Syracuse China to Close Factory

Syracuse China, which was founded in 1873, will shut down their Salina, NY factory in March of 2009.  The closing will put at least 275 employees out of a job.  John F. Meier, chairman and CEO of Libbey Inc., the parent company of Syracuse China, said the move was made to improve efficiency and decrease costs by manufacturing overseas.  "While considerable efforts have been made at Syracuse China to reduce costs, the operations continue to fall short of our strategic expectations," Meier said to the Syracuse Post-Standard.  Long-time employees and natives to the area were shocked by the decision.  

A decision like this is nothing new to our industry or any industry.  Several years ago, Oneida purchased Buffalo China, only to close the factory and manufacture overseas under the Buffalo name.  Cheap labor and materials abroad makes being competitive in the U.S. increasingly difficult.  Almost every smallwares manufacturer imports products from foreign countries to remain competitive.  While it's upsetting to see a quality factory close, the china business is cyclical.  Last year, Niagara Ceramics took over the Buffalo China factory and began manufacturing products under their name.  Niagara produces high quality, American made patterns that foodservice operations have been using for years, including Manhattan Gold, Undecorated, and Patriot, which is equivalent to Espree from Buffalo.   Niagara's products are significantly less expensive than Buffalo because they have low overhead and can control costs easily.  Plus, customers are buying an American made product and supporting our economy. In an industry that is seeing far too many products imported from overseas,  it's nice to still be able to buy from a company like Niagara.  Niagara isn't alone as Homer Laughlin still manufactures all of their china in West Virginia.