Emergency vehicle maker American LaFrance, which recently reopened the former Western Star Trucks assembly plant in South Carolina, is mothballing two Wisconsin manufacturing sites
to cut costs and moving their operations to North Charleston, S.C. The last day of production in Wisconsin is March 31.
All of the workers have been offered the option of transferring to North Charleston, said Chris Brandt, spokesman for Freightliner LLC, which owns American LaFrance. American LaFrance acquired the Wisconsin plants three years ago. The company plans to keep a small crew for sales and service in Shawano, a small town in the northeast region of the Dairy State.
American LaFrance announced plans in May to move its Cleveland, N.C., corporate headquarters and 210 positions to the former Western Star complex by early 2003. Most of American LaFrance's 60 corporate staffers moved from the Cleveland office this month, Brandt said.
Ultimately, the company plans to employ 800 in North Charleston.
Freightliner, a division of DaimlerChrysler AG, has owned the North Charleston assembly plant since 2000, when it acquired competitor Western Star.