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Post Falls, WI--November 10, 2003-- Phillips Plastics plant to close ; Injection molding plant employs 30 in Post Falls.

Phillips Plastics Corp. will close its injection molding plant here by the end of the year, laying off about 30 people.

The Wisconsin company built its Post Falls factory in 1996, with plans to increase its customer base in western states.

"At the time we expanded in the region, we were very optimistic - maybe too optimistic - about our ability to develop and grow the customer base in the region," said Teresa Springett, vice president of manufacturing for the Phillips, Wis.-based company.

"Events beyond our control really impacted ... our ability to grow our business in the region."

Privately held Phillips Plastics is one of the largest injection molding companies in the country, with annual sales in the $200 million range. The company makes plastic and metal parts for automobiles, appliances, medical equipment and the consumer electronics industry.

The electronics industry was one of the company's target markets for the Post Falls plant, Springett said. Phillips Plastics has sales offices in California and a design center in the Silicon Valley. But much of that market dried up during the dot-com bust.

In addition, "The plastics industry has seen a great deal of pressure from the Far East, and that continues," she said.

Phillips Plastics had such high hopes for the Post Falls operation that the company supported the facility with contracts generated in the Midwest, Springett said.

But Asian competition has cut into Phillips Plastics sales, so its Wisconsin facilities are running at less than full capacity. And it doesn't make financial sense to continue an Idaho operation, she said.

The Post Falls employees who are losing their jobs will receive severance packages, Springett said.

Former Jobs Plus President Bob Potter, who helped recruit Phillips Plastics to the area, said the company's decision is a loss for Kootenai County.

"Phillips is the IBM of the industry. They haven't manufactured overseas, they've stayed in the U.S.," Potter said. "They really hoped to penetrate the West Coast market, and it would have been a neat asset for us."

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