NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) – A New Bedford metal working company founded by Paul Revere that once provided copper sheathing for the city’s whaling fleet is shutting down because of high energy costs and foreign competition, putting 85 people out of work.

Revere Copper Products Inc., which has operated at the same site since 1862, will close for good in about six months, company officials said.

The company’s remaining plant at its headquarters in Rome, N.Y., will continue operating.

The company was founded in 1801 in Canton by Paul Revere and manufactured copper sheathing for the USS Constitution and other naval vessels of that era, according to the company Web site.

The announcement, made before Monday’s shifts, shocked some workers into silence, Eric Baptiste, an environmental assistant at the plant and vice president of United Auto Workers Local, told the Standard-Times of New Bedford.

M. Brian O’Shaughnessy, president, chief executive officer, called the closure “painful.”

The mill produces copper and nonferrous metal alloy sheets and plates that today are used in oil refineries, chemical plants, nuclear facilities, desalination plants and shipbuilding.

The plant, which employed 1,200 people as late as the 1970s, peaked during World War II when it provided copper products for the military and defense contractors, said vice president and general manager Christopher Bale.

The plant has tried to stay competitive with foreign manufacturers by narrowing its product lines, making capital investments and reducing its workforce, he said.

Mayor Scott Lang blamed the plant’s closing on the federal government, which he said needs to help U.S. manufacturers compete in a world market where other countries are offering “tremendous subsidies for these types of manufacturing operations.”

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On the Web: http://www.revereplate.com

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Information from: The Standard-Times, http://www.s-t.com

AP-ES-03-06-07 1634EST