Fate of Olive Twp. auto parts plant uncertain

Fri, Jul 3, 2009    to del.icio.us

OLIVE TOWNSHIP — A long-time Ottawa County auto parts plant appears to be shutting down, leaving employees pondering their fate.

BBi Enterprises Group Inc. has most recently operated the plant at 13370 Barry St. in Olive Township. The plant has produced insulation panels, package trays and floor systems for automotive interiors since its beginnings as Northern Fiber, and through various ownerships including Sheller-Globe and Lear.

"They said the company was insolvent, and they're basically just closing the doors and walking away from the business," said John Walters, 56, who said he worked at the company 32 years and is vice president of United Auto Workers Local 2393.

Walters said he was laid off last Friday.

He said eventually the company must meet with the union to hammer out a closing agreement, but he was frustrated by the lack of communication from company headquarters in Bloomfield Hills.

Meanwhile, Walters said workers have yet to hear about severance pay or COBRA benefits, and he fears he won't see the five weeks of vacation time he had coming.

Queries by The Holland Sentinel at the local plant were directed to Bloomfield Hills offices. Numerous calls over two days to company officials have not been returned.

On one phone line, a man who identified himself as the plant's former human relations manager states in an answering machine message that he is no longer employed with BBi and that the company was ceasing operations in July. He referred calls to corporate managers in Bloomfield Hills.

Walters said employment at BBi dwindled to 12-15 hourly workers a week ago, down from as many as 120 late last year.

In 2001, when Lear sold the company to BBi Enterprises, the plant employed a reported 267 employees.