Post by Woody Williams on Mar 21, 2006 16:28:04 GMT -5
PUBLICATION: The Province
DATE: 2006.03.19
SOURCE: The Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW HAVEN, Conn.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The historic Winchester rifle factory that produced
The Gun that Won the West will close at the end of the month -- after a
two-month search for a buyer proved fruitless.
Mayor John DeStefano says that city and union leaders scrambled to find
a buyer in January after the Herstal Group, a Belgian manufacturer, said
it would close the U.S. Repeating Arms plant.
DeStefano said negotiations over the plant's future continue. Earlier
this month, DeStefano offered to buy the plant for $1 and promised to
excuse $17 million in taxes and contract penalties that city lawyers say
Herstal will owe New Haven and the labour union when the plant closes.
Herstal CEO Philippe Tenneson rejected the deal and, in a letter to the
city last week, disputed its financial calculations.
Tenneson said the company has lost millions of dollars on the factory in
recent years.
"Very few groups, other than ours, would have exhibited such a
combination of investment commitment and operational patience," he said.
More than 19,000 Winchester employees worked in New Haven during the
Second World War, but after years of a softening firearms market, the
plant now employs fewer than 200. All will lose their jobs.
Negotiations to find a new owner are closely tied to discussions over
the future of the Winchester name. Herstal wants to discontinue the
traditional rifle but keep the name on specialty weapons it produces
overseas.
Without the Winchester name, New Haven's factory isn't as attractive.
DATE: 2006.03.19
SOURCE: The Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW HAVEN, Conn.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The historic Winchester rifle factory that produced
The Gun that Won the West will close at the end of the month -- after a
two-month search for a buyer proved fruitless.
Mayor John DeStefano says that city and union leaders scrambled to find
a buyer in January after the Herstal Group, a Belgian manufacturer, said
it would close the U.S. Repeating Arms plant.
DeStefano said negotiations over the plant's future continue. Earlier
this month, DeStefano offered to buy the plant for $1 and promised to
excuse $17 million in taxes and contract penalties that city lawyers say
Herstal will owe New Haven and the labour union when the plant closes.
Herstal CEO Philippe Tenneson rejected the deal and, in a letter to the
city last week, disputed its financial calculations.
Tenneson said the company has lost millions of dollars on the factory in
recent years.
"Very few groups, other than ours, would have exhibited such a
combination of investment commitment and operational patience," he said.
More than 19,000 Winchester employees worked in New Haven during the
Second World War, but after years of a softening firearms market, the
plant now employs fewer than 200. All will lose their jobs.
Negotiations to find a new owner are closely tied to discussions over
the future of the Winchester name. Herstal wants to discontinue the
traditional rifle but keep the name on specialty weapons it produces
overseas.
Without the Winchester name, New Haven's factory isn't as attractive.
