Kendallville's Johnson Controls Interior Manufacturing plant scheduled to close

KENDALLVILLE, Ind. (WANE) More than one hundred jobs will be leaving Kendallville this August.

Johnson Controls Interior Manufacturing (JCIM) told the plant's 180 employees Friday the company plans to close the Kendallville plant by August 31.

Johnson Controls, JCIM’s parent company, said the manufacturing plant will be closing because it is not operating at full capacity.

The plant in Kendallville manufactures plastic injection molded parts for the automotive industry

“There is not enough business to sustain the plant long-term, and there is excess manufacturing capacity,” said Johnson Controls spokesperson Debra Lacey.

Suzanne Handshoe, Kendallville’s mayor, said Johnson Controls talked of expanding, but couldn’t at their location.

“There was no room for their facility to grow,” said Handshoe.  “I believe that the headquarters company is looking at downsizing some facilities and growing others and they couldn't grow here."

Mayor Handshoe apologized to the employees. She believes the closure of JCIM will hurt the community.

“We were seeing that we were turning the corner and we were doing well,” said Handshoe. “Then news like this is just devastating to our community. ”

Kendallville is located in Noble County which had the highest unemployment rate in Indiana in 2010.

JCIM opened the Kendallville plant in 1985.

Companies hiring in Kendallville

• Busche
• Reliable Production Machining and Welding