LISTERHILL - Operating Engineers Local 320 members have ratified a five-year contract with Wise Alloys in a move officials say sends a positive message to the company's customer base.

The contract includes pay increases for the union's 140 workers at Wise Alloys, which is the nation's third largest producer of aluminum can stock for the beverage and food industries. The current contract expires Nov. 1.

Wise Alloys has about 1,000 workers at its Colbert County plant.

"The fact we were able to settle a new labor agreement almost three weeks before expiration of the current agreement sends a clear, strong message to our customers, investors and our community in the Shoals area that Wise Alloys is a strong and reliable partner," said Wes Oberholzer, the company's executive vice president and chief operation officer.