By Staff
Staff Report
Birmingham-based Citation Corp., which operates 17 facilities including one in Brewton, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Birmingham.
Company spokesman Gene Monteith said last week that the move should not mean any changes for the Brewton facility in the immediate future.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy provides the framework for reorganization.
Basically, this will be a time of making sure operations are as efficient as possible, Monteith said.
Buker said the quality of product and delivery to customers will remain high priorities while Citation begins implementing operational efficiencies needed to strengthen the company.
Citation is a privately held corporation. Through it subsidiaries, the company designs, develops and manufactures high-quality cast, forged and machined components for several market segments, including the automotive, heavy truck, construction aerospace, agricultural and commercial industries.
Citation operates facilities in Alabama, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Texas and North Carolina. The company employs 5,100.
While all steel purchasers have been suffering from record steel prices, Citation has been particularly hard hit. in the last 18 months, the price of steel scrap -- the primary raw material used to make ferrous cast and forged products, which account for half of Citation's sales -- escalated from a traditional price of $150 per ton to more than $400 per ton.