The Department of Workforce Development reports 528 employees of Manitowoc Cranes will be impacted by a decision to move its production center from Northeast Wisconsin to a facility in Pennsylvania.
A manufacturing plant in Manitowoc is slated to close its production center in town within a year.
The latest quarterly report of the Manitowoc Company wasn't what company leaders wanted. Manufacturing experts took notice of the reports too.
"If you look back on recent history of the company and look at their earnings records, their profits and loss record, for the last couple of quarters they have not been doing very well in that respect," says Jim Golembeski the Executive Director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board.
In light of that and likely other reasons undisclosed, the company will uproot their crane manufacturing division here and move it to a Pennsylvania where another plant of theirs just opened in 2015.
"We've taken this very seriously through a comprehensive analyst and review of our current market situation which is probably tenuous at best," says Ion Warner the Vice President of Marketing and Investor Relations of the Manitowoc Company.
They estimate they could save 25-30 million dollars a year by switching plants.
"They're looking at their facilities and they're saying, where can we do the best production at the lowest cost," adds Golembeski.
But while an estimated 200 to 500 manufacturing jobs are anticipated to be eliminated here in just a year by some experts like Golembeski, the job outlook for employees in manufacturing is fairly optimistic in our region.
"They're coming out into a fairly robust economy. They're skills are going to be very much in demand throughout the region," adds Golembeski.
And while their global headquarters will remain here in Manitowoc consisting of mostly office jobs, the other skilled laborers who learned a craft in town that started way back in 1902 will likely have to find another career or move with the company if given the chance.
Original Story...
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. announced Monday, that it will relocate its crawler crane manufacturing operations from Manitowoc to Shady Grove, Pennsylvania.
In a press release from the company, Ion Warner, Vice President Marketing & Investor Relations says the decision comes to optimize its manufacturing footprint, reduce costs and expand margins.
The transition will begin in the third quarter with completion anticipated by the middle of 2017.
Manitowoc Company is the largest employer in the Manitowoc area, with 5,100 employees globally.
Company leaders can't say how many employees will be affected, only saying the transition is "malleable," and that they'll begin phasing out employees this quarter.
They will keep their engineering and production teams in Manitowoc.
Some employees, according to VP of Global Marketing Ion Warner, will have the option of relocating.
"There are opportunities to relocate for some where there is a skill-set match, because there's going to be a need in Pennsylvania," says Warner, adding that this was a difficult decision for the company. "So, for those employees that we have a resource need, those particular opportunities will be presented."
According to company leaders, the initiative is expected to generate annualized pre-tax cost savings of $25-30 million.
Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels says he, and his staff, heard the news Monday evening.
In an e-mail, Nickels tells NBC26 "my staff had tried contacting officials at the Manitowoc Company after the press release, but were unable to contact anyone."
Company spokespeople say the relocation, and phasing out of employees should take a year.
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. will maintain its headquarters in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Read the full press release
here.
