Nordson confirms move of manufacturing jobs from Amherst to South Carolina

Nordson Corp. confirmed Tuesday that it is moving all its manufacturing jobs -- its Industrial Coatings Systems division -- from Amherst to South Carolina. "Our Nordson Industrial Coatings Systems (ICS) division has grown significantly over the past several years, outgrowing our current manufacturing footprint in Amherst, Ohio. Our business is out of space, and we are landlocked by a railroad and a residential community, making it difficult to expand manufacturing capabilities to meet our customers' increasing needs," read an email statement provided Tuesday by Lara Mahoney, vice president for investor relations & communications at Nordson, to The Chronicle-Telegram. Nordson notified union leaders on Friday of its intent to move the jobs. Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow told The Chronicle he heard the news the same day. Nordson did not say how many jobs would be leaving, though about 300 office employees are expected to stay. Costilow said Tuesday he was still waiting to hear exact numbers, but his understanding was that about 140 blue-collar manufacturing jobs were leaving. Moving the jobs to a new Nordson facility in South Carolina "would enable us to host all of the products currently manufactured across several buildings in Amherst into one location," the company wrote. "While all ICS non-manufacturing roles will remain in Amherst, this decision would mean closing manufacturing operations in Amherst, Ohio. This transition would occur over time." The company did not give a timeline, but Costilow said Monday he heard it would happen by November. "At Nordson, we remain committed to Northeast Ohio with over 70 percent of our local workforce remaining in Amherst and our global headquarters in Westlake," the company statement read. "We greatly appreciate the commitment of our Amherst manufacturing employees, and we will partner in good faith with union leadership to provide resources that would ease the transition for impacted employees." Costilow said Monday the news was "horrible," as Nordson is a "good company" and has been "a great partner, a great business, a great organization in Amherst for some time." Nordson engineers, manufactures and sells products for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants and biomaterials; fluid management; testing and inspection products; and for UV curing and plasma surface treatment, according to its website. It is headquartered in Westlake. Copy editor Patti Ewald contributed to this story. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.