Expects to call employees back in 30 to 60 days

MFG Manufacturing announced Monday the temporary layoffs of 39 employees in its Opp facility.

Richard Morrison, president and CEO, said the reasons were two-fold. In Opp, the company produces nacelles, or wind turbine enclosures.

“One is we are awaiting a second set of tooling,” Morrison said. “That was delayed for three to four weeks. There is nothing we can do about it, but wait for the product to be ready.”

Secondly, he said, Congress renewed and the president signed a production tax credit at the end of 2015. The PTC is a production-based tax credit provided to 12 different renewable electricity sources.

“That was a good thing for wind, because we got a five-year extension,” Morrison said. “But that has resulted in a more even flow of product vs. what might be considered to be an artificial year-end rush to get everything on site.

“That’s not necessary any more,” he said. “Production schedules are more normalized.

“We are very hopeful that all of the employees will be returning to us,” Morrison said. “We will be looking for when the second set of tooling arrives, schedules then are increased and we can call our teammates back to work.”

Morrision said he hopes MFG can begin calling people back in 30 to 60 days. The new tooling is for a new product, 2.X, for which the company already has purchase orders.

“In the long run, it is good news with a little hiccup en route,” he said.

The business employed approximately 150 people at its two facilities in Opp prior to Monday’s announcements.

Opp is one of 10 North American locations for Molded Fiber Glass Companies. Other locations include Adelanto, Calif.; Gainesvile, Texas; Independence Kansas; Aberdeen, S.D.; Ashtabula, Ohio; Union City, Pa.; Linesville, Pa.; Morganton, N.C. and Apodaca, Mexico.