China events affect MSSL parent company

The slowdown in China’s economy and the devaluation of its currency are having an impact on at least one local company.
Motherson Sumi, the India-based auto parts maker that owns MSSL Wiring System of Portland, has lost 24 percent of its stock price in recent weeks, in part because of the developments in China.
Meanwhile, the weakening of the value of the Indian rupee to the U.S. dollar and the Euro, could have an impact on the company’s overseas loans. Nearly one-third of the company’s debt is in foreign currency.
But while those are near-term problems, Indian business analysts still believe its long-term outlook is strong.
According to one Indian business journal, 21 of 33 analysts watching Motherson Sumi’s stock list it as a “buy.”

ATI in lockout
Allegheny Technologies Inc., parent company of Portland Forge, has issued a lockout notice to more than 2,000 members of the United Steelworkers at its plants in six states.
“Our last, best and final proposal puts a workable solution on the table,” Bob Wetherbee, ATI Flat Rolled Products executive vice president, said in a prepared statement. “The union has given no specific time frame for a response to the company.”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this week that one stumbling block in negotiations may be the so-called “Cadillac tax” on “gold-plated” health insurance coverage that was a provision of the Affordable Care Act.
The ACA subjects companies to a 40 percent tax if premiums for health insurance exceed certain limits in 2018. The contracts being negotiated would normally run through 2018.
Once in effect, the “Cadillac tax” would require employers to pay 40 cents for every dollar that health care premiums exceed $10,200 a year for individual coverage and $27,500 a year for family coverage.

Ardagh fined
Ardagh Group, parent company of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, will pay a $103,400 fine and fund three environmental projects costing another $121,700 after it violated its wastewater discharge permits at its glass manufacturing plant in Milford, Massachusetts.
Ardagh also agreed to install new equipment to enhance the treatment of stormwater and will pay for some firefighting equipment for the town of Milford, Food Production Daily reported this week.
Among the allegations by the Environmental Protection Agency was a charge that the company dumped untreated process wastewater into adjacent wetlands without a permit.
“While Ardagh maintained a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, it was not fully implementing certain terms and conditions required by the permit and in the plan,” Food Production Daily said.
Meanwhile, Ardagh, which is based in Luxembourg, reported a pre-tax profit of 51 million Euros for the six months that ended June 30. That compares to a 267 million Euro loss for the same period last year.
The company reported revenue of 1.3 billion Euros for the second quarter, up two percent from the same quarter last year.
Operating cash flow in the second quarter was 144 million, an increase of 40 million Euros from the same quarter last year.

Big impact
POET, the South Dakota-based parent of POET Bio-refining Portland, has released its first-ever economic impact study.
By the company’s figures, POET generated more than $1.9 billion in business revenues in Indiana, added $555.3 million in the state’s gross domestic product, contributed $324.4 million in Hoosier household earnings, and paid $31.1 million in state and local taxes.
The company operates a total of 27 dry mill corn ethanol plants in seven states with a combined annual capacity of 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol. That translates into more than 11 percent of the total U.S. ethanol output.

Chamber event set
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce’s Food and Drink Festival has been set for Sunday, Sept. 27, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Jay Community Center in Portland. Tickets are now available.

MainSource earnings
MainSource Financial Group Inc. has reported earnings of $9.7 million for the second quarter of this year. Net income was up 25 percent from the same period a year ago and was at the highest level in the company’s history.
Total assets as of June 30 were $3,240,194,000, up 13.3 percent from a year
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earlier.

Plan approved
A strategic plan for economic development in Wells County has received final approval from the board of the Wells County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development. The plan spells out a roadmap for development through 2018.

Still the lowest
Mercer County continues its lock on the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Ohio.
The county’s jobless rate was 3.3 percent in July, down from 3.4 percent in June. Neighboring Auglaize County posted a 3.8 percent unemployment rate, up from 3.7 percent in June.
By comparison, Monroe County in southeast Ohio had a jobless rate of 9.9 percent in July. The state’s July jobless rate was 5 percent.

Farmer dropped
Tyson Foods Inc. and McDonald’s have cut ties with a chicken farmer after a hidden camera video released by Mercy for Animals, an advocacy group, showed abusive practices at T&S Farm, Dukedom, Tennessee. The farm had been a contract supplier for Tyson, which supplies chicken to McDonald’s.

Truck at library
A semi rig from Cheeseman Trucking, Fort Recovery, will make a visit to the Coldwater, Ohio, Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 9, so kids and adults can have an opportunity to see the inside of a tractor sleeper cab and learn about the job of a truck driver. The truck will be at the library at 6 p.m.