Biden lauds reopening of window factory

Chicago -- The anticipated reopening of a bankrupt Chicago window factory brought kudos from Vice President Joe Biden Sunday.

Serious Materials, a California company that makes energy-efficient windows, bought Republic Windows and Doors out of bankruptcy last week and said it plans to rehire all 250 laid-off workers at their former wages. The Chicago plant was shuttered late last year.

Serious Materials said it decided to buy Republic because the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will increase demand for its products.

"The reopening of this factory and the rehiring of these workers provide an excellent example of how the money in the Recovery Act is targeted to spur job creation quickly," Biden said in a statement released by the White House. "These workers will not only earn a paycheck again; they will go back to work creating products that will benefit America's long-term economic future."

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the jobs lost when Republic closed were "not only good-paying jobs, they were good for the environment too."

"Those are the very jobs we need to preserve in order to put our economy back on track," Durbin said. "The economic recovery package has recreated a market for energy efficient materials that virtually disappeared as our economic crisis deepened. With $16 billion available for weatherization programs, companies like Republic will be able to reopen their doors and put people back to work."

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.