Aerospace Firm Will Close Santa Ana Plant : Consolidation: SPS Technologies plans to lay off 300 workers by the end of 1993 because of sagging orders for aircraft parts.
SPS Technologies Inc. said Monday that it will close its Santa Ana aerospace fastener plant by the end of 1993 and lay off 300 of the plant’s 375 workers.
The company, based in Newton, Pa., makes high-strength nuts, bolts and screws for the aerospace and transportation industries and will move its fastener production to existing plants in Jenkintown, Pa., and Salt Lake City. SPS plans to sell its 20-acre Santa Ana site at 2701 S. Harbor Boulevard.
The closure is part of the company’s restructuring that began in May, 1991, because of sagging defense and industrial orders, particularly for commercial and military aircraft. Although it was unclear last year which facilities would be shut down, SPS has since announced that it would close plants in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Europe in an effort to consolidate production.
“(The Santa Ana closure) does not represent a reduction in our aerospace fastener production,” said company spokesman Peter Lawton. “It will be at a different facility. That is not much comfort to the people in Santa Ana, but this is looking at the business overall.”
To make room, the company’s production of a special brand of socket screw fasteners will move from Jenkintown to a company plant in Cleveland.
SPS Chairman John R. Selby said in a statement that the consolidation will make its manufacturing operations more efficient and bring its capacity “into better balance with the fastener market.”
The Santa Ana plant, where the company has had operations since 1957, will be gradually phased out over the next 15 months. Employees will be offered severance packages, based on position and length of service, Lawton said.
“It will be phased out,” he said. “It won’t be like we are picking up the stakes and walking away.”
The company said it was possible some Santa Ana employees would be transferred to the new locations. But Lawton said it was doubtful that “anything of significance” will be available. He also said the much-publicized trend of businesses fleeing California because of regulations and high taxes was not a factor in the decision.
After the closure, the company plans to keep about 75 employees to run a much smaller facility where a special brand of plate nuts will be made. The employees also will include a product engineering and sales staff to serve West Coast customers. The company has not selected where it will locate the smaller operations, although it will be in Southern California.
SPS reported net income of $6.6 million in 1991, compared to a loss of $11.5 million the year before. Sales in 1991 were $374.5 million, compared to $441 million in 1990.
