Manchester Tank shuts Dinwiddie plant, lays off 66

Manchester Tank shut down its Dinwiddie County manufacturing facility Thursday and laid off 66 employees.

The Franklin, Tenn.-based company cited a drop in demand and the poor economy as reasons.

Cost-cutting through consolidation also played a part and Virginia lost out, the company said.

Employees at a Manchester Tank facility in Quincy, Ill., will take on additional production duties to make up for the closure, said Mickie Coggin, communications director for McWane Inc., which owns Manchester Tank.

Workers at the Dinwiddie plant on Airpark Drive made 200-pound and 420-pound cylinders used in home-heating systems.

"These employees are absolutely incredible, and this was not a decision made lightly," Coggin said.

In 2006, the plant earned a special designation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exceeding employee protection standards.

"They are the best," Coggin said. "It's so hard."

All employees were given 60 days' pay, severance and job-placement assistance.

DuPont Co., maker of the body armor Kevlar, announced last month that it was cutting 450 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Chesterfield County, and, this week, Reynolds Packaging Group announced plans to cut 158 jobs at a Richmond plant.

"I think, in this environment, most manufacturers are, at best, holding their own," said Vandy Jones, economic-development manager for the city of Petersburg.

"It's definitely not a very positive time in the manufacturing sector."

Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or .