Updated: Matalco to close Canton, Ohio, plant

Matalco Inc., which produces aluminum billet and slab using recycled aluminum, plans to close its Canton, Ohio, plant this summer in an effort to optimize its operations. 

The location, one of seven the Brampton, Ontario-based company operates, will begin the closing process June 6, according to a letter dated April 8, 2025, that Matalco submitted to the Ohio Office of Workforce Development in Columbus in adherence with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The WARN Act mandates employers with 100 or more employees provide at least 60 days' advance written notice of a plant closing or mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees.

The closing will affect 71 employees at the Canton plant beginning June 6 and proceeding over 90 days at most.

Matalco notes some employees are being offered the opportunity to take on new roles at one of Matalco’s five other U.S. plants, which are in Bluffton, Indiana; Lordstown, Ohio; Shelbyville, Kentucky; Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; and Franklin, Kentucky. Matalco also operates a facility in Brampton.  

"On April 8, Matalco made the difficult decision to close its Canton, Ohio, site to optimize our portfolio of aluminum remelting and casting facilities," a statement from Matalco President Tom Horter says. "All employees have been informed of the closure. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the impact it will have on our Canton employees, their families and the community. Matalco is committed to assisting affected workers with relocations to other Matalco locations, career transition services and job placement assistance, in collaboration with local authorities." 

Matalco acquired the Canton facility in 2010 out of receivership from Thakar Aluminum.

The company’s newest facility, in Franklin, began operating in December 2022. Matalco invested about $65 million in the plant, which can produce 135,000 tons per year of aluminum ingot slab. 

In late 2023, London-based Rio Tinto acquired a 50 percent equity stake in Matalco for $700 million from the Giampaolo Group, based in Canada, combining the strengths of North America's largest primary and secondary aluminum producers, according to a news release from Rio Tinto.

This article was updated April 10 to add the statement from Mark Zak.