Seagrave Lays Off 65 Workers

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Seagrave Lays Off 65 Workers 

Associated Press

CLINTONVILLE, Wis. (AP) -- A company that makes fire trucks has laid off 65 workers, just months after receiving three-quarters of a million dollars in state grants to expand its facility and add jobs. 

Seagrave Fire Apparatus President Jim Hebe said the cuts were made Thursday so the company could operate more efficiently. 

The future looked bright for the pioneering company in four-wheel-drive vehicles and upscale fire trucks in June, when Gov. Jim Doyle presented $760,000 in state grants to help the company build a 130,000-square-foot update and addition to its manufacturing facility. 

The city partnered with the company in the construction by creating a tax incremental financing district to help pay for infrastructure. 

Mayor Richard Beggs said he expects the expansion to proceed at Clintonville's largest employer, and said company officials told him the laid off workers would have priority if other jobs are created. 

Dick Koeppen, Waupaca County Board chairman and former Clintonville mayor, said there was a problem with federal authorities over wetlands issues at the proposed site that delayed construction past the fall. 

``That got a lot of people to talking and word got around the industry. The fire truck industry is very competitive,'' he said. 

But he said people can expect to see construction start this spring. 

The state grants included $415,000 from the state Department of Commerce to help the city move streets and water and sewer services and $435,000 from the state Department of Transportation to pay for half the cost of street work. The city matched the sum. 

Info on the new building:

http://www.seagrave.com/About_Us/News/Pres...ess/060304.html

Seagrave currently employs 260 employees in its plant and Hebe says he expects to double that employment in five years.  “Support for this project from the city of Clintonville was a contributing factor in our decision to locate the plant in Clintonville,” Hebe said.  The company is a leading manufacturer in Waupaca County with 422 full-time company employees.