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GE seeks buyer for Lufkin foundry

Lesedauer: min

A Lufkin city official said he was hopeful General Electric can find a buyer for the Lufkin Industries foundry in downtown.

Thad Chambers, director of economic development, told board members of the Lufkin Economic Development Corp. that GE was attempting to sell the foundry it shut down earlier this year to someone that might move forward with a proposed investment and modernization project known as "Project Phoenix."

"We continued to meet with GE representatives throughout the entire process from 'Project Phoenix' to the oil price drop and the layoffs," Chambers said. "They have said they expect to maintain a substantial presence in Angelina County. They haven't defined that yet. They're still working on the process of how that will look."

Chambers said GE is no longer considering "Project Phoenix," announced late last year by company officials as a $60 million four-phase plan to renovate the Main Bay Foundry. The company planned to demolish 30,000 feet of its 515,000-square-foot facility and add about 72,000 square feet of new building while refurbishing remaining facilities.

Laura Bauer, a GE Oil & Gas spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the company had nothing to announce.

The Lufkin foundry began operating in 1902. In 2013, GE announced it completed its acquisition of Lufkin Industries for about $3.3 billion.

Source: news-journal.com

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