Konica to close or sell Guilford County plant
GREENSBORO,
N.C. – Konica Minolta Manufacturing USA said it will sell or close its
massive paper production plant in Guilford County by March 31, 2007.
Nearly
260 people would be out of work if the 350,000-square-foot plant closes
but company officials hope that some or all of the worker could be
retained if the plant is sold to another photography company.
“This
decision was very difficult,” Bob Harris, president of Konica Minolta
Manufacturing USA, said in a prepared statement. “We are, quite simply
and sadly, making a product for which demand is declining swiftly.”
Americans
made about 8 billion 4-by-6-inch photos in 2004, according to the
research firm InfoTrends. But, 66 percent of those were produced on ink
jet printers, not the professional machines that use the kind of color
photo paper Konica Minolta makes.
“They’re not closing because they
couldn’t get qualified labor,” said Dan Lynch, president of the
Greensboro Economic Development Partnership. “That would be the most
tragic thing that could happen, from the point of selling the community.
“They’re selling because of the market shifting.”
The company is negotiating to sell the plant but Harris would not identify potential buyers.
The
company has produced about 1 billion square feet of color paper a year
during the past several years. During that time, employment has dropped
from 340 to 258 through attrition but Harris said the company has never
laid anyone off.