Scott Allen, Herald Journal Reporter
MONON - Amid the same concerns that have caused production slowdowns throughout the industry, Vanguard National Trailer Corp. made a precautionary move yesterday and reduced the bulk of its operation to one shift.
"At this point, we are announcing that we're combining first shift and second shift," said Human Resources Director Eric Wertz.
Most employees working the second shift at the Monon truck trailer manufacturer learned yesterday afternoon that they would be transitioned to the first shift beginning Monday, Feb. 18, in response to a downturn in the market.
"We're going to communicate some changes today, later on in the shift," Wertz said Monday. "We're basically bringing some folks to day shift, is what it amounts to right now.
"Once we're done with that, we'll kind of see where we're at."
Vanguard National was not the only local trailer producer to recently slow production, as Wabash National of Lafayette laid off 150 employees last week. This was in response to a decrease of incoming orders, which has been reported across the trailer market.
"It's the very same (as Wabash National's market)," said Wertz. "They're dealing with it just as we are."
Vanguard's Monday action is preemptive to reduce production without a lay off; Wertz expected management to have a clearer idea of any further changes to production soon.
The bulk of the second shift operations will be moved to first shift, which for most employees means working from 6 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Some employees will continue manning the later shift, however.
"We'll still have a small presence on second shift," explained Wertz. "We're going to try to run first shift to meet our demands."
Vanguard National, owned by China International Marine Containers, Co., Ltd., has been operated in Monon since 2003.