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St. Clements ringette team to represent Ontario at nationals....................»19 THE OBSERVER | Saturday, March 21, 2009
Take care with this Easter treat
»13 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 11
SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009
www.ObserverXtra.com
» DeconSTRucT, ReconSTRucT
QUICK CLEANUP a fire broke out at a wood shop on line 86 just west of Wallenstein around 3:50 a.m. Thursday. linwood, St. clements, Wellesley and Floradale fire stations responded to the blaze, which destroyed two outbuildings and caused an estimated $150,000 in damage. no one was hurt in the fire, and it is not believed to be suspicious. Workers soon began clearing away debris.
YMT to close its doors this month
Downturn in automotive industry hits Elmira company; 18 of 20 employees will lose their jobs MARC MIQUEL HELSEN The battering Canada’s auto sector has taken in recent months has spread to Elmira. YM Technology Inc. (YMT), the automotive tool and die plant located on South Field Drive, will close its doors by the end of March. In recent years, the manufac-
turer of stamping press tools and dies for automotive companies and manufacturers, including major client Honda Motor Company, has suffered because of a variety of factors, including pressure from carmakers to reduce the price of dies; spikes in material costs, especially steel, and the significant rise in the Canadian dollar, which affected sales to the
United States. It’s now reeling under the economic downturn that has dealt a blow to the automotive industry. The latter development proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, affecting the company in a way that made business unprofitable for too long, says a spokesperson for YMT. “[Because of] these economic
In operation since 1998, the plant, which is owned by Yachiyo Industry Co. of Japan, started to feel the crunch some two years ago as customers pushed for lower prices. By the end of this month, at least 18 of the company’s 20 workers will lose their jobs. The remaining two will relocate to Barrie, home of YMT’s sister company, YOM, See YMT page »06
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factors – it has been ongoing for a few years – it was difficult to be profitable. For a couple of years there the Canadian dollar was very, very high and that was quite a blow,” said Marilyn Kado. “In effect, we had inputs that were increasing in price and what we were getting for the dies was decreasing, so it put us in a bad position.”
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