SPENCER — More than 300 employees of the former N.C. Finishing Co. are out of a job today.

Officials of Color-Tex which bought the plant in January 1998, told workers Thursday afternoon that the plant was closing. The company converts woven fabrics for home furnishings and industrial apparel.

Company officials were not available for comment this morning, but several sources attributed the closing to financial problems.

One or more auditors from an out-of-state bank came to the plant this week.

Reached at his home, Human Resources Director Gene Clary referred all questions to the auditor. But the auditor also was not available for comment.

Hundreds of former Color-Tex employees showed up early this morning at the Employment Security Commission office on South Main Street.

A Employment Security Commission official said many employees said they went to work today to find the plant closed.

Commission Regional Manager Lane Dyer said his agency will handle the former employees in large groups starting on Monday.“The plant has shut down, and we will do everything we can to help them as quickly as we can with cash assistance and in finding new jobs.”

Employees who talked with the Post said some workers were told around 2 p.m. Thursday that the plant was closing and they should get their personal belongings and clear the building.

A manager told one employee that no one would be allowed on the premises after 11 p.m. Thursday, including the “club president on down,” the employee said.

Second shift employees were apparently allowed to work a few hours to complete closing operations.

A security employee who answered the phone at the guard house this morning said no one was working today and that some officials might be there on Monday.

Another employee said the medical insurance lapsed more than a month ago, but workers stuck with the company. She indicated that a similar lapse in coverage occurred last year for several weeks, and workers continued on the job.

A Davidson County man, who has worked at the plant for 23 years, was deeply disturbed by the lack of medical insurance.

A notice went on the bulletin board yesterday morning stating that employees would have to buy one week of medicine at their own cost, he said, but it added that the company “would tell us how to file a claim at a later date.”

That afternoon he got a call at work from his wife, who suffers from a chronic illness and requires a a great deal of medication.

“My wife called me at work” from Medical Park Pharmacy in Lexington, he says, “and told me we had no insurance. She’s on 13 different medications. The co-pay runs from $7 to $25, depending on the drug.

“Yesterday, the cost for three prescriptions was $76.79. The pharmacy said we had no insurance. The coverage was denied when they put it in the computer. I called United Health Care yesterday and today, and they told me we had no coverage.

“This is very important to me. My wife is sick. It’s going to be a money pit for me, not only losing my job but having to buy this medicine straight out.”

Color-Tex International owns facilities at other locations. It was unclear today whether any of the other plants were affected.

The Spencer plant had been strugged in recent weeks to pay its bills.

Spencer Mayor Buddy Gettys said the company had fallen behind on paying its water bill.

On Wednesday, the deadline set by the town for payment of the August bill, Color-Tex officials asked for additional time.

On Thursday, the company gave Spencer a $10,000 check. The town was prepared to cut water service, Gettys said.

Gettys said rumors about financial difficulties had circulated for some time, but the closing came without warning.

He found out while attending a Spencer High School reunion party Thursday night.

Gettys said he went by city hall and left a note on the town manager’s desk to immediately deposit the check.

Town Manager Kevin Howard said the company owes Spencer around $20,000 total for water.

Gettys acknowledged that the closing is a blow to Spencer. Color-Tex has been the town’s largest employer.

The company is the county’s 16th largest employer, according to a recent Rowan Chamber of Commerce publication.

Earlier this year, officials were predicting a bright future.

In June, a group of investors led by David Risdon of Boston purchased Color-Tex International.

Color-Tex workers said this morning that Risdon was at the Spencer plant Thursday and was among other workers and plant officials clearing out their personal items.

In July, officials said they would move the corporate headquarters from Boston to Spencer.

The company’s name was changed to New Color-Tex International after the purchase.

James W. Ogle, president of N.C. Finishing/Color-Tex, became president of the parent company Color-Tex International in June and retained the company name.

Color-Tex International had combined sales in excess of $50 million in 1999. Customers have included L.L. Bean, Lands End and Haggar.

The company had changed ownership over the past two decades. It began in 1916 as Yadkin Finishing Co. Years later, Julian Robertson Sr. led the company to preeminence in its field.