Cuno Incorporated, a 3M Company, has announced that it will close its Churubusco facility, located at 12628 U.S. 33.

The company plans to relocate equipment to their Enfield, Conn., headquarters and to close the Churubusco plant by the end of the year, according to 3M public affairs representative Dave Wefring.

A Dun and Bradstreet profile on the company earlier this year listed annual sales at $5.1 million and the number of employees at 58, but Wefring said he was aware of only 23 employees currently working at the plant, down from 38 total.

“The Dun and Bradstreet number must be old,” Wefring said.

The Churubusco plant underwent restructuring in Nov., 2007, and 15 people lost their jobs at that time, Wefring said. Of the 23 left at the plant, five are salaried and the rest are hourly, he added.

The slower growth within the company is forcing 3M to consolidate, according to Wefring.

The company markets filtration products in the healthcare, industrial and drinking water markets, and operates a total of eight facilities in the United States, Brazil, Japan and Australia and has sales offices throughout the world.

Earlier this year the Churubusco plant closed the administrative offices and a sign on the locked front door now directs customers to an 800 number.

Twenty-three fulltime employees are currently working in customer service. According to employee Barb Davis, the employees are working four 10-hour days with a three-day weekend.

These employees have been informed of the company’s decision and are being offered outplacement assistance and severance packages, according to Alan Tio, director of the Whitley County Economic Development Corporation.

Tio also asked WorkOne Northeast to plan a “rapid response” session for all affected employees, which is scheduled for the week of Oct. 13. The sessions will help educate displaced CUNO employees about no cost training and workforce development assistance, Tio said.

Wefring said the company is still looking at options as far as offering severence programs and/or transfers. “I think you will probably see a variety of actions,” he said.

Cuno started in 1956 as Chemical Engineering Corporation.

Cuno’s closing comes on the heels of an announcement a few weeks ago that Autoliv North America is planning to close the doors on its Columbia City plant - resulting in a loss of more than 380 jobs.

The company, which manufactures airbag products for the automotive industry, opened in Columbia City in 1998. The local plant originally made steering wheels. Beginning in November, the airbag manufacturing process will be moved to Autoliv’s plant in Utah. They plan to complete the process by the fourth quarter of 2009.

Photos and story by Viv Sade