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Interstate Lane
Indiana: Whirlpool plant slated to close next year; 1,100 jobs lost
Whirlpool Corp. has announced plans to close its 1.7 million-s.f. manufacturing facility in Evansville, Ind., where it has had a presence for 53 years.
The closure, which is being attributed to global economic conditions and a decreased demand for the top-freezer refrigerators that the Evansville plant produces, is slated to be complete by the middle of next year and will eliminate approximately 1,100 full-time positions.
Production of the plant’s top-freezer refrigerators will be transferred to one of the company’s existing manufacturing facilities in Mexico, while production of icemakers produced in Evansville will be relocated to a company-owned site that has yet to be determined.
The company’s Refrigeration Product Development Center, which has approximately 300 employees, will remain in Evansville.
“This was a difficult but necessary decision,” said Whirlpool Vice President Al Holaday. “To reduce excess capacity and improve costs, the decision was made to consolidate production within our existing North American manufacturing facilities. This will allow us to streamline our operations, improve our capacity utilization, reduce product overlap between plants, and meet future production requirements.
: Fleetwood Reopens Decatur RV Facility, Recalls 600 Employees
Fleetwood RV, now under new ownership, has reopened its recreational vehicle manufacturing plant in Decatur, Ind.
Following the sale of Fleetwood Enterprises’ motor home division and Goldshield Fiberglass assets to private-equity firm American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV LP in July, the newly established Fleetwood RV has recalled over 600 associates and plans to create an additional 300 jobs at its Decatur headquarters by 2012.
Under the new ownership, Fleetwood RV is consolidating its California and Pennsylvania manufacturing operations in Decatur and plans to invest $7.4 million in building improvements, machinery and equipment, and retooling. The company will also relocate $8 million in equipment from its out-of-state operations.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Fleetwood RV up to $9 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.
