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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > July 3, 2008
Modine begins closure of Missouri plant
Published July 3, 2008 - BizTimes Daily
Modine Manufacturing Company, a Racine-based developer of thermal management technology and solutions, will shift production work to its plant in Harrodsburg, Ky., as it closes its plant in Camdenton, Mo., over the next 18 to 24 months.
With the new business, the Harrodsburg plant's workforce is expected to double in size to approximately 400 hourly and 40 salaried employees.
Production being transferred to Harrodsburg consists of aluminum radiators, charge air coolers and oil coolers for the off-highway market. The Harrodsburg facility manufactures round tube plate fin, heat exchangers and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) modules and systems for automotive, truck and off-highway applications.
In February, the plant received recognition from John Deere & Company as a Supplier of the Year.
"We are excited about the opportunities the added production will provide for our facility and our employees," said John Foutch, manager of the Harrodsburg plant. "We expect the plant to be running 24 hours a day, seven days a week when we've fully ramped up. In fact, we have already started hiring for segments of the business that are in the process of being transferred."
One skill set the Harrodsburg plant is especially interested in is aluminum TIG (tungsten inert gas) welders. The facility has made recruiting the specialized employees a priority. The TIG process generates heat via an arc of electricity that jumps from a tungsten metal electrode to the metal surface intended to be welded.
In April, Modine announced its intention to close plants in Camdenton, Logansport, Ind., and Pemberville, Ohio, as well as its Tubingen, Germany, facility. The intended closings and production shifts are part of Modine's global restructuring program designed to realign manufacturing operations, improve profitability and strengthen global competitiveness.
The company expects the closings to result in $20 million to $25 million in annualized savings when fully implemented. In addition to manufacturing realignment, the restructuring plan calls for an evaluation of Modine's product and business portfolio, greater discipline in capital allocation and a continued focus on reducing selling, general and administrative costs.
