Escalade Sports plans to close its last manufacturing operation in Evansville, IN, the company’s headquarters, effective Sept. 5. HR director Gary Allan told the Courier Press that table tennis production will be consolidated into Escalade Sports Mexico operations in Reynosa and Rosarito.
A total of 30 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the move.
Evansville will continue to serve as the distribution center and headquarters for Escalade Sports and its parent company, Escalade Inc., which also manufactures office equipment.
In February 2008, Escalade Sports announced it would cease manufacturing archery equipment for children, as well as discontinue production of archery and playground equipment at the Evansville location. This decision resulted in approximately 25 Evansville employees losing their jobs. Escalade’s factory in Gainesville, FL, will continue to make archery equipment for adults.
In April, Escalade said it would stop selling table tennis and billiards tables to Sears Holdings Corp. because the retailer was not buying as many as it had in the past.
The elimination of the table tennis production in Evansville was a continuation of Escalade Sports initiative to lower operating costs and reduce excess manufacturing capacity, Allan told the Indiana newspaper.
