Sumitomo Rubber USA plant in Tonawanda to close

Sumitomo Rubber USA on Thursday announced it will close its Town of Tonawanda tire plant, which employs 1,550 people as one of the region’s largest manufacturers.

Sumitomo Rubber USA has announced it will close its Town of Tonawanda tire plant, which employs 1,550 people as one of the region’s largest ma…

Production at the Sheridan Drive plant has ceased effective immediately, Sumitomo said.

The shutdown is a blow to the region's manufacturing base, wiping out hundreds of good-paying jobs that are difficult to replace.

The plant has about 1,200 hourly and 350 salaried employees, producing tires for passenger cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles.

"The closure follows an extended examination of the viability of the facility, following thorough analysis of various business complexities, including mounting material and logistics costs, dated infrastructure, intermittent financial performance, and changing market conditions," Sumitomo said in a statement. "The evaluation was undertaken as part of a broader strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Sumitomo Rubber Group in the competitive international tire market."

Sumitomo in 2015 reclaimed full ownership of the Tonawanda plant from Goodyear and invested $87 million in the operations, a decision driven by demand for more SUV tires.

A follow-up investment, which grew to $129 million, was announced in 2021, along with a pledge to add 50 jobs.

According to Sumitomo, those investments were not sufficient to save the operations.

"While the company did implement cost-control measures, efficiency enhancements, capital investments, and other improvements over the last several years, these changes have not offset mounting financial losses at the facility," Sumitomo said.

The entrance is already fenced off at the Sumitomo Rubber factory in the Town of Tonawanda, which announced it was closing, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

The company said in the statement it has notified union and salaried, nonunion employees of the decision and it will work with the United Steelworkers Union Local 135 on severance packages.

"(Sumitomo Rubber USA) remains committed to supporting its former employees through this challenging time, and remains grateful for all associates’ hard work, dedication, and contributions to the company and facility over its many years in business," the company said.

Sean Felton has worked at the plant for 24 years. He was considering retiring in June and was working with the human resources department to look at what his retirement numbers would be.

He drove by the plant and stopped in the parking lot across the street Thursday morning because things seemed off when he stopped in to pick up his check on Wednesday. But he learned of the closure from a Buffalo News reporter.

With tears in his eyes, he said the job allowed him to build a great life.

“I loved it,” Felton said. “I mean, it changed my life. This job changed my life.”

Felton said there had been rumors for a while that the plant might again be sold. Workers had been told not to come in this week, but that sometimes happens.

A worker in a lift places barricades to block the entrance to the Sumitomo Rubber factory in the Town of Tonawanda, which announced it was closing, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

Felton had no idea he may have worked his last shift when he walked out last week, he added.

“There's been rumors about another company, another outside company is coming to, look at the plant,” Felton said. “Because they was cleaning the inside, getting it real clean and everything.”

While production has ceased immediately, Sumitomo said the wind-down of operations will unfold over the next 12 to 24 months.

The company said it will continue to serve existing customers "by utilizing a larger percentage of (Sumitomo Rubber Industries') available global production capacity."

Sean Felton, a 24-year-employee, came to look for information at the Sumitomo Rubber factory in the Town of Tonawanda, which announced it was closing, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

The Tonawanda site, alongside the I-190, opened more than a century ago.

Most of the tires at the plant were made under Sumitomo's Falken brand, while the motorcycle tires carry the Dunlop brand.

It was formerly known as Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America. A joint venture between Goodyear and Sumitomo Rubber Industries ended in 2015, and Sumitomo took full ownership of Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America.

Sumitomo that year invested $87 million in the operations, a decision driven by demand for more SUV tires. The plant changed its name to Sumitomo Rubber USA the following year.

The local plant had endured in an industry where most domestic tire-making production is in Southern states.

Steelworkers members in 2021 approved a four-year labor contract that ran through the end of 2025.

"Our first thoughts are with the more than 1,500 workers and their families who are impacted by this sudden plant closure," Tonawanda Supervisor Joseph Emminger said in a statement Thursday morning. "This is a very difficult time for them as they begin to deal with this unexpected news. They need to know the Town of Tonawanda stands with them."

A security guard blocks the entrance to the Sumitomo Rubber factory in the Town of Tonawanda, which announced it was closing, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

Production at the Tonawanda plant was disrupted last March for about three weeks by what the company described as a “systems outage.”

The company did not specify the source of the problems, but the disruption led part of the workforce to be idled until the outage was resolved later that month.

News Staff Reporter Justin Sondel contributed to this report.

This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.

Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.

News Staff Reporter

Reporter

Sumitomo Rubber USA's Town of Tonawanda tire plant is back to full operations, following a "systems outage" that had disrupted production sinc…

Sumitomo Rubber USA says "technical difficulties" at its Town of Tonawanda tire plant have led to reduced production and the idling of part of…

If you ever wondered why manufacturing jobs matter so much, take a look at what's happening at Sumitomo Rubber USA's tire-making plant in the …

The plant expects to add nearly 50 jobs, but the project primarily safeguards the site's 1,400 existing jobs, by installing top-shelf tire-mak…