Dec. 20, 1995

AUBURN — Auburn Wire will close its city plant and move those operations just 10 miles down the road into its parent company's Jordan facility.

"Our intent is we want to save jobs," said Peter Ernenwein, Auburn Wire general manager and vice president. "The reason we chose Jordan was to save jobs." 

"People are still going to live and shop in Auburn. Nobody's going to move to Jordan."

Ernenwein said there would be no job cuts among the plant's 105 employees, and the current Washington Street facility would be used as warehouse space. The Auburn Wire name will continue to be carried on the company's products.

"We're responding to competitive pressure, to cut overhead," Ernenwein said. "We've got to do it. The reason we picked Jordan was so we wouldn't have to retrain the workforce."

Auburn Wire's owner, Omega Wire, owns five plants in upstate New York, including the Jordan plant, and one on Cape Cod. The company makes shielding wire for the cable television, computer and electronics industries.

— Compiled by David Wilcox