company announced Tuesday. "It's going to be a very good business for the community here," says Ryan, 50, who lives in Medford with his wife and two children. He moved here three years ago to work for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M), which sold the imaging plant to Imation. Imation sold the plant to Kodak in a deal that closed in December. Ryan is hiring workers for the plant, which will employ about 50 people initially and more than 60 once it's running at full capacity. He said production operators will earn $10 an hour. He is working with Southern Oregon's business resource team, a collaboration of the state employment office, economic development officials, Rogue Community College, Southern Oregon University and the Job Council. Interested workers should contact the state employment office. "We all kind of have a piece to help him get geared up," says Bambi Powers of the Job Council. "Our goal is to help with openings and expansions to help that business so they don't have to make like seven phone calls to get everybody aligned." The plant will manufacture siding from a mixture of cement and wood fiber. Fibercement siding looks like wood but lasts longer. It resists moisture so it doesn't rot. "It's just tough and durable," says Ryan. "It has a wood-grain texture, so it looks just like wood." The company sees wood-grain fibercement products as an alternative to wood that will be more popular with Westerners than vinyl siding. The White City plant, situated on Avenue G, will be the second CertainTeed location to make the fibercement siding. Last week, the company closed the purchase of a fibercement siding plant in Roaring River, N.C. Ryan said workers for the White City plant will be flown to North Carolina over the next few months for training. After the construction is completed, Ryan said the company will spend several weeks checking through the facility, something he hopes to start in April. Work on the 150,000-square-foot factory began last spring. CertainTeed is the nation's leading manufacturer of vinyl siding, PVC pipe and asphalt roofing, and among the leaders in insulation. It also makes door and window components, ventilation products, fencing and foundation materials. The company is based in Valley Forge, Pa., and has approximately 6,000 employees and more than 30 manufacturing plants throughout the U.S. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA