The CEO of Rockford Products’ parent company on Monday sent a letter to the State of Illinois and the City of Rockford saying that, unless a buyer was found, the facility would close September 30, and its 171 employees would be permanently laid off.
The maker of automotive and industrial fasteners for heavy-duty off-road equipment makers like Deere and Caterpillar blamed a drop in sales as that industry contracts.
The U.S. Department of Labor requires companies with 100 or more employees to send notification letters 60 days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs to affected employees and state and local governments.
Rockford Products started in 1929 as Rockford Screw Products. Private equity firm BlackEagle Partners bought the company in 2007 in a bankruptcy auction.
