Hollister
– Around 40 workers will lose their jobs in the coming weeks
when one of Hollister’s oldest manufacturing operations, now called
GAF Leatherback Corp., shuts down after decades of making roof
materials here.
Hollister – Around 40 workers will lose their jobs in the coming weeks when one of Hollister’s oldest manufacturing operations, now called GAF Leatherback Corp., shuts down after decades of making roof materials here.
The company – a subsidiary of Wayne, N.J.-based GAF Materials Corp. – informed city officials of the closing late last week and cited a declining market and competitors’ growth as reasons for the decision. The company’s demise likely correlated with the slumping housing market, said Al Martinez, head of the county’s Economic Development Corp.
But with two parcels totaling around 7 acres near downtown, city officials Monday expressed optimism – while tempered by the loss of jobs – that Leatherback’s closing would open the door for other types of growth. About two blocks east of downtown, the nearby sites along McCray Street are neighbored by an array of commercial, industrial and residential developments.
GAF bought Leatherback Industries in 1997. The facility has long made roofing felts and building paper while targeting a West Coast market. A company spokeswoman did not know when the first such plant opened in Hollister, and by state law a record of that date is available only to the business owner, according to the county assessor’s office.
Officials also could not confirm how far back Leatherback’s operations go in Hollister but they said the local operation started decades ago.
Leatherback will cease operations at its plants – 111 Hillcrest Road and 901 Prospect Ave. – for good in late August, according to a press release from GAF. Layoffs are expected to take effect after Sept. 18, Martinez said.
GAF will offer non-union employees severance packages and outplacement services, according to the statement. The company plans to meet with the other employees’ union “as soon as practicable” to negotiate “severance pay and other matters,” the statement said.
Local Plant Manager Brian Davis referred questions to the corporate office, which declined to comment other than statements made in the release.
Martinez noted how it’s going to be “another big, empty spot.” Like other local observers, however, he wasn’t surprised by the announcement, he said.
“I hate to see it leave. It’s been here a long, long time,” said Martinez, who had received a letter noting that 43 employees would be affected by the closing.
Added City Manager Clint Quilter: “Certainly it concerns us losing that number of jobs. They’ve been a good employer in Hollister as long as I’ve been here.”
It’s not all bad news, though, officials emphasized.
Mayor Brad Pike said he’s “optimistically excited” as the closing brings a “whole new addition into the mix of future growth.” Pike prefers the spot be used for mixed-use development, such as commercial enterprises and condominiums or town homes.
“To me, that’s the exciting part,” said Pike, noting he sympathized with the employees there. “It’s open for all types of ideas.”
Quilter and Pike expect to meet with company representatives next week to discuss the transition, both officials said.
Sizes of building facilities on the two parcels are unclear because that information – as with the historical data – is available only to the business owner.
The parcel on Hillcrest Road is 3.1 acres, while the Prospect Avenue site is 3.36 acres, according to the assessor’s office.
Gordon Machado, owner of Rustic Turtle Embroidery and a county planning commissioner, called the coming change a “great opportunity.”
“It opens up a whole different area as far as land-use,” said Machado, also active in the Hollister Downtown Association.
With an abundance of potentially fruitful space to work with, Development Services Director Bill Avera said Monday it’s too early to speculate about the city’s approach to the land’s future planning.
The corporation noted in its statement that the Hollister business is “not core to GAF in the West” but also said the decision to close had nothing to do with the “solid performance and commitment” of Hollister employees.
“This closing was especially difficult when we consider the consistent hard work, long-standing enthusiasm and exceptional energy of the employees in Hollister,” the statement said.
