HUMMELS WHARF —
A Monroe Township modular home builder is not going out of business, but a lack of production orders is forcing a layoff of 90 percent of its work force.
Penn Lyon Homes will keep a few office workers to handle phone calls and service orders, company founder Roger Lyons said Tuesday.
“The economics of what’s going on in the housing market is reaching us as it has other companies in the area,” he said. “And we don’t really know if that’s going to turn around.”
Rumors the almost 30-year-old company was closing have been making the rounds for a few weeks, but no official word was given. Even state representatives and the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce had heard the rumors, but could not confirm them.
Lyons said he waited to speak to the media to ensure all things were in order.
A meeting with the state Department of Labor and Industry’s Rapid Response Team has been scheduled for Sept. 10 for Penn Lyon workers, said department spokesman Christopher Manlove.
The meeting will allow “affected employees to receive information that will help them transition to unemployment, education and re-employment services,” he said.
The company’s work force of 92 has been reduced over the summer as the number of orders have dropped, Lyons said. There are about 10 people left to finish the last order.
“Because we didn’t see any recovery in those orders, we have decided to hold this career session for the employees to help them in finding jobs,” Lyons said.
He and other officials are meeting with the company’s financial institution “to see what can be done to correct any of the problems.”
Times have been tough for manufactured and modular home builders.
There are about 40 such companies in Pennsylvania, and all have had to downsize in some way in the past year, said Mary Gaiski, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Manufactured Housing Association in Harrisburg.
The industry is tied directly to the housing industry nationwide, which has been on shaky ground for the past two years. Banks are not lending money as readily as in the past, and there is trepidation to give mortgages to even those with good credit, Gaiski said.
The only bright spot was many first-time home buyers taking advantage of a one-time federal tax credit at the beginning of the year.
Business was running well into the beginning of the summer, when the tax credit expired, Lyons said. Now, it will take more than just a “couple orders” to get the production line at the Airport Road plant operating again.
The process has not been easy for Lyons, who helped to found the business in 1981. He said some of the employees had been there for many years.
“We’re a proud company,” he said. “We build good products. It’s an unfortunate situation that’s come upon us. We want to do the best in this situation with the employees here.”
-- E-mail comments to jdeinlein@dailyitem.com
News
Housing market slump hits Penn Lyon Homes
Valley home builder furloughs 82 employees
- News
-
-
Masked robber hits McClure bank
McCLURE — Police said a man with a handgun entered the MCS bank at 1 E. Specht St. just after 9 a.m., Tuesday and demanded money from a teller before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
-
Union County deputy excels at academy
LEWISBURG — Feel safer, Union County: A deputy sheriff received the Michael VanKuren Memorial Award for Defensive Tactics during his recent graduation from the Pennsylvania Deputy Sheriff’s Academy.
-
Shoch too good to lose, Point supervisors say
NORTHUMBERLAND — Point Township Supervisors Randy Yoxheimer and Montie Peters credit attorney Rick Shoch with helping them weather difficult years as they fended off a slew of lawsuits from developers, disgruntled former employees and residents.
-
Two firemen face trial in arsons
DANVILLE — A firefighter said “it kind of hit me hard” after two fellow firemen were charged with setting fires in Montour and Northumberland counties and calling in false alarms in Union County.
-
Lewisburg high school back on drawing board
LEWISBURG — The Lewisburg Area School District is moving forward with a flexible version of its master facilities plan with the possibility that construction, including a new Lewisburg Area High School, could begin as soon as 2015 or as late as 2018.
-
Storms knock out power to more than 700 this afternoon
SUNBURY - More than 700 homes and businesses lost electrical service this afternoon when a line of heavy thunderstorms rolled through the region.
-
Masked gunman robs McClure bank
McCLURE - Police said a man displaying a handgun entered the MCS bank in Mcclure Borough just after 9 a.m., Tuesday and demanded money from a teller before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
-
'To Do': Carnival
MILTON -The Lions Carnival held from 6 to 9 p.m. May 30 at Brown Avenue Park.
-
Electronic fingerprinting soon needed to provide long-term elder care
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Aging will soon begin using an electronic fingerprinting process to screen people applying to work in a long-term care facility or home health care agency.
-
Buggy driver falls asleep in Lancaster County; collides with bus
NEW PROVIDENCE — Pennsylvania State Police say the 15-year-old driver of a horse and buggy fell asleep at the reins and collided with a school bus.
-
17-year-old New Columbia boy in critical condition after Sunday crash
WATSONTOWN -- State police said a 17-year-old New Columbia boy is in the hospital in critical condition after the car he was driving crossed the center line on Route 405 and slammed into an oncoming car.
-
60 and Counting
The singer John Prine wrote these lines in a song titled ‘The Late John Garfield Blues: “An old man sleeps with his conscience at night. Young kids sleep with their dreams.”
- More News Headlines
-
