American Welding & Tank to close Iowa plant

American Welding & Tank LLC (AWT) will consolidate propane tank manufacturing and refurbishing service operations at its Bloomfield, Iowa, factory into the company’s three remaining facilities, AWT announced.

The Bloomfield production and services processes will be relocated to the Fremont, Ohio; Crossville, Tenn.; and Salt Lake City facilities. Current production and service operations, related to propane tanks at the Bloomfield factory, will cease on or about May 15, the company said. About 43 employees at the Bloomfield facility will be laid off.

“Declining demand for propane tanks across the U.S. have forced us to right-size our manufacturing footprint to more efficiently serve our customers from our other three existing factories,” said Ted Reilly, vice president and general manager of AWT. “We expect this consolidation will be transparent to our customers and suppliers and do not anticipate any delays in shipments or deliveries. We have sufficient capacity at our three remaining factories to satisfy demand.”

Jerry Gilliam, AWT’s director of operations, added, “The consolidation of the Bloomfield production into our remaining three facilities will also generate manufacturing efficiencies, streamline administrative duties and provide opportunities to leverage raw materials, inventories and labor skills.”

The incorporation of the Bloomfield propane tank production and service activities into the existing product line capabilities will provide AWT’s customers with the opportunity to consolidate shipments and collect the resulting transportation savings, the company said.