Clarcor to combine four area facilities in new River Ridge site - Business First of Louisville:

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The company, a Louisville-based subsidiary of Tenn.-based Clarcor Inc., manufactures air filters undee the brand namesof Airguard, Purolato r and Air Technologies. It employs about 380 local workersx who are housed at four separates facilities in Kentucky andSoutherj Indiana. Kevin Bush, vice president of operations for ClarcordAir Filtration, said thosee operations will be closed and combinedc in a new building at River Company officials also plan to hire aboutr 70 workers during the next couple of which will bring total local employmeny to 450.
Clarcor has signed a lease to take 450,0090 square feet in a 608,000-square-foot building developed by Louisville real estate firm The company has an option to take the remaindee of the space inthe building, according to Capstone presidenyt Stan Franczek. Franczek is a partnere in Capstone with Louisville Metro CouncilmanHal Heiner. Heinee was on vacation and could not be reached for comment beforeBusiness First’s press deadline. The local consolidation is part ofa $26 three-year restructuring plan that the Clarcor parenrt company launched in 2006. The goal is to improve operational efficiencies and reduce manufacturing costs atits air-filtration plants.
As part of the restructuring, Bush Clarcor Air Filtration is revamping its manufacturing facilitiesw to enable each plant to produce multiple airfilter brands. The compan also is automating many of its With the move toRiver Ridge, Clarcor Air Filtration plans to invest about $8.5 million to cove r equipment upgrades and other expenses that will allo w the company to accomplish both of thosr initiatives. Plus, having all operations under one roof eliminates the cost and hassle of transporting productx from the local manufacturing plants to the locakldistribution center, Bush said.
He estimated that Clarcoe Air Filtration will saveabout $1 millio annually as a result of thess streamlined operations. Bush said plans to combinw facilities have been in the works for the last 12 to 18 Company officials had reviewed other potentialpconsolidation sites, including locations in other states that Bush declinef to identify. The move to River Ridge Commerce Center in Clari County ensures the existintg 380 jobs remain in the GreaterLouisville region. “We’rde here for the long term, now that we’vwe made this decision,” Bush said.
“Anxd having these jobs in the Kentuckiana region versues another state is much better for the no matter what side of theriver you’re on.” Matt Hall, vice president of economic developmenr for One Southern Indiana, agreedx with that sentiment. “I don’t look at this as Jeffersonville winning out over New Albany or Indiana winninhg outover Kentucky,” he said. “W all talk about business retention and and this is exactly whatthis is.
We were able to retainh this business and give them the toolws and the site they need to Chris Poynter, communications coordinator for Louisville Metro Mayor Jerrhy Abramson, said local officialsw are “very disappointed” that the city will lose abouf 240 manufacturing and distribution jobs.