auto_assembly_line_web.jpgARDEN, N.C. (AP) _ Plastic parts and molds manufacturer Alliance-Carolina says it is going out of business and will close its plants in Arden at year-end, putting as many as 80 people out of work.

 

Company chief financial officer Richard Stokes told The Asheville Citizen-Times on Friday that the closings are the result of the economy and the loss of a contract to supply auto air filter maker WIX. The plants will close Dec. 31.

Stokes says he thinks the company can wrap up its business without declaring bankruptcy.

The company moved to North Carolina in 1964 from New York and has made products for the automotive industry as well as a variety of consumer product companies.

At one point, the company employed more than 200 workers in Arden.