DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-57,507

NOBLE INDUSTRIES, LTD.
MASON CITY, IOWA

Certification Regarding Eligibility
To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance and
Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended (19 USC 2273), the Department of Labor herein presents the
results of an investigation regarding certification of eligibility
to apply for worker adjustment assistance.
In order to make an affirmative determination and issue a
certification of eligibility to apply for Trade Adjustment
Assistance, the group eligibility requirements in either paragraph
(a)(2)(A) or (a)(2)(B) of Section 222 of the Trade Act must be met.
It is determined in this case that the requirements of (a)(2)(A) of
Section 222 have been met.
The investigation was initiated in response to a petition
received on July 6, 2005, filed by a company official on behalf of
workers of Noble Industries, Ltd., Mason City, Iowa. Workers at
the subject facility are engaged in the early stages of the process
of production of printed wiring boards.
The investigation revealed that production and employment
declined with the shutdown of the subject facility on May 10, 2005.
Workers at the subject facility are part of an integrated
production process with Nobles Industries, Ltd., Hibbing,
Minnesota, a facility whose workers were certified eligible to
apply for adjustment assistance on June 25, 2005 (TA-W-57,085).
Separations at the Mason City plant can be attributed to
increases in imports of printed wiring boards affecting both
facilities.
In addition, In order for the Department to issue a
certification of eligibility to apply for ATAA, the group
eligibility requirements of Section 246 of the Trade Act must be
met. The Department has determined in this case that the
requirements of Section 246 have been met.
A significant number of workers at the firm are age 50 or over
and possess skills that are not easily transferable. Competitive
conditions within the industry are adverse.
Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that increases of imports of articles
like or directly competitive with printed wiring boards produced at
Noble Industries, Ltd., Mason City, Iowa, contributed importantly
to the total or partial separation of workers and to the decline in
sales or production at that firm or subdivision. In accordance
with the provisions of the Act, I make the following certification:


"All workers of Noble Industries, Ltd., Mason City, Iowa, who
became totally or partially separated from employment on or
after June 30, 2004, through two years from the date of
certification are eligible to apply for adjustment assistance
under Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974, and are also
eligible to apply for alternative trade adjustment assistance
under Section 246 of the Trade Act of 1974."
Signed in Washington, D.C., this 26th day of July 2005

/s/ Richard Church
______________________________
RICHARD CHURCH
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance