Document XRdJYyVK47kbQ5BMJME1ZxZLw

12/11/98 FRI 08:30 FAX ++ SOLUTIA INC >aper . so cents. 1, .* /, _. Texas firm hiring for ->-*- Cahill 0 003 By Jeff Amy Star Business Writer Dallas-based Trinity Industries, which has bought the former United Defense foundry, is hiring 50 work ers to reopen the.: plant that was closed in March. Trinity, which makes parts for railroad cars, bought the west Anniston property Nov. 17. No sales price was disclosed. "The foundry is going to be mak ing rail car parts to serve our other facilities and others -- outside cus tomers other than Trinity," said die company's Linda Sickles: TTinity has just, entered the foundry business with the October purchase- of a Pittsburgh company, McConway & Toriey, That company was qpginally looking at die West 10th Street foundry, according to Elriier Wheatley, the executive direc tor of the Calhoun County Economic Development Commission, Trinity buys lots of castings for -: n-ii'mim i .T rail cars, and owning foundries could allow it to cut those costs. About 25 percent of McConway & Torley's business came from Trinity, accord ing to a Trinity stock filing. Controlling those costs directly might help the company to cut costs. Cindy. Garrison, a spokeswoman for United Defense, said her compa ny had agreed not to comment on the sale. . Trinity's main lines of business are railroad car manufacturing, con crete, highway safety products, propane storage .tanks, and other heavy .industrial containers. The publicly held company had sales of $2.47 billion arid profits of $103.7 million. Trinity has been trying to boost a sagging stock price in recent months, an aim aided by 23 percent jump in profib in the most recent quarter, plus a plan to buy back up to 10 per- Please see Defense . Defense: Plant purchased by Dallas firm From Page 1A cent of its stock. The company has been consistently upbeat about, demand for rail cars. . - - `The . company continues to receive orders faster than current shipping rates and has expanded its production lines," said an. October Trinity quarterly report. Trinity has a 650-employee plant that builds rail cars in' Bessemer, plus other facilities in Birmingham, Montgomery and Cedartown, Ga. United Defense decided to get rid of the foundry last December, say ing that it was no longer profitable and didn't fit with the company's main business of defense contract ing. At that point, the foundry had 103 workers. Initial efforts to find a buyer faltered, leading to the layoff of the fouridry's last 30 workers in March. - . The current foundry was built by Kilby Stpel in the 1950s. In recent years, it had cast products such as valves from steel and nickel. DSW 138576 STLCOPCB4038531