FOLLANSBEE - New York-based Revere Copper is planning to have the coating lines it acquired when it purchased Follansbee Steel's assets up and running in its plant in northern New York by the end of the year.
The Steubenville-based Louis Berkman Co. sold the plant's assets to Revere, based in Rome, N.Y. The deal, which closed in June, gives Revere control of the patents and equipment from the now- defunct company.
Revere is a privately owned corporation whose only shareholders are its employees. A memo posted on the company's website said it would take several months for them to relocate all of the equipment to their Rome, N.Y., plant, but they hope to have the coating lines online in December.
The Berkman Co. previously sold its dock building segment to locally owned and operated American Muscle, which moved the operation to Wellsburg.
"Follansbee and Revere have had a long and beneficial partnership producing Revere's trademark FreedomGray Architectural Products using Follansbee's patented tin-zinc coating," the company said in a release issued after the deal closed. "This move will enable Revere to provide the architectural community with the tin-zinc coated stainless product, TCS II."
Some 36 people had worked at the plant, a point that wasn't lost on city officials who sought state and federal help in persuading the company to remain in Follansbee.
"There's nothing else we could do," City Manager John DiSteffano said. "We did everything we could to try and keep it here, contacted (federal and state lawmakers), but (they said) there's no reason for them to keep the plant operating here, they have one in Rome. They're taking the equipment and the patent."
While the shutdown won't impact the city's B&O tax collections, DiSteffano said the real hit has been to the people who've lost jobs, as well as reductions in revenue from municipal water sales and property tax collections.
