Western Forge to close
By Dwight Otwell Editor

Western Forge Corp. is closing its Murphy plant less than five years after it moved its screwdriver division here.

Some 170 workers were stunned Monday when the announcement was made that they would lose their jobs as the screwdriver division will move back to Colorado Springs, CO.

The plant is closing because of slow sales. Western Forge spokesman Dave Baldridge said that due to increased competitive pressure and a soft market for screwdrivers, Western Forge will close the Murphy Plant. The plant will be closed by April 2006, Baldridge said.

“This is a difficult decision and is no reflection of the dedication and hard work of the Murphy plant employees,” Baldridge said.

Western Forge moved its screwdriver division to Hwy. 64 East in Peachtree in late 1999.

Western Forge Manager Randy Wiggins Monday said he could not comment and referred questions to the company’s home base in Colorado Springs.

Cherokee County Manager Ernest Jones said Monday afternoon that he had just heard that the Murphy operation was going back to its home headquarters.

“It is a terrible loss,” he said. ‘We hate to lose an employer. The good news is that other companies/industries are looking to hire qualified people.”

Cherokee County Economic Development Director Bill Forsyth said the closing is terrible news for the workers and their families. Some of the workers have already lost jobs through other plant closings in Cherokee County.

“Right now, there is pretty full employment in the county,” Forsyth said. “Hopefully, there will be opportunities for some of these workers right away. We are working as hard as we can to find jobs.”

Since 1999, plants that have closed in Cherokee County include Levi Strauss, Baker Furniture, OMC and VF Jeans Wear.

The biggest manufacturing plants left in the county include Moog, Coats America, MGM Brakes, Industrial Opportunities Industries, Sioux Tools and Peachtree Industries.

Forsyth pointed out that Western Forge had been making screwdrivers for Sears and they got a contract with Home Depot.

“I understand that business is off some and they are consolidating,” he said. “Job wise, all summer, most companies had trouble hiring people. Some of our companies are growing. The employment situation has been in good shape. There may be opportunities for a lot of these people (losing their jobs). Of course, this (plant closing) will turn it upside down. We are pursuing a couple of angles to try to reverse that.