For the City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — Mayor Zach Vruwink has released a statement regarding the recent production stoppage at Northern Steel Castings. You can read his full statement below:

In light of reports containing misinformation and confusing details surrounding the operations at Northern Steel Castings, we felt it important to issue a statement of clarification and certainty of known details. On Dec. 12, 2016, the Northern Steel Castings operations located on Goggins St. suffered a fire. That situation had a serious negative impact to their business.

Since then, they have performed extensive cleanup work and have restored electric and gas utilities to normal operation. Unfortunately, the impact sustained was substantial, and their employees were notified last week that the facility would not return to full operation.

Additionally, at the time of the fire, there were reports on the number of employees affected that were not validated by the company. This has resulted in a number of current accounts indicating the business had recently employed as many as 100 people – an invalidated assertion. At the time of the fire, around 40 people were employed at the facility.

In addition, there was a report of a facility in Weyauwega. This facility is unrelated and under separate ownership to that of Northern Steel Castings in Wisconsin Rapids. The Weyauwega foundry facility is not impacted in any way by the closing of Northern Steel Castings facility.

As with any business disruption, the City, in coordination with the State and other resources, stands ready to assist. The appropriate agencies will be assisting those affected by this situation.