SOCAL MANUFACTURER MAY SHUTTER BUSINESS
VERNON - Citing a sustained downturn in its Thermador oven business and "disappointing" levels of new orders, BSH Home Appliances Corp. has said it is "seriously" considering the closure of its manufacturing facility in the city of Vernon, near Los Angeles.
"Strengthening the Thermador product line by increasing its value to the consumer and to the company compel us to consider all options," said company President and CEO Franz Bosshard. "We must improve the Thermador built-in oven business to a level of profitability commensurate with that of our other businesses."
The closure of the Vernon facility and the transfer of Thermador oven production to other BSH manufacturing facilities in the US, he added, "would result in significant cost savings."
Thermador products, including ranges, cook tops and ventilation products, are also manufactured at BSH plants in LaFollette, Tennessee and New Bern, North Carolina.
In July of 2001, BSH Home Appliances Corporation announced a major expansion program aimed at increasing BSH's share of the North American home appliance market. Those expansion plans are continuing, Bosshard said.
BSH acquired the Thermador Vernon plant in 1998 from Masco and has operated the plant for the past five years.
The facility employs approximately 220 workers - about 150 skilled hourly workers and about 70 management and support staff. Stefan Lauwitz, BSH vice president of operations, manages the day-to-day operations at the plant.
BSH Home Appliances Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GmbH, headquartered in Munich, Germany.
The company manufactures and markets small and major home appliances under the Thermador, Bosch and Gaggenau brands throughout North America.
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