At KA's Capital Markets Day in November 2016, Kongsberg Automotive outlined it's
plan for improving its performance. This plan included closing down 6 plants,
mainly within the Powertrain and Chassis products segment in Europe.
True to this plan, KA has decided that the Easley plant in the US will be
closed, and that operations at the plant will be discontinued during the first
quarter of 2018.
The Easley facility manufactures and supplies product for our FTS (Fluid
Transfer Systems) business unit; it provides quality engineered hose and tube
assemblies for the world's top makers of commercial and industrial vehicles.
A very competitive market in the area of the Easley products has lead this plant
to an uncompetitive position. This means there is a strong need to become more
efficient and reduce costs, which can only be achieved by relocating the Easley
manufacturing operations. The majority of production and equipment will be moved
to a new KA facility in Mexico.
There are 97 employees at the Easley facility, who will be affected by the
closure.
This announcement represents the fourth plant closure announcement since the KA
Capital Markets Day in November 2016 where we announced plans to close six
manufacturing facilities. We are well underway with our restructuring program in
order to improve the overall performance of Kongsberg Automotive.