Durham window plant to close, lay off 428

Durham, N.C. — More than 400 workers will lose their jobs days before Christmas when a Durham window plant closes, according to a notice filed with the state Department of Commerce.

Silver Line Building Products LLC provided state officials with 60 days' advance notice of the plant closing under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Company officials said all 428 employees of the Durham plant, at 2223 Northeast Creek Parkway, would be laid off around Dec. 20 and the plant would cease production.

The New Jersey-based company makes vinyl windows and patio doors. It is a subsidiary of Andersen Corp., the world's largest manufacturer of windows and doors.

Silver Line announced in December 2004 that it would build a $22 million plant in Durham that would employ 800 people within a few years. The 422,000-square-foot assembly plant was expected to supply Home Depot and other customers.

State officials approved $100,000 in performance-based incentives to lure the company to North Carolina. Because the company closed without reaching those incentives, officials said it will not receive state funds.

Silver Line officials could not be reached Wednesday for comment, but the slowdown in the housing market nationwide after the mortgage bubble burst was believed to be the reason for the plant closing.