This is a printer friendly version of an article from www.thedailytimes.com
To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.
Article published Nov 12, 2008 Rubbermaid adds 150 jobs; Sharpie production moves to Maryville plant
By Joel Davis of The Daily Times Staff
About 150 new jobs will be created at Newell Rubbermaid Maryville plant when the company moves the manufacturing of Sharpie markers there in 2009.
Company spokesman David Doolittle said Tuesday that the production will be moved from Shelbyville to the Sanford Brands plant in Maryville by the end of next year. There are also plans to close the company's Lewisburg plant.
"Maryville is one of our more modern facilities," Doolittle said. "We frankly have more manufacturing capacity than we need in the state currently. The Lewisburg facility was running about half-capacity. It's partly due to the current economy, but more than that, for business reasons, we had to reduce some of the costs of carrying that extra capacity we didn't need.
"(In Maryville), we have a good modern facility with easy transportation routes to our customers on the East Coast and certainly a great committed, dedicated workforce."
The Maryville plant currently employs about 400 people. About 200 jobs were eliminated earlier in the year, but the new positions will bring the work force up to about 550 by the end of 2009.
"We exited production of some categories," Doolittle said. "We're constantly taking a look at our operations and working to maximize efficiency so we can stay competitive. Certainly, those employees (whose positions were cut) are welcome to apply for these new jobs."
The plant at 1427 William Blount Drive opened in January 1998. It manufactures components for writing instruments, office products and chair mats.
"We understand the impact these changes will have on all affected employees, their families and the communities of Lewisburg and Shelbyville," Doolittle said. "We explored many options before reaching this conclusion. Our focus now is on helping affected employees find new employment, which is why we are announcing these changes well before most will be implemented. We are hopeful that by the second half of 2009 the U.S. economy will be stronger and impacted employees will be able to find comparable positions."
The company is provided the affected employees with help in searching for a new job. The company also plans to offer supplemental unemployment pay, based on years of service, to make up the difference between unemployment insurance and their current wages, Doolittle said.