This article appeared in
The Parkersburg News on Friday, August 10, 2007
Fenton
Closing
By JOLENE CRAIG, Staff Writer
WILLIAMSTOWN
— After struggling for years and working on restructuring, the Fenton Art Glass
Co. will close in the next few months.
“This decision was difficult,” said company President George W. Fenton. “There
have been a lot of tears shed here today.”
The company’s plans are to continue to take orders and produce as many pieces
as possible while winding down production to a close, Fenton said Thursday.
“We’re going to get the most value out of our time left as we can,” he said.
Fenton said they anticipate production and decorating to be finished in two to
three months.
Approximately 25 employees were let go immediately, and there will be others in
the coming weeks as the company moves toward closure. Fenton Art Glass employs
156 people who will lose their jobs in the coming months.
The company has had financial problems for years and in June announced efforts
of financial restructuring, including releasing a Worker Adjustment and
Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice to local officials and the state.
This informed them of the possibility all positions at the Williamstown plant
would be eliminated between Sept. 2 and Sept. 15 of this year if restructuring
alternatives are not established by those dates.
“We took many steps to try to continue the company’s operations and the
tradition of glassmaking. Ultimately, those efforts were not successful,”
Fenton said. “We continue to search for options to continue glass making.”
Keith Burdette, president of the Wood County Development Authority and the Area
Roundtable, said those options include selling the company to an investment
group.
“We’re not totally giving up on (Fenton Art Glass),” Burdette said.
Williamstown Mayor Jean Ford said she hopes for a miracle to allow production
to continue.
“I give them an A plus for trying,” she said. “It isn’t as if they didn’t work
hard at it.”
Fenton said the company has looked into many options and none of them would
work out to keep the company going in the capacity it needs.
“After discussions with our largest creditor, we agreed on an orderly plan to
wind down our business,” Fenton said. “We want to pay off as much of our debt
as possible before we cease operations altogether, and this plan allows us to
do that.”
Gov. Joe Manchin helped the company celebrate its centennial in 2005. He said
Fenton Art Glass is an important part of
“It is truly a shame that global market conditions have made it so difficult
for this company — and our country’s entire handmade glass industry as a whole
— to compete,” said Manchin.
Ford said the announcement made a sad day for the city.
“It’s very devastating,” she said. “Williamstown is Fenton and Fenton is
Williamstown.”
Earlier this week, Ford said the closing of the factory would be a domino
effect for the city because of the jobs and loss of funds.
“We are sad for ourselves, but we feel doubly bad for the employees,” Ford
said.
“We have been talking with the employees about what is going on and I think
people understood the situation,” Fenton said. “It was not an unexpected
announcement, but it’s still very sad.”
Burdette said the employees are the first concern of the economic development
authority.
“We will step in and do what we can to help the displaced workers as they need
it,” Burdette said.
The state development office’s leadership team has been working with Fenton’s
management in assisting the company, Manchin said in a statement.
“We will now continue to do everything we can to assist the company’s workers
during this difficult time,” Manchin said.
Fenton said the closure was caused by a number of problems, not just one thing.
“It was a combination of forces such as the marketplace, declining sales,
competition, the economic situation for the middle class — which is our target
market — and rising costs in production,” he said.
While the company plans to end production, it continues to plan sales and ways
to bring in more revenue.
“We’re now trying to figure out how to create some special things to help sell
what we do have,” he said. “We also have a QVC show scheduled for September
that we hope to do. We have some great products for QVC this time.”
Fenton said he is unsure of what the family will do with the factory closing.
“This past weekend’s Glassmaking Festival was really a way for us to thank our
collectors and the community,” Fenton said.
The gift shop will remain open for the unforeseen future and its management
will continue to explore ways to offer the glassmaking experience.
“Hopefully the gift shop will remain open and be a stand-alone business,”
Fenton said. “For that to be possible, we must be able to bring people here.”
Ford said she is upset for the Fenton family, who opened the business in 1905
and celebrated 100 years of glassmaking in 2005.
“We are very thankful to the Fentons for committing themselves to the craft of
glassmaking and the city of