Keystone Taking Downtime

Keystone Steel & Wire Co., Peoria, Ill.,  will shut down for one week beginning March 31 to bring inventory in line with demand, the company confirmed Monday.

The shutdown will idle nearly 1,000 employees, though shipping and maintenance work will continue, said Keystone spokesman Vic Stirnaman.

"We built up inventory big time this winter for an anticipated strong spring selling season. That strong spring isn't materializing," Stirnaman said.

Materials the company built up over the winter included all type of fencing and other wire products often used for home gardening and other projects.

Stirnaman said the reasons the spring selling season has been slow to start vary. He said it's likely the slow economy in general keeping consumers from buying products and the fact the weather has remained colder longer in many parts of the country. He said concern about the war in Iraq could be contributing, as well.

"People just aren't getting out to the stores and buying products as much or as quickly as we anticipated. We hope it picks up soon," he said.

Stirnaman said most of the employees affected by the shutdown will be on layoff for that week, with all scheduled to return April 7. Some employees, he added, have elected to take vacation time in lieu of layoff.

Overall business at Keystone has been slower than anticipated in recent months, Stirnaman said. "It hasn't been terrible, but it certainly hasn't been all we hoped it would be, either," he said.

Keystone has weathered severe downturns in the domestic steel industry the past few years that forced many of its competitors to close or file bankruptcy.

While Keystone still has suffered financial losses in the past year, it has been able to maintain cash flow, largely because of concessions from the Independent Steelworkers Alliance -- the union that represents its hourly workers -- and the restructuring of its debts with the help of a $10 million loan from the state of Illinois that was facilitated by Peoria County. (Peoria, IL) Journal Star