Mammoth Springfield operations moving to Oregon and Quebec, company says
The Mammoth manufacturing plant in Springfield will cease operations by the end of this year, a company representative confirmed to the News-Leader Wednesday morning, affecting approximately 200 employees.
The Springfield facility is located at 3300 E. Pythian Street. Employees at the plant were informed of the impending closure Tuesday morning, according to Erin Riebe, group vice president of human resources for Nortek Air Solutions,.
Minnesota-based Mammoth, which manufactures custom-packaged heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) units, is a division of Rhode Island-based Nortek. Riebe told the News-Leader that some product lines being manufactured in Springfield are being discontinued, while others are moving to company facilities in Oregon and Quebec. Layoffs will be gradual, Riebe said, beginning in July and concluding by the end of December.
Employees are eligible for severance based on their tenure, and are being informed of open positions at other company facilities, Riebe said.
Riebe attributed the decision to cease operations in Springfield to "market competitiveness" and the desire to move company operations to "more efficient plants."
On a conference call discussing first quarter earnings, Nortek President and CEO Michael J. Clare told analysts that net sales in the HVAC business were down on an organic basis in the first quarter, in part due to a strong fourth quarter and "a tough comparison for the first quarter of 2014." Clare said that was mitigated, however, by "our thoughts and efforts and production move to Mexico," which "has continued to produce tangible cost savings."
"The direct labor cost in our base HVAC business is declining significantly," Clare said.
Later in the call, Clare said the company would be "discontinuing production in two North American facilities and a facility in the UK and change that production to other facilities both in the Custom Air and the HVAC segment."
Riebe confirmed to the News-Leader that Clare was referring to the Springfield plant, and said the other North American facility was a small operation in Canada that was already in the process of closure.
About 15,100 people in the five-county Springfield metropolitan statistical area worked in the manufacturing sector as of March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's down from 18,400 during the summer of 2007, but up from a recession low of 12,300 people in early 2010 during the recession.
While motor manufacturer Regal Beloit ceased operations at its Springfield plant in February and meat processor Cargill shuttered its 118-employee facility in Springfield Underground in March, other manufacturers, including Red Monkey Foods and Americana Tire and Wheel have recently announced plans to add operations in the region. The unemployment rate in the metro area in March was 5.3 percent, according to the BLS, compared to 5.6 percent statewide and 5.5 percent nationally.
Mary Ann Rojas, the City of Springfield's Director of Workforce Development, encouraged Mammoth employees who will be affected by the plant closure to register on jobs.mo.gov or come into the Missouri Career Center to work with staff who specialize in assisting displaced workers. The Springfield Missouri Career Center is located at 2900 E. Sunshine St.