Milwaukee-based plastic injection molding firm
Pereles Brothers Inc. plans to permanently close its facility at 5840 N. 60
th St., according to a notice filed with state officials.
The closure is the result of a significant loss of revenue caused by COVID-19 and three major customers moving work to Mexico and China.
Pereles was founded in 1925 by Al and Joe Pereles and transitioned from light manufacturing to plastics fabricating in the 1930s. The company changed hands several times over the years, often selling to members of its management team, according to the company’s website.
Steve Iram and Jim Gannon bought the company
in 2013 with Iram taking over as president.
Pereles’ 47,000-square-foot facility on the northwest side of the city serves customers in 15 markets including appliance, medical, food service, housewares, automotive aftermarket, electrical, power tools and lawn and garden.
Shutting down the facility will eliminate 49 jobs, including 41 hourly positions represented by
Teamsters Local No. 200.
The eliminated positions include 28 machine operators, five service technicians, two toolroom employees, two quality control technicians and two general service employees.
Job cuts have already started and will continue until the company completely ceases operations in October.
