Trico may close Buffalo plant

BUFFALO, N.Y. (Aug. 14)—Trico Products Corp. is considering closing its Buffalo wiper blade plant for the second time in less than five years. The wiper systems manufacturer on Aug. 12 notified its 212 employees of the possible closure and said it will announce a decision on or before Nov. 1. "We´ve done an analysis of the facilityàand the numbers seem to indicate there's some potential savings there if we close the plant," said Martin Kennedy, Trico vice president of North American operations. He did not disclose projected cost savings. Multi-million-dollar financial incentives from state and local agencies and a new agreement with United Auto Workers Local 2100 kept the plant open in 1998 and allowed it to move into a new, state-of-the-art plant the following year.