SIDNEY — A troubled housing market has hit a Shelby County Alcoa Home Exteriors plant, which makes vinyl siding and more for homes.

The number of hourly employees at the Campbell Road plant has fallen from about 150 last summer to 92 today, after the most recent round of lay-offs last week, said Kurt Kuhnke, senior vice president of human resources for Ply-Gem Industries Inc., which owns the Sidney plant.

"That's significant, obviously," Kuhnke said.

The most recent layoffs round affected about 17 employees, he said.

There are between 20 and 30 salaried employees at the plant and two positions have been cut from the salaried ranks, he added.

Kuhnke blamed a weak housing market. New home sales in 2007 fell by 26.4 percent to 774,000, the largest drop on record, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday.

"We have to keep an eye on the order volume and the housing market because that's what's driving it," Kuhnke said.

Ply-Gem bought Alcoa Home Exteriors in October 2006 for about $305 million cash. At the time, Alcoa Home Exteriors had 1,400 employees and manufacturing facilities in Sidney; Atlanta, Denison, Texas, Gaffney, S.C. and Stuarts Draft, Va.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.