NEW ALBANY, Ohio, March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. announced today that it will close its Vancouver, Washington manufacturing facility. The work currently performed at the Vancouver facility will be distributed to other CVG plants in North America.
CVG's Vancouver operation produces interior soft trim and molded dash assemblies for the heavy truck industry as well as molded products for the gaming and material handling industries. The facility is approximately 62,000 square feet of leased space and currently employees approximately 60 hourly and 11 salary employees who will be impacted by this action. At its peak, the facility employed over 200 associates.
"This was a regrettable, but necessary step in response to current market conditions. This extended downturn in the national and global economies has impacted our industry and end users particularly hard, which has forced us to examine our entire manufacturing footprint and consolidate operations to further reduce costs and create operational efficiencies in line with current market realities," said Jerry Armstrong, President of Cab Systems. "We regret the impact which this action will have on our Vancouver employees and their families, and we will assist them during this difficult time to help transition their lives," added Armstrong.
The costs associated with the restructuring plan include severance, facility shutdown costs, contractual costs and move costs to relocate certain equipment and assets. The Company estimates the closure to be substantially complete by the end of July 2009 and estimates that the total restructuring cost to be incurred related to this plan will be approximately $0.8 million. The Company anticipates a net pre-tax expense of approximately $0.4 million during 2009 and $0.7 million in annual cost savings thereafter.
About Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc.
Commercial Vehicle Group is a leading supplier of fully integrated system solutions for the global commercial vehicle market, including the heavy-duty truck market, the construction and agriculture market and the specialty and military transportation markets. The Company's products include suspension seat systems, interior trim systems, such as instrument and door panels, headliners, cabinetry, molded products and floor systems, cab structures and components, mirrors, wiper systems, electronic wiring harness assemblies and controls and switches specifically designed for applications in commercial vehicle cabs. The Company is headquartered in New Albany, OH with operations throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Information about the Company and its products is available on the internet at http://www.cvgrp.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or similar expressions. In particular, this press release may contain forward-looking statements about Company estimates for future periods with respect to restructuring charges, pre-tax expense, cost savings or other financial information. These statements are based on certain assumptions that the Company has made in light its experience in the industry as well as its perspective on historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate under the circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results because of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: (i) general economic or business conditions affecting the markets in which the Company serves; (ii) increased competition in the heavy-duty truck market; (iii) the impact of changes in governmental regulations on the Company's customers or on its business; (iv) the loss of business from a major customer or the discontinuation of particular commercial vehicle platforms; (v) the Company's ability to execute cost reductions and restructuring initiatives; and (vi) various other risks as outlined under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008. There can be no assurance that statements made in this press release relating to future events will be achieved. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on behalf of the Company are expressly qualified in their entirety by such cautionary statements.
