By Barry Rochford, Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly
barryr@fwbusiness.com
Four area plants that supply Vera Bradley Designs Inc. will stop manufacturing products for the Fort Wayne-based company later this year, and three of the plants will close, according to a written statement.
The three plants that will close - Summit Production Systems LLC, Mercury Manufacturing LLC and Phoenix Sewing Inc. - are located in Fort Wayne. The fourth plant, KAM Manufacturing, is located in Van Wert, Ohio. In a story published Wednesday by The Lima News, Van Wert Mayor Louis Ehmer said KAM will discontinue "most operations by the end of the 2008."
Kevin Kensinger, who distributed the statement concerning the three Fort Wayne plants, said local workers were notified of the plant closures Thursday afternoon. He referred further questions to Robert Hinty, who could not be reached for comment. Hinty is principal owner of the three plants and was previously employed at Vera Bradley.
According to the statement, the three Fort Wayne plants are closing because Vera Bradley is moving its production in-house. The plants expect to lay off 387 employees by mid-May and another 150 by the end of September. The plant closings will be completed by September.
Ehmer told The Lima News the KAM Manufacturing plant in Van Wert employs about 140 workers. He said he was optimistic about the plant's future.
"It's a setback for them," he told The News. "... It's just an opportunity for them to pursue new avenues."
KAM's plant manager did not return a call seeking comment, nor did Ehmer.
Vera Bradley spokeswoman Monica Edwards said the company is vertically integrating and expects to finish the process by early 2009.
"We hope to have the same production and staffing, if not more, in the Fort Wayne community," she said.
Edwards said the 537 laid-off workers would be given preferred status should they apply for jobs at Vera Bradley as it expands production. She added economic conditions will factor in to how many employees the company is able to hire.
Manpower Inc., which provides employment services for businesses, including Vera Bradley, has set up a phone number specifically for the laid-off plant workers, Edwards said.
Vera Bradley, which is building its new headquarters next to General Motor Corp.'s Fort Wayne Assembly Plant, will keep production in Fort Wayne, she said.
"Where specifically, we have not defined yet," Edwards said.
Rob Young, president of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance, said of the layoffs: "This is serious news. Any time you have, in this case, three companies issuing (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) notices ... that's serious news."
He added that if there is a silver lining, it's that the laid-off workers will be able to apply for the new positions at Vera Bradley.
According to the statement, Phoenix Sewing was started in 1994, Summit Production in 2002 and Mercury Manufacturing in 2006. Respectively, they employ 190, 200 and 147 workers.
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development were notified of the planned layoffs.
Hinty is a partner in Equity Management Group in Fort Wayne. According to the Web site for one its companies, Equity Management Group Consulting, www.emgcnslt.com, EMG is an investment management group that "specializes in buying and managing small to medium size manufacturing companies in the Midwest."
Hinty's biography on the site states he helped grow Phoenix Sewing from five employees and $100,000 in sales to 220 employees and nearly $5 million in sales.