[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17946-17947]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       LOSS OF NORTHWEST ALLOYS CREATES VOID FOR WASHINGTON STATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the workers of 
Northwest Alloys, a company located in Addy, Washington, in the north 
part of the Fifth Congressional District. Since beginning operations in 
1975, Northwest Alloys has become the largest private sector employer 
in Stevens County. It employs about 350 people. These are good people 
with good paying jobs and a wide variety of families that support the 
community of Addy and Stevens County, Washington.
  The void that the absence of this company will leave in our 
communities is immeasurable, because they have supported our schools, 
they have supported youth activities, community activities, and 
provided a great resource for northeast Washington State.
  The plant at Northwest Alloys in Addy, Washington, is only one of two 
magnesium smelters in the entire United States, and Northwest Alloys 
has had a sterling reputation ever since it has been in business over 
the years. It received OSHA's Voluntary Protection Plan Merit Status 
one year ago for a comprehensive evaluation of its safety processes and 
performance. The company recently received Star Status, the highest 
level of achievement within OSHA's Voluntary Protection Plan, making it 
one of only three manufacturing locations to do so in Washington State. 
Safety was their code word, their standard. They worked very, very hard 
to have a safe manufacturing plant of magnesium.
  So I am deeply saddened by the events that have lead to the closure 
of Northwest Alloys and the impact the closure is having on families 
and the communities surrounding this facility in our State. But I also 
remain hopeful that new opportunities will arise out of such adversity. 
The reason the plant is closing in large measure is because countries 
like China and Russia have flooded the market with magnesium, and that 
has put tremendous pressure on community operations like that which is 
located in Addy in Northwest Alloys.
  The employees have been remarkably upbeat; and under the leadership 
of Jerry Turnbow, they have worked against incredible odds, considering 
the market situation, production, and energy conditions. They have been 
fighting a battle to try to get low-cost energy to run this plant, and 
they

[[Page 17947]]

worked in a very cost-effective way to have a safe work environment.
  Their commitment to our communities in the Fifth Congressional 
District has been a blessing. It will be sorely missed. I will be there 
this week to pay tribute as they close the plant and finish their job 
operations this Friday and to wish them well and all of God's blessings 
as they move on in life; and we will do everything we can at the 
Federal level to assist them in their next steps along the way.

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