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Business & Tech

Manufacturer Plans to Close Murrieta Plant, Cut Nearly 50 Jobs

Company plans to shift most manufacturing jobs to China.

A fitness equipment manufacturer has announced plans to shut its Murrieta plant, displacing about 48 employees as the company trims its North American operations.

Star Trac, headquartered in Irvine, originally planned to close its Murrieta facility by May 31, but the pending closure may be extended a few weeks, according to an article published May 16 by ClubIndustry.com.

Last month, the company laid off 25 employees at its corporate headquarters in its sales, finance, accounting and IT departments.

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Several calls made to Star Trac’s corporate office were not returned.

The recent layoffs come on the heels of the company's former president Mike Leveque’s resignation in March. Dustin Grosz, former CEO of StairMaster, assumed the role of president. The company was purchased by Michael Bruno last year, who also bought the StairMaster and Schwinn brands last year from Nautilus Inc. for nearly $11 million.

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In March, Bruno said he hoped 75 percent of the company's production would be moved to China by June, and 90 percent of the company’s production would be shifted to China by the end of the Summer, according to ClubInsider.com.

Star Trac’s plan to close its Murrieta facility comes with disappointment for the City of Murrieta following weeks of dialogue between the city and Star Trac in hopes the company would remain, said Bruce Coleman, Economic Development Director.

The city’s Economic Development Department met and consulted with Star Trac several weeks ago and tried to connect the company with resources that would help the company retain its production in Murrieta, Coleman said.

“Whenever we hear of a manufacturer leaving, we try to be proactive and not just wait for a company. (We) make them aware that the city would help them by connecting them with export opportunities, finding resources in the city or (that) we can help them make connections with organizations like California Manufacturing Technology Consulting. There are a lot of ways--and incentives--we try to help manufacturers,” Coleman said.

Murrieta is home to many successful manufacturing plants that export to China, Coleman said. And despite the recession, the city has a diverse range of companies that are growing, he said.

“We're very sorry the company has moved their manufacturing from existing facilities to overseas, but we do believe this is a great place for manufacturing. We strongly support manufacturing in America and Murrieta and we work very hard to make that occur.”

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