Champion Closes Mexico Plant

In a reversal of the usual roles, Champion Laboratories of Albion, Ill., is closing a manufacturing plant in Mexico and moving those jobs to the U.S.

The company will close its facility at Saltillo, Mexico, which is about an hour from Monterrey, on June 1 and move the plant's production to Albion.

The change means more than 100 additional jobs to the Albion plant, which is now hiring locally to fill those positions, said Ken Vinson, vice president of human resources for Champion Laboratories.

Vinson said Champion was closing the Mexican plant for two main reasons. First, the closing allows the company to better utilize its existing capacity. All manufacturing equipment, inventory and work-in-process in Mexico will be placed in the Albion facility without requiring construction of new space, he said.

Second, the move reduces the company's "global footprint," of dispersion of facilities. It also reduces the company's transportation costs. "When we opened that plant, we hoped to create a lot of new business (in Mexico), and we frankly weren't able to create as much business as we intended," Vinson said.

Vinson acknowledges that the closing of the Mexican plant and the repositioning of jobs north of the border is a reversal of the usual trend. But in this case, it's good business practice, he said.

The move was lauded by Illinois State Sen. John O. Jones of Mount Vernon, Ill.

"We are talking about a substantial number of good-paying jobs coming to Southeastern Illinois," said Jones. "After seeing so many companies leave this state, finally we have some good news."

Champion Laboratories, which has its headquarters in Albion, makes automotive and heavy duty filters. It has been in Southern Illinois for more than 55 years, Vinson said.

Champion has seven manufacturing plants, including the Mexican plant, and seven distribution centers. The plant has distribution centers in the United Kingdom, France, Costa Rica and Canada, as well as the U.S. It employs about 2,400 worldwide, Vinson said. He said the company does not release employment figures for its individual plants.