Atlanta-based Printpack will layoff 90 workers and close its Hendersonville location at the end of the year, according to paperwork filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce.
The plant, which has been operating since the mid-1970s, makes labels for water bottles and candy wrappers among other things, says Robin Potter, a human resources worker and 40-year company employee.
Printpack is offering limited opportunities to some employees to transfer to other locations based on skills and needs at those places. It is a nonunion plant.
Printpack has another plant about 40 miles north of Hendersonville in Marshall that makes bags and pouches that are used to package medical devices. About 180 people work at the Marshall plant, says Potter. The number of employees who could transfer from Hendersonvile to Marshall has not been determined.
Printpack officials told employees at the Hendersonville plant about the closure on Oct. 25, according to a filing with the state.
The status of the plant has been iffy for many years. In 2012, Printpack informed workers of its long-term plans of moving work at the Hendersonville site to a new location in Wisconsin, says Potter.
Workers in Hendersonville remained loyal to the company even though they knew the plant could close at any time. “They never gave up on their integrity and their drive to do good work,” she says.
Potter says she still has many friends at the Hendersonville plant. “That plant was an example of what it meant to work with family,” she says. “People there cared for one another and took care of each other.”
Employees who do not move to another Printpack location will receive severance pay in addition to their final wages, according to the state filing. Details of the severance package were not immediately available.
Printpack has approximately 3,200 employees at 17 plants across the United States and three in Mexico. It provides packaging for 150 brands, according to its website.