Avery Products Corporation's parent company, Toronto, Canada - based CCL Industries announced the closing of the Avery plant in Meridian by the fall of 2017. The plant is located on old Highway 45 and its closing will mean the loss of between 230 to 240 jobs.

‘It’s a huge hit to the community’

    CCL Industries, a Canadian firm based in Toronto, announced plans to close its Avery manufacturing and distribution operation in Meridian and consolidate it with its existing facility in Tijuana, Mexico by mid-2016.

    East Mississippi Business Development Corporation President and CEO Bill Hannah said Friday, the loss of Avery, which has operated off old Highway 45 for 37 years, would mean the loss of 230 to 240 jobs by 2017.

     “It’s a huge hit to the community. The fortunate thing is they are not going to do that until the fall of 2017,” Hannah said. “Typically, when companies go through this they issue a 60-day warn notice and it’s pretty quick and ugly. This isn’t good, but we do have some time to scramble.

    “The employees there now have actually a couple of years, if they stay. The company could, for lack of a better word, offer a stay bonus and try to keep as many as they can.”

    CCL Industries states in a news release on its website the transition of binder manufacturing to its new Mexico plant at Guanajuato will be phased, completing after the “back-to-school” season concludes in 2017. The project expansion into Mexico will cost about $35 million.

    CCL Industries President and CEO Geoffrey T. Martin states in the news release the company regrets having to close its Meridian plant in the U.S. and cited a competitive overseas market for the company’s binders and label production.

    “The decision affecting Meridian is very regrettable but offshore competition has made the consumer price point for binders unaffordable with domestic manufacturing especially for retail channels in the United States and Canada,” Martin states in the news release. “The company will act responsibly to help employees and the local community adjust, including this lengthy transition period and assisted transfer opportunities to both Avery and CCL locations expanding in the United States.”

    Hannah said the move was necessitated by global economics.

    “What I took away from it was their main competitor had already moved everything out of the U.S. and into Mexico and that’s where they (CCL) are headed,” Hannah said. “Plus, they said the plant here is in binder manufacturing facility and that whole industry is shrinking. They were doing approximately half of what they did five years ago.”

    CCL Industries employs approximately 11,100 people and operates 105 production facilities in 29 countries on six continents and is headquartered in Toronto with another corporate office in Framingham, Mass.

    CCL Industries bought the Meridian plant as part of its transaction with Avery Dennison on July 1, 2013, according to a media relations person with Avery Dennison in Glendale, Calif.

    Martin estimates cost savings for CCL by closing the Meridian plant could reach $8 million. He attributed successful operations in Mexico as a contributing factor for the move.

    “Our existing operations in Mexico are among the best in the company,” Martin states in the news release. “This new program is designed to support global customers operating across the NAFTA region while rewarding the outstanding performance of our people in Mexico with this significant investment. Once the expansion completes, Mexico will become our second largest country right after the United States in terms of infrastructure and employees.”

    Hannah said the EMBDC, the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors and the city of Meridian will all work together to find another tenant for the building in a bid to replace the jobs and the future expected economic impact left by CCL Avery’s departure.