Donaldson Company, Inc. is closing its Grinnell plant, laying off 75 workers.
The Minneapolis-based manufacturer says demand for the mufflers produced in Grinnell has dropped significantly in recent years.
Donaldson’s treasurer and director of investor relations Rich Sheffer says changes in industry regulations and technology have made the mufflers obsolete.
"All new equipment today is being manufactured with emission control devices on the tailpipes," says Sheffer." The traditional muffler market has been slowly going away and the falloff has actually accelerated in the last couple of years."
Sheffer says the company needed to eliminate one of two factories, and decided to keep it's Auburn, Ala. facility.
"It's a little bit larger facility and it's a newer facility," says Sheffer. "The plant in Grinnell...was built in the 1950s,."
Sheffer says Donaldson plans to sell the building. He anticipates the plant to be fully closed by late 2015, or early 2016.