Southco, Inc. restructures

CONCORDVILLE, Pa — Southco, Inc. President & CEO Brian M. McNeill recently announced, in a letter to customers, that a “proactive restructuring plan” will accelerate the rebalancing of the company’s global operations.

“This move is being made in recognition of the continued shift in the world’s manufacturing footprint and part of our focus to better serve the needs of our global customer base,” McNeill wrote.

In the restructuring, the company will close its Brandywine manufacturing facility, located in Concordville. The manufacture of products currently being produced there will shift to other Southco facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Two-thirds of the Brandywine-produced products will be absorbed into Southco’s other North American operations, according to McNeill.

Additionally, Southco’s Corporate headquarters, which are co-located with the Brandywine facility, is expected to relocate somewhere within a ten-mile radius of its present location.

McNeill says the transition process will begin immediately, and he expects the entire transition and relocation to be finalized in the next 18 -24 months.

“We have intentionally planned this over an extended period in order to minimize or eliminate any disruption to our people and our customers,” he wrote. “We are committed to a seamless transition for our customers in terms of the quality, delivery, customer
service and overall value that you have come to expect from Southco.”

McNeill says the company is coming off of a record performance in 2006, and already off to a strong start to 2007, he adds that the company “is making this move from a position of strength in order to sustain our growth and value-added capabilities for the benefit of all of our stakeholders.”

“We are confident that these restructuring moves will enable us to drive additional value for you,” he wrote, “through our quality, innovation, customer service and elimination of waste in our business.”

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