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Norgren to slash 275 jobs

New plant to open in south Denver

Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 6, 2006 at midnight

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Norgren Inc. is cutting about 275 jobs at its Littleton manufacturing plant because of cost competition from abroad.

Norgren said the layoffs - to occur over the next 12 to 15 months - amount to about 55 percent of the total work force at the 40-year-old plant.

It produces regulators, fittings and lubricators for automobiles, trucks, medical devices and various manufacturing facilities.

Norgren, a subsidiary of U.K.- based IMI PLC, plans to put its 22-acre Littleton facility up for sale. It is located at 5400 S. Delaware St.

Norgren employs about 500 in Littleton. The company will retain about 220 employees in a new facility in the south Denver area.

The new facility will be geared toward customized products vs. the more mass-scale commodity products that are produced in Littleton.

"It's an opportunity for the company to reinvent itself," said Al Duff, Norgren's vice president for global human resources.

He attributed the layoffs to "the competitive pressures we are facing in the marketplace."

"Many of our competitors have already moved to low-cost manufacturing countries," Duff said.

He also noted that many foreign competitors can sell their products "at much lower cost."

Norgren employs about 6,000 worldwide in countries ranging from the United States to Switzerland, Spain and Mexico.

The company's plants make valves, lubricators, pneumatic devices and other components for various industries.

Norgren's U.S. operations are based here, while its global headquarters are in Chicago. The U.S. headquarters will remain in the Denver area.

The company has had a presence here for 80 years.

Duff said the company will make up for the loss of production in Littleton by using outside manufacturers based in the United States and abroad, as well as Norgren's own facilities.

Laid-off workers will be entitled to a severance package, based on their length of service with the company. Workers also will be given 60 days' notice before their departure.

Norgren Inc.

• What it does: Norgren's plants make valves, lubricators, pneumatic devices and other components for various industries.

• Employment: 6,000 worldwide

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