The Hobart plant that has operated in Richmond Hill for more than 30 years will close during the fourth quarter of 2014, company officials confirmed Thursday.
Employees had been notified Wednesday of the pending closure.
“We will be consolidating the Richmond Hill facility into a larger Hillsboro, Ohio, facility. We do expect the closure to be complete late this year,” said Aaron Zell, vice president and general manager of Illinois Food Works Food Machines, the parent company of Hobart.
Richmond Hill Mayor Harold Fowler said he knew Hobart was considering shutting down the plant, but had hoped for different news.
“They told me several months ago that they were either going to close the Richmond Hill plant or one in Ohio,” Fowler said. “Of course, between me, the Development Authority of Bryan County and the Georgia Department of Economic Development, we have been working with them trying to get them to move here rather than close this one.”
A press release from ITW said the decision to close operations in south Bryan County is the result of an analysis of its global operations and footprint. ITW determined it could utilize space and other resources within its food equipment segment more efficiently by consolidating its Richmond Hill production plant.
The announcement went on to say that ITW recognizes the dedication shown over the years by its employees at the Richmond Hill location and that the closure is not reflection on their efforts or the quality of product they produce.
Some employees of the Richmond Hill plant may be offered positions in Ohio, Zell said, but the closure will eliminate 42 local jobs.
“It is definitely not good; we are losing almost 50 employees,” Fowler said. “We will have a vacant building. They have been here more than 30 years. At one time they had around 200 employees. It might have been even more.”
Mark Bolton, board member of the Development Authority of Bryan County, said Hobart was the first company to occupy space in what was once called the Richmond Hill Industrial Park more than 33 years ago.
Hobart, based in Troy, Ohio, operates manufacturing plants in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The company manufactures appliances for the food service and food retail industry.