Mar 28 2008
Champion Enterprises, Inc., a leader in factory-built construction, has announced that it will close its manufacturing facility in Silverton, Ore., and idle the last of four plants at its complex in LaGrange, Ind., transferring the LaGrange production to the Company's nearby facilities in Topeka, Ind.
As a result of the closures, the Company expects to incur pretax cash restructuring charges of approximately $2.1 million in the first quarter ending March 29, 2008. In addition, the Company is in the process of assessing the magnitude of the related pretax non-cash fixed asset impairment charges that it expects to record during the quarter which could be as high as $7.5 million.
"Our ongoing efforts to deliver strong segment operating margins in the face of challenging U.S. housing markets require that we continuously monitor the regional capacity utilization rates and profitability of our manufacturing footprint," stated William Griffiths, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Champion Enterprises, Inc. "As a result of lagging sales, we made the difficult decision to further consolidate our U.S. operations, bringing the total number of plants idled or closed since mid-2006 to 10."