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According to Matt Shepherd, Alken-Ziegler general manager, the company announced to its employees on Tuesday, Sept. 4, that it will reduce its local workforce over the next several months. Shepherd said last Friday that he could not put an exact number on how many people would be transferring one of Alken-Ziegler's Detroit area plants in Taylor, Mich.

"As far as total impact to our Kalkaska employment levels, I can only say that it will be significant,"Shepherd wrote in an e-mail to The Leader on Monday. "We're never happy to see anyone leave town,"Bill Cousins, Kalkaska Village manager said. "They take with them their grocery bill, gas bill, water bill and restaurant check.

"They're a first-class operation," Cousins said of Alken-Ziegler. "They are going out of their way to help people find jobs." Shepherd said last Friday, that representatives from another local industrial firm already had offered to hire four or five people immediately. "I will do whatever I can to help them,"Shepherd said. According to the Alken-Ziegler release, the move is the result of rising transportation costs for inbound and supplier freight. Because of rising fuel prices, the company's freight costs have reached into the seven figure range over the past year. Alken- Ziegler's trucks haul approximately 425,000 pounds of steel north from the Detroit area each week in order to produce parts for the auto industry. Many of the parts are subsequently shipped back to the Detroit area for further processing at other Alken- Ziegler plants and sub- suppliers.

The jobs with the greatest transit costs will be the focus of the consolidation. Although key manufacturing operations will remain in Kalkaska, a smaller local presence for the company will emerge when the consolidation is complete, according to the release.

For local workers affected by the move, many will be offered the opportunity to continue their careers at the company's Detroit area facilities. As during past restructurings, the company will work with regional manufacturing firms and other community organizations to assist in the job search for other employees, the release said.

"28 years ago, when along with my twin daughters and family, I broke ground in Kalkaska,"Gil Ziegler said. "It was like a dream come true.

"Alken-Ziegler has experienced tremendous growth over the years due to the people of this community, for which I will always be appreciative. I am deeply saddened that due to current economic conditions we have to scale back our operations in the north."