BLOSSBURG, PA (WENY) -- A major manufacturing facility in Blossburg, Pennsylvania could close down by the end of the year. Ward Manufacturing was founded in Blossburg in 1924, and now the foundry is in danger of shutting down after the company's ownership tells WENY News it's looking to sell.

Less than a year after ASC Engineering Solutions acquired Ward Manufacturing, the company is planning to sell its Blossburg location. Employees were notified of the decision on Tuesday, January 28th, along with local officials.

"We were notified yesterday (1/28), along with a lot of other people. We have a meeting coming up with their leadership team to kind of talk through the next steps and how we here could possibly be helpful. The goal is to try to find someone to purchase it, that would be wonderful, save the jobs there; we've been through this before, so everybody's pulling up to the table and we'll get busy and see what we can do," said State Representative, Clint Owlett.

Rep. Owlett said anytime a large business like this has to close, it's detrimental to the community. He said local, state, and federal officials are working to come up with a solution.

"If there was to be a sale, we could look to see if we could make that a seamless process, that's some things. We could also look for tax incentives, and different tools at the state level that we could look at, but once we figure out if some of those things are even possible we'll engage at that level but at this point we're just happy everybody's communicating and we'll do our best to see what can happen moving forward," said Rep. Owlett.

In a statement from an ASC Spokesperson, they said:

'ASC has made the difficult decision to pursue the sale of our Blossburg foundry and facilities. In anticipation of a sale, we will transition production to our plant in Columbia, Pennsylvania gradually throughout 2025. We are committed to treating our team members fairly and respectfully throughout this process. We will be offering them relocation opportunities and comprehensive separation packages. This transition will allow us to better address the needs of our customers and continue making world-class products and growing our presence in Pennsylvania and in the United States.'

It's unclear at this time when exactly the Blossburg location would close. ASC said approximately 340 people work at the foundry and its facilities. The company manufactures products like tubing systems and pipe fittings. It also owns a facility in Lawrenceville and that operation will not be closing.

"We are encouraged that we have some time, but that doesn’t mean we can sit on our hands here, you know? We have to keep moving – these are real jobs, these are real people’s lives and this is an economic impact for a small region, small town, small borough, and it’s a big deal for them. So, getting busy and getting at it is important. We’re doing everything we can to make this as seamless as we can to try to save these jobs. We want to make sure that this is a viable industry as it has been for a lot of years in Blossburg and that’s our goal. Everybody’s working at it and we’re gonna hopefully see something positive in the near future," said Rep. Owlett.