[PRCo] Re: Merry Christmas Westmoreland County

[Dennis F. Cramer]

650 acre sight in North Huntingdon & Hempfield Twps

Chrysler buys sight in the 1960's for an ill fated assembly plant

1976, Volkswagen picks up the sight for 1st American assembly plant.  They 
received $70 million for opening the plant and it closed July 14, 1988

Nov 1990, Sony takes ownership and invests $300 million to produce 1 million 
color picture tubes

July 1992, first cathode-ray tubes roll of assembly line

June 1995, American Video Glass is established at the site.  A joint venture 
by Sony, Corning & Ashai Video to make glass for picture tubes

March 1996, Sony changes name of the plant from Sony Pittsburgh 
Manufacturing Center to Sony Technology Center-Pittsburgh

Jan 2006,  Sony announces plan to close American Video Glass, eliminating 
300 jobs

March 2007, Sony announces plan to move production of rear projection 
televisions to Tijuana, Mexico

August 2008,  Improved demand for flat panel TV's cause Sony to increase 
employment form 600 to 850.

December 2008, Sony confirms it will close the plant.

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Pennsylvania spent $33.5 million to lure Sony here to invest $300 million on 
the plant.   Under that deal, the Pennsylvania Industrial Development 
Authority took ownership of the property at a net loss of $10 million in 
exchange for VW's $40 million low interest loan that extended to 2007.

Sony was to rent the property for 20 years for $21 million.  They still owe 
$5.5 million.

Another perk to entice Sony was a state-approved, 15-year loan for $10 
million at 3 percent interest, to help renovate the plant. A second $10 
million, 20-year loan at 2 percent interest from the PENNVEST clean water 
program went toward infrastructure improvements.
The state agreed to provide $3.5 million in customized job-training tax 
credits to train workers for the plant.

More taxpayer-funded help came in subsequent years.

For example, Rep. John Murtha, a Johnstown Democrat, was instrumental in 
obtaining $10 million to build an intermodal rail facility for Sony and 
companies in nearby industrial parks. An additional $10 million was 
allocated to build an interchange from Route 119, to improve access.

The company has been paying more than $1 million a year in lieu of property 
taxes to host communities, Southmoreland and Hempfield Area school districts 
and the county, because the state industrial development authority owns the 
plant.

But the $845,989 payment from Sony in the 2008 school year was well under 
what would have been paid in taxes to Southmoreland School District for such 
a facility, said Bill Porter, the district's business manager.

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Westmoreland is not the only county to feel the closings.  I know people 
from central Armstrong who drive to New Stanton every day and I am sure the 
same occurs from Washington & Fayette.

The best part of living in Pennsyltuckey is things have been horrible for so 
long, there are few good jobs left to lose.





Dennis F. Cramer
      Trombone