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Article: AN UNLIKELY VICTIM; Credit crunch led to the sale of Minnesota's last independent brick company to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Co.(BUSINESS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- February 20, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Dee DePass; Staff Writer
Springfield, Minn. -- Freezing fingers and frosty breath were the only signs of life inside the cavernous Ochs Brick plant on Monday as five managers trudged through the silent factory that resembled a long-forgotten icebox.
In normal times, this plant would be humming, workers sweating and bricks baking in 2,050-degree kilns. Long channels of flame would cook clay in an orange-red glow, supporting 60 families from six nearby towns.
But that was before the housing market collapsed and Minnesota's last independent brick factory shut down in October.
Matt Van Hoomissen, the company's shy and boyish CEO, ...