Banner Engineering announces closure
Published Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Employees at Banner Engineering in Fergus Falls learned today that their plant will close in March.
The plant is home to 74 employees, who were informed of the closure during a meeting with local and corporate leadership just before 11 a.m. Employees said they were sent home for the day with pay, as well as severance information to review. Another meeting will be held Thursday.
In a press release, Banner’s corporate leadership, based in Minneapolis, said the company is closing the plant to “consolidate its North American operations.” Products made in the Fergus Falls plant will be moved to existing plants in Huron, S.D., Aberdeen, S.D., and Suzhou, China. The company anticipates about 25 openings in South Dakota, where Fergus Falls employees may apply.
Founded in 1966, Banner Engineering is the nation’s largest manufacturer of photoelectric and related sensors, which are used extensively in factory automation and robotics. The Fergus Falls plant, located at 1010 Weyrens Rd., opened in 1994.
For more information on the closure, see Thursday’s Journal.
