AMHERST, Ohio — The Nordson Corporation has announced that it is seeking to close its manufacturing operations at its Amherst Industrial Coating Systems (ICS) facility.
In an email to 3News, Nordson says it has submitted a proposal to union leadership "to relocate our ICS manufacturing, assembly and machining operations to a new Nordson facility in South Carolina, which would enable us to host all of the products currently manufactured across several buildings in Amherst into one location."
The move, if approved, would impact approximately 145 jobs in Amherst. Nordson says the transition of manufacturing operations "would occur over time." Over 330 jobs would remain in Amherst as well as at Nordson's global headquarters in Westlake.
So why is Nordson seeking to move its manufacturing footprint out of Amherst?
"Our business is out of space, and we are landlocked by a railroad and a residential community, making it difficult to expand manufacturing capabilities to meet our customers’ increasing needs," the company explained in its email.
The Nordson Corporation is a precision technology company that "is known for world-class precision engineering, and for manufacturing fully-integrated systems, after-market parts, and consumables." Nordson reported $2.6 billion in revenue in 2023, ranking at No. 972 in this year's Fortune 500 list.
You can read Nordson's complete statement below:
"Our Nordson Industrial Coatings Systems (ICS) division has grown significantly over the past several years, outgrowing our current manufacturing footprint in Amherst, Ohio. Our business is out of space, and we are landlocked by a railroad and a residential community, making it difficult to expand manufacturing capabilities to meet our customers’ increasing needs. On Friday, June 14, 2024, we submitted a proposal to union leadership to relocate our ICS manufacturing, assembly and machining operations to a new Nordson facility in South Carolina, which would enable us to host all of the products currently manufactured across several buildings in Amherst into one location. While all ICS non-manufacturing roles will remain in Amherst, this decision would mean closing manufacturing operations in Amherst, Ohio. This transition would occur over time.
"At Nordson, we remain committed to Northeast Ohio with over 70% of our local workforce remaining in Amherst and our global headquarters in Westlake, Ohio. We greatly appreciate the commitment of our Amherst manufacturing employees, and we will partner in good faith with union leadership to provide resources that would ease the transition for impacted employees."
3News has reached out to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) for reaction to the news from Nordson. The IAM gave us the following statement in response:
“The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 1802 (District 54) represents the vast majority of the workers anticipated to be affected by Nordson’s announced decision to relocate its ICS manufacturing, assembly and machining operations to South Carolina. To clarify, Nordson did not make a proposal to the Union to agree to relocate the operations, and the Union would never agree to such a proposal. Instead, Nordson informed the Union of its intent to relocate the operations. The Union is working diligently to obtain all relevant information regarding the issue so it can best represent its members in negotiating with the Company concerning its decision and in aiding the members in navigating this unfortunate circumstance.”
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