Company intends to maintain a presence in Michigan City; Move likely to leave about 170 people out of work.
SPX Corp., corporate parent of Weil-McLain, announced it will close the boiler manufacturer's Benton Harbor, Mich., facility by next year and also shut down assembly operations at its Michigan City, Ind., plant, which the company has used since 1921.
The Benton Harbor decision, made June 28, affects almost 50 people whose last day at work will eventually be July 31, 2005. The local union that represents the workers, however, expects layoffs to begin during the last quarter of this year. The Benton Harbor plant makes sheet metal jackets, which are then sent to the Michigan City plant where the boilers are made.