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Posted December 7, 2016

Walter to close Wisconsin production facility

In an announcement sent to its distributors, cutting tools manufacturer Walter announced plans to close its special tools production facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin.


The company said the operation will close by March 2017, and production will be moved to larger facilities around the world.

Walter NA regional president Muff Tanriverdi told Industrial Supply magazine that production of special end mills, drills, taps, and indexable cutters will be moved to larger facilities depending upon the type of product being produced. He added that all other company functions, including sales, engineering, human resources, finance, marketing and logistics, will remain in Waukesha. All told, about 36 positions will be impacted, Tanriverdi said.

The text of the announcement to distributors, sent by Tanriverdi, follows below. 

"As the economy is becoming more and more globalized, worldwide logistics keep up and offer fast and reliable sourcing opportunities for products. With this reality, lower volume plants can be consolidated into larger facilities with advanced technology. This allows Walter to re-adjust and optimize its production capacities and thus safeguard its competitiveness.

We intend to close the production site in Waukesha. Plans include the closure of the production operation by the end of March, 2017 and we intend to consolidate all the affected production volumes to our other bigger production units around the world. The closure of the production unit in Waukesha will affect 36 employees. Some may be transferred within the sales unit.

Walter emphasizes the strategic importance of its sales operations in one of its most important markets. The company will put an increased focus on furthering its Engineering Kompetenz in the US.

Our engineered solutions go way beyond tools, and we will continue working with this focus in the US. Our global supply chain and our new quick specials delivery system, Walter Xpress, gives us full confidence in the continuity of smooth support to our customers."

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