‘It’s a shame’; Norcold to shut down facilities in two northern Miami Valley communities

SIDNEY — Two Norcold facilities in the Miami Valley are set to close in the coming months.

Norcold LLC’s Sidney and Gettysburg facilities are both being shut down, a spokesperson for Thetford LLC, Norcold’s parent company, confirmed to News Center 7 Thursday.

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Thetford will be transferring all United State refrigerator manufacturing “to other global company owned and operated manufacturing facilities,” a spokesperson said in a release sent out late Thursday morning.

“The decision to close the Norcold locations and utilize the company’s global manufacturing capabilities was difficult, but necessary due to the current economic challenges and ongoing labor constraints,” the spokesperson said in a release.

A total number of employees impacted was not provided.

Alissa Reyes, Thetford North America Senior Vice President of Human Resources, said the impacted employees would be their “top priority” over the coming months.

“Where there is a skillset match, employees will be offered opportunities within the organization. In addition, we will be working with local employers and agencies to support them,” Reyes said.

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News Center 7 got hold of a letter to employees at the Sidney location Thursday and it said the Sidney facility will close on January 31, 2023.

The RV refrigerator production company has been in Sidney for nearly 60 years. Their Sidney location serves as their manufacturing offices, while the Gettysburg location serves as the company’s cooling unit manufacturing plant.

News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis spoke with a Norcold employee Thursday afternoon and she said it’s a sad for her and her co-workers.

Some other Sidney residents were not happy to hear the news.

One woman said considering inflation, now is a pretty tough time to lose a job.

“I go in the stores and I look at the prices of meat and I come out with no meat because I’m like I’m not paying that,” said Kim Schweitzer of Sidney. “I mean I can’t even imagine suddenly not having any money and trying to feed a family, so I think it’s a tragedy.”

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Schweitzer told Lewis she does not any connections to Norcold but she’s thinking of the people who are impacted and would like to see more economic stability in the area.

“I think the town gets something in, something else leaves,” she said. “It just seems like I don’t know, we need more progress, I guess more businesses but I think it’s a shame.”

We don’t have the date of when the Gettysburg location will close.

It has been reported that the facilities will close between late December 2022 and January 2023. We’re working to confirm exact dates.

One business told Lewis this is tough news but they mentioned they were pleased with other developments in the area such as Semcorp, which is working to open a $916 million manufacturing facility in Sidney.

This is a developing story. We’ll provide updates as we learn more.

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