The LEDVANCE / Osram Sylvania plant in Winchester, Kentucky, will be closing its doors in September of 2017.
Glen Gracia, head of media relations for LEDVANCE, confirmed the closure and issued the following statement:
“The global lighting market continues to move toward solid state lighting, resulting in greater demand for LED products and diminished demand for the halogen capsules made at the Winchester facility. This has shifted the traditional lighting business from a growth to a declining market.
“As a result, effective November 30, 2016, LEDVANCE will begin closing its facility in Winchester, Kentucky. Production on a single halogen capsule line and associated support equipment – along with limited non-manufacturing operations – will be transferred to our Versailles, Kentucky factory. The balance of the Winchester operation will be shutdown.
“Approximately 95 employees will be impacted by this closing over the coming 10 months, with approximately 10 non-manufacturing employees able to continue their work out of Versailles.”
There are two plants in Versailles that employ about 475 people, and a distribution center that employs about 100 people.
Gracia continued, “The decision to close the plant is a difficult but necessary step in order to focus resources on developing a comprehensive solid state lighting portfolio that best meets the needs of the market and helps ensure future growth. The company is proud of the contributions the Winchester plant and its employees have made to the lighting industry and our customers, and is committed to doing what it can to assist employees during this transition period.”
The Winchester plant was established in 1953, and in 1997 it employed 350 people, according to a Kentucky Directory of Manufacturers from that year.
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