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By Michael Lauzon
CORRESPONDENT
Published: August 27, 2013 5:56 pm ET
Myers Industries Inc. is boosting employment at its Middlefield, Ohio, facility as the plant and office there absorb jobs lost in two recently announced plant closures.
“In July’s second quarter report we announced a reorganization,” said Myers director of investor relations Monica Vinay, in a phone interview. The employment hike in Middlefield “is part of that reorganization.”
Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich’s office announced tax credits for several companies, including Myers, on Aug. 26.
Myers was approved for a tax credit of 40 percent over seven years reflecting its job creation in Middlefield. Vinay said about 65 jobs will be added there. The operation now employs about 400 in manufacturing and administration. It injection molds lawn and garden products like pots and planters for professional growers and retail garden centers and is the segment headquarters for Myers’ lawn and garden business. That business employs about 800.
Additional employment in Middlefield will generate $2 million in additional annual payroll and retain $11 million in existing payroll, the governor’s news release estimated. Viney said there is no plan to expand floor space or buy new equipment for Middlefield.
Myers said in July that it will close production plants in Waco, Texas, and Brantford, Ontario. Concurrently it will open a new plant in Sparks, Nev., the Akron, Ohio, firm announced.
The manufacturer and distributor estimated annual savings of $8 million will result from reorganization of the lawn and garden business.
The company expects the Sparks operation to help it serve the West Coast market. Myers had closed a nursery products plant in Sparks in 2009.
Myers’ lawn and garden segment sales in the second quarter slipped 3.8 percent from a year earlier to $40.9 million. However, adjusted income before taxes was $1.2 million vs. a $1.5 million loss in the 2012 period. | |
