Charter Automotive will close its 100,000 square foot facility at 9201 W. Heather Ave. on Milwaukee’s northwest side in late July. At that time, 18 of the company’s employees will lose their jobs, another 11 workers will complete final inventory shipments and prepare the building for sale.
Charter Automotive’s headquarters and main manufacturing facility at 7850 N. 81st St. will remain open, a company spokesperson said. Most of the company’s approximate 100 employees work at its headquarters – the rest are employed at its small facilities in the United Kingdom and China.
“In the fall of 2008, our Heather Avenue plant employees were made aware that our company would be exiting the indicator and tube manufacturing business performed at that location,” said Peter Murray, vice president and general manager of Charter Automotive. “The move came as part of our parent company’s organization-wide workforce reduction in response to global economic conditions and declining market trends.”
Charter Automotive’s Heather Avenue facility has been for sale since 2008 and the company is still seeking a buyer for the building, a company spokesperson said.
Nashotah-based Dickten Masch Plastics LLC purchased selected machinery and hired a large number of former Charter Automotive workers in 2009 and earlier this year. The company now employs more than 60 former Charter Automotive workers – and Dickten Masch has been able to secure many of the company’s contracts in the indicator and tube manufacturing sector.
“We had a 20-year relationship (with Charter), a partnership and level of trust,” Steve Dyer, president and CEO of Dickten Masch told BizTimes previously. “We approached their customers and said this was an opportunity for a seamless transition for them.”
