Industry News

ALP Lighting Components Inc., has announced that it will cease manufacturing operations at its Charlevoix plastics extrusion plant.

Production at the facility, located at 12555 Taylor Road, in Charlevoix’s industrial park will be phased out gradually to meet customer requirements, and equipment will be moved to other company locations.

The transition is expected to take approximately three months, with a closure expected no later than April 15. ALP's LexaLite brand injection molding operation, located at 10163 U.S. 31 North in Charlevoix, is not affected.

LexaLite operates two manufacturing facilities in town, the first is the aforementioned site on the highway, the second is on Taylor Road in the city’s industrial park where Genesta’s product line was moved to from Guelph, Ontario, Canada in 2006. The move brought 20 new jobs to Charlevoix.

Layoffs will be incremental, and will occur based on the personnel requirements necessary to meet production needs and to prepare equipment for relocation. It is anticipated that approximately 20-25 employees will become part of a permanent reduction in force. Personnel transfers to other ALP facilities are unlikely.

“Closing the plant is regrettable,” David Brown, ALP president, said. “However, relocating this extrusion equipment to one central location makes best business sense. It allows us to maximize service, quality and our distribution network.”

Employees affected by this production transfer will be offered separation benefits as determined by ALP company policy. Additionally, company representatives will coordinate on-site employee meetings with representatives from MichiganWorks and Michigan Unemployment to help answer questions.

ALP purchased LexaLite in June 2007 from Habasit Holding AG, a privately held Swiss company. The shift to ALP was the third change in ownership the company endured in a decade.

ALP Lighting Components Inc., is a manufacturer of lighting components. From fluorescent to high intensity discharge applications, ALP offers a line of plastic and metal parabolic louvers, baffles and reflectors, to a broad range of plastic lenses, extruded sheet products, wiring devices, vapor-proof enclosures and unwired fixture bodies.

Brands include Steel Craft fluorescent housings, LexaLite precision injection molded refractors and reflectors and Triboro wiring devices.

ALP has manufacturing plants in the U.S., Mexico and Europe, and distribution centers strategically located throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America and South America.

History

1959 Original trade name, LexaLite, established by Josh Barnes and Stan Lundsten.

1963 The Oak Park-based company incorporated and later moved to Southfield.

1965 Built Charlevoix plant with five owners of St. Clair Plastics, Barnes and Lundsten. Several plant expansions followed.

1996 Summa Industries buys LexaLite. Shortly thereafter, Summa purchased Plastics Specialties Inc. (PSI) and Genesta, two companies also involved in the plastics lighting industry.

2001 LexaLite, PSI and Genesta merge into Spectrus Inc.

2006 Habasit Holding AG, a privately held Swiss company, buys Summa Industries

2007 ALP buys Spectrus Inc.

2008 ALP closes Taylor Road facility