By Ben Rayner, Sound Senior Staff Writer:
BRANFORD:
One of Branford’s oldest businesses and the last major wire
manufacturer in the Northeast, Atlantic Wire, announced last week that it will
cease operations by the end of August. The century-old business had the dual
burden of the shaky economic climate and a series of large fines after repeated
violations of the Clean Water Act.
The company was founded in 1906 and the closing will put 71
people out of work, according to employees and town records. No statement from
the company was available.
The company does not have a stellar environmental
reputation; Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal sued the company
earlier this year after repeated toxic discharges dating back to 2005. The
company was cited for numerous violations of the Clean Water Act and slapped
with an injunction by Hartford’s
superior court in January.
It was cited by as one of the five worst polluters in the
state by the Connecticut Fund for the Environment in 2007. Atlantic Wire was
the only company of the five not to enter an agreement with the Connecticut DEP
and had to be ordered by the court to do so.
Blumenthal was scathing in his comments about the company’s
lack of cooperation and the repeated violations, including a 2007 spill that
caused a large blue crab die-off in the Branford River
and a January 2008 spill after it had been put on notice.
Employees in the office escorted The Sound reporter out of
the company’s already barren space, but factory workers were eager to talk
during a lunch break last week. Surprisingly, most don’t blame the company,
which has tried to hold tight to its market share, according to employees.
“We didn’t expect this, but that’s how it goes. The major
problem is China
and the price of steel. Steel has shot up in price and the company just had no
control over it,” said John, a worker of 31 years who declined to give his last
name. “We can find other jobs; that’s not the issue. The issue is steel prices,
they are a major factor. Steel doubled in a short period of time. This place
was one of the last around to do this. But China has a lot to do with it and
the government is doing nothing about it. America is going downhill right now
and you can’t fix it overnight. It’s a big task.”
First Selectman Unk DaRos, who did work for Atlantic Wire as
a contractor, said it was a blow to the town to lose so many jobs.
“You hate to see an old business like that go out like
that,” said DaRos. “Seventy-one people worked there and that means 71 people
out of work. From what I heard, they’ll all be gone by the end of the month.
They made some of the highest quality products around; that’s why they stayed
in business for so long. But this is a classic example of when competition arrives,
companies not being prepared. It’s a snapshot of what is happening all over. I
hate to see it go.”
John, a native of Poland, said that after 31 years he
was optimistic about finding another job. The company has had employment
specialists in to help workers make a transition to another position, but he
joked that it might be time for a change.
“Maybe I’ll go back to Poland,” John said with a smile.