Mueller Water Products, a North-Birmingham-based U.S. Pipe & Foundry ductile iron pipe manufacturing plant, has said it will cut 260 Atlanta manufacturing jobs.

According to Birmingham Biz Journals, a downturn in the economy and the automation of its systems at its other plants were the reasons Atlanta-based Mueller cited for the shut down.

The shutdown is expected to happen by or on March 31, 2010.

The cuts come at a time when optimism for the growth of manufacturing jobs in Atlanta increases due to a recent monthly survey of companies by Kennesaw State University that found that during June, the industry saw an increase in the components that often lead to overall growth, including rises in new orders and production. And although the manufacturing industry still lost jobs during the month, hiring was not as low as during previous months.

The North Birmingham plant’s production will be shifted to its Bessemer plant, which was automated in 2008, said a news release.

“With the growing awareness of the need to repair or replace the country’s aging water infrastructure and a residential construction recovery, we believe that we will see increased demand for ductile iron pipe over the longer term,” said Gregory E. Hyland, Mueller’s chairman, CEO and president. “We have sufficient capacity to meet any foreseeable increases in demand and can readily accommodate future increased capacity by expanding use of our manufacturing technology.”

Mueller said it will take a $15 million charge, mainly in the second quarter of this year, related to the plant’s closing. The action will save the company $6 million to $8 million this year and $20 million to $25 million each year after.

U.S. Pipe will still employ about 500 people at two plants in Bessemer. One is more than 100 years old, the other less than two. The modern, highly automated plant cost $45 million and started operating in the fall of 2008 after receiving $6.3 million in tax breaks and other incentives from state, county and municipal governments.

The North Birmingham plant is almost as old as Birmingham and has been in operation since it was known as the Dimmick Pipe Co. Stately homes once occupied by captains of industry still dot the neighborhood, which has turned into one of the city’s poorest and most dangerous.

Al.com said that through both the rise and fall, one constant has been the foundry, maker of the pipes that connected post-World War II suburban America to the water grid, the sales of which prompted a massive hiring boom. During the war, production shifted from making pipes to assembling artillery shells.

“Historically, U.S. Pipe has been a great partner and place to work for a lot of our people,” said the Rev. Thomas Wilder, pastor of Collegeville’s Bethel Baptist Church. “The neighborhood really grew up around the plant, with the houses built by workers who wanted to live nearby.”

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 10:16 pm and is filed under jobs, Manufacturing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.