Closed Washington aluminum plant maintains security team to thwart theft, vandalism and trespassing
MEAD, Washington July 25 2019— The Kaiser Aluminum plant closed in 2000, but the owners said the facility is still getting business.
The owners said they have dealt with people trying to get into the plant to steal some of the leftover copper or take pictures inside the old buildings.
To help manage the amount of traffic arriving at the plant, the owners hired a security team to patrol the perimeter of its 178 acres.
“I’ve had people roll up personally in their car and say, ‘I’ve heard there’s money to be made scrapping out here.’ And I say, ‘No, not today,’” said James Getter, one of the patrolmen.
Getter started patrolling the area in June. He said over the span of about a month he turned away 40 people.
He said people sometimes try to steal metal out of the buildings and their pipes.
“People come all the time, all the time,” he said. “From nice people who are just photographers, to people who aren’t so nice.”
Getter is a part of a team of two patrolmen who watch the area for a total shift of 24 hours.
“We do fence patrol, walk patrol all the way through the buildings out here and pretty much the whole property,” he said.
He said he is also working to install security cameras and LED lights on some of the buildings.
“We are constantly keeping an eye out for anything that changes,” he said. “We set certain booby traps in certain areas that are high traffic.”
Getter said the owners are remodeling the factory into a manufacturing area for several companies.
But he said the process could take at least five years.
