open and shut

MetalWorks, an international producer of metal shingles for residential and commercial roofing, has opened a warehouse in Seattle. The new warehouse provides the company with a distribution channel for the northwestern United States and the western provinces of Canada.

Marcus Plowright, MetalWorks' managing partner, says the company opened the new facility to cut freight costs and alleviate inventory and warehousing challenges. "[W]e needed a warehouse to serve the needs of our West Coast distributor customers," he said in a press release announcing the opening.

The new facility will serve Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana and the Prairie and Western provinces of Canada. The company also expects to expand into Alaska.

By contrast, Interlake Material Handling Inc. has announced that it will close its Lodi, Calif., rack manufacturing operations by the end of April. The company says it will establish a manufacturing presence in Northwest Mexico when West Coast market demand for storage products recovers. The plant employed approximately 180 people.

The company says it expects no delays in meeting all order commitments for quoted activity, existing orders and future business. It will move production to its other manufacturing facilities in Illinois, South Carolina and Matamoros, Mexico.