By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Warsaw officials are offering some expectations following the announcement last week by Dalton Corporation, a foundry that’s been in the city for more than 110 years, will close.
Two things appear to be obvious about the closing: The future remains unclear, and any possible clean-up of the mammoth industrial site spanning four blocks along Jefferson Street could take many years.
Dalton’s parent company, First Brands Group LLC, acquired the foundry two years ago, filed for bankruptcy late last year, and then announced shortly before the new year that about 262 workers would lose their jobs in late February.
First Brands oversees numerous foundries and is also ending operations at a similar plant in Kendallville.
Jeremy Skinner, director of community and economic development for the city, said the closing is not surprising, given the struggles in the foundry industry.
The city is expressing a willingness to assist employees as they look for new employment.
In the meantime, the city is in a state of limbo with the property as officials wait for the bankruptcy proceedings to play out, a process that could impact the property’s future.
Skinner kept open the idea that the existing use, in some form, could be resurrected.
“The foundry industry is changing dramatically, and it’s not surprising that we’re here at this stage, but there are always those niche markets, and so we’ll see what happens with the bankruptcy,” Skinner said.
“If it does not come back in some form of a foundry, it will probably be redeveloped into something other than industry,” said Skinner, who, along with Mayor Jeff Grose, offered their impressions of the situation for In the Know, the public affairs show you can hear this weekend on Kensington Digital Media radio stations.
The prospect that the land has sustained underground contamination — if determined to be the case — would also determine what might be permitted.
Some of Dalton’s leadership team have already departed and Grose said they learned of the closing in a statement at the same time workers were notified a week ago.
They expressed a belief that if the plant fully shuts down that state and federal agencies would have a role in trying to clean up the property, above and below ground.
“We don’t really know what’s going to happen, but on behalf of the city of Warsaw, Winona Lake, the county …. We need to be at the table, and we need to work through what’s best for not only Dalton, moving forward, but also the community,” Grose said.
During this week’s public affairs show, Grose and Skinner also addressed other issues, including economic development topics, reconstruction of Anchorage Road and the temporary movement of city meetings to the police station training room, which will happen in February.
In The Know can be heard at the following times:
News Now Warsaw (99.7 FM and 1480 AM):
Fridays at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Saturdays at 7 a.m.
Sundays at 7 a.m. & 2 p.m.
WRSW (107.3):
Sundays at 6 a.m.
Willie (103.5 FM):
Sundays at 6 a.m.
