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Northern Engraving plant in Spring Grove will close
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Northern Engraving Corp. announced Friday morning it will close its
Spring Grove plant within three months due to the dramatic decline of
the U.S. automobile business in the past few months and the overall
economy.
Approximately 250 employees work at the Spring Grove plant. Northern
Engraving, which is based in Sparta, Wis., makes nameplates for
appliances and automobiles, decorative appliance panels and interior
trim for cars.
According to published reports, the Spring Grove plant’s production
will be moved to Northern Engraving plants in Sparta and West Salem,
Wis. The company will close down the Spring Grove plant, but keep
the facility, in the event the company sees the need to reopen it in
the future. That will mean some employment increase at those plants,
but it will be less than the number of jobs being eliminated in Spring
Grove.
In a press release issued Friday morning, Executive Vice President Ed
Johnson said layoffs at the Spring Grove plant probably will begin in
mid- to late February. Employees were notified Thursday that the plant
will close.
“This decision is not an easy one, but it is the kind of consolidation
that all responsible businesses are going through in this economic
downturn,” Johnson stated.
While the holiday season isn’t a good time for this kind of
announcement, the company said in a press release, the decision to
announce it before Christmas was done deliberately so employees’
families could plan accordingly.
“We have a very good workforce in Spring Grove and we have a very
wonderful community to do business in,” Johnson said. “It was a very
difficult decision and one not taken lightly. Our decision is not a
reflection of our workforce or the community. It’s the overall
economics of the auto industry and the general economy.”
Johnson said the company will work with affected employees, using the
services of La Crosse-based Workforce Connections Inc. as well as local
and state resources in Minnesota.
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