Aluminum manufacturer expanding its Modesto plant

An aluminum parts manufacturer with a plant in Modesto announced plans for an expansion Friday, making the plant the center for its activities in Northern California.

Indalex Holding Corp., a Illinois-based company with 18 plants in North America, is expanding the Modesto plant because it is closing another aluminum plant in Watsonville, near Santa Cruz.

When the Watsonville plant is shut down in March or April, all of its customers will be transferred to Modesto, said Indalex spokesman Scott Langdon.

Indalex owns a 135,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on North Star Way, near Kiernan Avenue, in north Modesto. It bought the operation in 2000 from Columbia Pacific.

Nearly 145 employees work at the plant, which manufactures aluminum products for doors, windows, truck trailers and electrical appliances.

Most of the company's customers are involved in the building or construction industry, Langdon said.

The recent housing slowdown played a key role in the company's decision to combine its two Northern California plants into one, he said. Indalex also has a plant in Southern California.

"The industry tends to be cyclical. Housing starts can be an indicator of demand for building and construction projects, which we contribute to," he said.

Langdon said the Modesto plant will hire more employees to handle the extra customers, although he did not give specific numbers.

"It really depends on the market," he said, adding that five more managers will be needed immediately to handle the expansion.

About 45 employees will be laid off from the Watsonville plant. None are expected to be transferred to Modesto, Langon said.

The Modesto plant also will receive a "Brite Dip" production line — a technology that adds a mirror finish to aluminum products — so it can handle different types of customer requests.

Langdon said Indalex decided to keep the Modesto plant because it has more capabilities to meet requests than Watsonville.

"Secondly, we are building the business base in Modesto because it has sufficient land for future expansion if market conditions required it," he said.

The expansion makes Modesto a key plant among all ofIndalex's North American plants, he said.