(Radio Iowa) – The closure of a wind turbine blade factory in Newton will be a blow to the area, but an Iowa State University economist says it won’t have the same impact as when Maytag left the community. T-P-I Composites started making blades in Newton about a year after Maytag quit making washing machines in 2007. T-P-I plans to stop production and lay off more than 700 workers by the end of this year. I-S-U economist Liesl Eathington says that’s a lot of jobs for a city of 15-thousand, but the impact is more isolated because T-P-I has fewer ties to local suppliers. Eathington says, “Because that firm was not as deeply rooted into the local economy as Maytag had been, I don’t think the consequences are going to be felt as much.”

(Public domain photo) TPI wind blade manufacturing in Newton, IA.

Eathington says the economies of Newton and Jasper County are also more connected to the Des Moines area since Maytag closed, which adds stability to the local economy. T-P-I made blades for General Electric, but G-E purchased a rival blade manufacturer and has ended its relationship with T-P-I. It’s a setback for Newton but -not- a sign the wind industry is on the decline. The wind industry is on a growth trajectory, according to Pavel Molchanov, a stock analyst who covers T-P-I for the investment firm Raymond James. He says with G-E out, a new customer could come in.  Molchanov says, “In fact, very likely there will be a replacement customer to buy blades from this factory, but it’s not going to happen instantaneously.”

He says it won’t come soon enough to keep 710 workers from being laid off. I-S-U’s Eathington says because of the overall labor shortage in Iowa, other employers in the area are likely to recruit T-P-I workers to fill open positions.

(reporting by Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)