The Sherwin Alumina plant in Gregory, near Corpus Christi, which has operated for 62 years turning bauxite into alumina. Courtesy photo
After 62 years producing alumina from bauxite, Sherwin Alumina will be closing its plant in Gregory. Around 450 employees who have been locked out of the plant because of a labor dispute for over 18 months will no longer have jobs to fight for. Now even the 300 replacement workers will be out of jobs.
The company said a recent bankruptcy filing by Noranda Alumina, which resulted in a lost contract to buy bauxite from the Gregory plant lead to the final decision to call it quits.
The Gregory plant opened in 1953 turning bauxite into alumina, a material used in producing aluminum. It expanded over the years. It was acquired by Sherwin Aluminia’s parent company, Glencore. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January of this year.
At the time of the bankruptcy filing, company president and CEO Thomas Russell called the company a long-term economic pillar of the Corpus Christi region and one of the world’s leading alumina production businesses.
“However, the challenging global market conditions for alumina prevent Sherwin from maximizing the significant value of its assets,” he said at the time. “To further confirm that the proposed sale represents the highest or best offer for Sherwin's assets, the Company plans to immediately launch a competitive sale process.”
As recently as April, the Port of Corpus Christi considered buying the company, going as far as to make a bid for the property. The current plan is to sell its assets to relieve part of $95 million in debt.
“This was an extremely difficult decision to make, and one we arrived at only after exhausting all other options,” said Russell in an August 1 press release. “We made — and will continue to make — every effort to sustain Sherwin as a viable business. Unfortunately, at this time, the best available option for our stakeholders is an orderly wind-down of Sherwin’s operations.”
