Nash plans to bring jobs back to closed plant

Ron Nash bought the former Fleetwood building for just over $2 million. The Observer/Chris Baxter

Business has been down, but it is getting better.

“It’s steady and improving every week,” Nash said in an interview this morning.

Nash said he plans to initially hire 100 hourly workers from the Fleetwood organization, plus office and other support personnel, for operations at the former Fleetwood facility.

He said the focus at the addition will be on recreational vehicles designed for year-round use.

“It’s like what we build for Northwood, durable products for colder weather, anything that’s four-season,” he said. “If you’ve got stuff that really holds up, people appreciate it.”

Currently, Nash employs about 150 workers at the Northwood plant in the Union County Airport industrial park. A few months ago, Nash said, that facility was shipping about 15 units a week.

Now, about 50 a week are going out.

“We hope to take the number of people working at Northwood up. We want to take it back to what it was before,” Nash said.

Recently, in partnership with the German Company Al-Ko, Nash built an axle and chassis plant at the airport industrial park.

Al-Ko distributes a wide variety of products for outdoor use, including lawn mowers, tractors, cement mixers and more.

It also makes axles and chassis for recreational vehicles. Fleetwood was a customer.

Nash said work on the axle-chassis plant is nearing completion. Soon, overhead cranes will be installed and paving will be finished.

“We will be building axles pronto and as soon as we get the rest of the work done we will start building chassis,” he said.

Bankrupt Fleetwood Enterprises closed its La Grande plant and one in Pendleton in March.

The La Grande facility went up for auction May 13 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside, Calif. Arbutus RV and Marine, a Vancouver, British Columbia, company, had bid $1.8 million. Nash topped that, bidding $2.05 million.

The purchase includes the property, buildings and equipment.

Nash said he has been able to expand operations with help from local, state and federal governments.

“Keeping employment in the county up is our top priority. We’ve gotten help, and we’re trying to return that,” he said.

People involved in local economic development are praising Nash this week for his latest move.

“It’s just such exciting news to hear,” said Mike Sanford, interim director of the Union County Economic Development Corporation. “Northwood has always been a good citizen and a good employer in Union County. This is win-win.”