Holm Industries to

cut work force by 25

Plant manager:

Attrition will take care of reductions

By CHRIS VETTER

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Holm Industries Inc. of New Ulm will reduce its workforce by about 25 employees over the next five months, according to company officials.

Tom Zitzmann, manager of the New Ulm plant, said the plant now employs 202 workers. The company is currently in a hiring freeze, with the goal of reducing the staff to 175 workers through normal turnover.

"Attrition will take care of it," Zitzmann said Thursday. "If there are layoffs, they will be minimal."

The company, located on Bridge Street at the south end of New Ulm, makes refrigeration and freezer gaskets.

The forced labor reduction is needed because of changes that will occur within the plant.

"We've got a product that will be leaving the plant in May, and it's not going to be replaced right away," Zitzmann said.

Because Zitzmann notified the employees in late November that a Frigidaire line would be moved elsewhere, the announcement of a worker reduction is not news to them.

Holm has plants in Indiana, Illinois, Alabama and Mexico, Zitzmann said. One of those plants will handle the line because it is better equipped for alterations to the product, Zitzmann.

Brian Tohal, coordinator of New Ulm Economic Development Corporation, said Holm Industries is a valued firm in town.

"It's been a good stable company for a long time," Tohal said. "They are a strong company."

Tohal said he is pleased Holm's management informed its employees in advance, rather than suddenly laying off 25 workers.

"It shows they are sensitive to their employees," Tohal said.

Employees should not worry about the company's future in New Ulm, Zitzmann added.

"As far as us being here, we will be here for a long, long time," Zitzmann said.