FALCONER – Keywell Metals LLC is mothballing its Falconer titanium facility due to a decline in alloy prices and market conditions.

Thirty-two of the 40 employees at the facility, located at 1873 Lyndon Blvd., were let go last week as the company looks to consolidate and move operations to North Carolina. A date to mothball the facility and the number of days remaining for the eight employees is still undetermined, said Mark Lozier, president for Keywell Metals. The Falconer facility recycles all aerospace and additive grade titanium and maintains a fully-equipped laboratory to process material.

“It could be permanent. It could be months,” he said. “It’s really a function of the marketplace.”

The announcement comes as Keywell Metals consolidates and adapts to the current aerospace metals and stainless steel markets. The company, headquartered outside Chicago, Illinois, is a leading supplier of recycled titanium, high-temperature alloys and stainless steel.

“This is a uniquely opportunistic time in the aerospace metals industry where you must adapt to market fundamentals,” said Ross Gatlin, CEO of a private equity firm that owns Keywell Metals. “It is clear that the stainless steel industry has been facing historic difficulties for quite some time. With recent LME nickel contract prices at a 12-and-a-half-year low, further rationalization of our stainless operations was required.”

Kevin Sanvidge, administrative director and chief executive officer for the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, said every job lost at Keywell Metals is devastating. Sanvidge said the IDA reached out to the company with no avail after becoming aware of the announcement. IDA staff will continue to reach out to assist the company and its displaced workers in any way, he said.

“It’s difficult to attract new businesses here and help grow the businesses we have,” Sanvidge said. “News like this is very upsetting. Their business had a lot to do with the price of scrap and precious metals. It’s a difficult and competitive market right now.”

Keywell Metals had two area plants before the Frewsburg facility closed in 2013 due to economic conditions. A total of 49 employees were affected.