According to a statement released to the marketplace in December, Syracuse China is shutting down its operations in North America, effective March 31st, 2009. The shutdown will affect all existing patterns from Syracuse. The company’s statement said that any decorated product (with any color lines or patterns) from Syracuse China will become unavailable and completely discontinued. Product that is white-only may still be available, but any part of the company’s product line that will be kept in distribution could now have lengthy lead times, distributors said, due to all production moving offshore.
Syracuse China, a longtime supplier to hospitality markets, was founded in 1871 as Onondaga Pottery Company; its name was officially changed to Syracuse China in 1966. Family ownership ended in 1971 after four generations of management. The company’s ownership then changed hands several times until its current owner, Libbey, Inc., purchased the company in 1995 from Susquehanna-Pfaltzgraff.
The need to cut costs was cited in December by Libbey as the main reason for ceasing North American production. The closing of the plant in the Syracuse, N.Y. area affected 275 jobs, according to news reports.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.