Northwest Pipe Company will shut down its Denver production plant by early next year due to a decline in demand.
The Vancouver, Wash., steel-pipe maker said 65 employees were notified this month and layoffs are expected to begin at the end of September, according to a letter filed this week with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment office. Pipe production will end at the end of the year, but some employees will stay on through February to wrap up sales.
The Denver facility, at 6030 N. Washington St., produced about 20 percent of the company’s steel pipes used for water transmission. Northwest said it plans to sell the property.
“This difficult decision was driven primarily by the need to address the significant imbalance between production capacity and demand in the steel water pipe market,” CEO Scott Montross said in a statement last week. “The smaller footprint will allow us to sharpen our focus on margin over tons and reduce costs, while we maintain a leading market share.”
During Northwest’s most recent quarter, which ended March 31, the company said to $33.9 million during the first quarter. Net losses grew to $9.6 million, compared to a loss of $2.1 million a year earlier. One cause? Charging much less for its “water-transmission” product due to competing for water infrastructure projects.
Northwest has seven other facilities in North America and one in Mexico. According to the company’s website, it was founded in 1966 and employs more than 700 people.
