HAMMOND | Jupiter Aluminum Corp., extensively damaged in a late-November fire, continues to pay employees, even though its payroll insurance expired May 24.
"We paid them with Jupiter's own money because we care what happens to our workers, just like we got the insurance which protected them after the fire," said Dietrich Gross, Jupiter's chief executive officer.
Most of Jupiter's rolling building was damaged in the Nov. 24 blaze. Its cold mills went down and it needed extensive repairs, which are ongoing. Jupiter's insurance covered employee pay and benefits for six months while the company was rebuilt, regardless of whether employees worked on cleanup, repairs or other tasks.
About 90 percent of the 143 employees are working at least some of the time, but the percentage constantly changes depending on what work is being done, said Jupiter spokesman Mark Schoenfield, who serves as the company's general counsel.
"We expect people to remain our paid employees as we move forward," Schoenfield said. "We're currently in the rebuilding process. The commissioning of equipment has started. We're making adjustments to make sure it's operating properly."
About a month after the November fire, the privately owned aluminum coil manufacturer at 1745 165th St. resumed partial production by buying aluminum coils needed for production. Some coil production is expected to start this month, Schoenfield said.
Schiller Park, Ill.-based Jupiter produces the metal, which is used in the production of vehicle license plates, as well as for gutters, downspouts and a variety of other products, from the aluminum scrap it buys on the open market.
Hammond's Economic Development Commission recently approved Jupiter's request for $35 million in empowerment zone bonds to buy and install a 42-inch caster and related equipment, said Ed Krusa, the city's financial consultant. The equipment will expand the company's production capabilities and is unrelated to what is being replaced by Jupiter's fire insurance, he said.
If the City Council approves the bonds, which create no liability for the city, the company would be able to use Hammond's tax-exempt status to borrow the $35 million because it is in an empowerment zone and not subject to the $10 million normal revenue bond cap, Krusa said. The process will take about a year-and-a-half, he said.
Jupiter, which has about $200 million in annual sales, also operates a coil coating facility in Fairland, Ind., that has two, 30-inch paint lines, a 50,000-square-foot warehouse and 80 employees.
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