Released on January 14, 2009

Manifold supplier Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, Ontario, Canada, announced it will close one of its metalcasting plants in Wingham, North Huron, Ontario, and transfer production to the second plant it owns in the small town.

The plant is expected to be closed by the end of the first quarter of 2009. According to a press release issued by Wescast, 140 employees from both Wingham facilities will be affected by the closure because the two plants operate under the same collective labor agreement.

“The very difficult decision to close the Wingham North Huron [metalcasting facility] came after a careful evaluation of our cost structure, expected future business volumes and available capacity in other facilities,” said Ed Frackowiak, Wescast chairman and chief executive officer. “Those factors, combined with the severity of economic conditions facing the North American automotive industry, have led us to this course of action.”

The plant closure is expected to save Wescast approximately $10 million in annual fixed costs, but restructuring charges associated with the reduced production volumes are expected to be between $60 million and $65 million.

According to officials from Wescast, the plant closure is part of a larger restructuring plan for its North American operations intended to reduce operating costs and align capacity with expected volume levels. Those expectations recently have been lowered based on the intention of some of Wescast’s customers to reduce production volumes.

Wescast supplies its cast iron exhaust manifolds to automotive original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 customers for the car and light truck markets in North America, Europe and Asia. The company employs approximately 1,900 in eight production facilities and five sales and design centers in Canada, Hungary, the U.S., Germany, Japan and China. The company intends to continue operating its metalcasting operations in Oroszlany, Hungary, and Wuhan, China, as usual.