An Orange plant is closing, just two years after celebrating its 50th anniversary in the community.
Earlier this month, American Woodmark sent a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice to the Town of Orange notifying officials the company would permanently close its Orange facility in March. The facility serves as the beginning of the manufacturing process for the company’s kitchen and bath cabinets, providing doors, fronts and frames to the company’s other plants for assembly and painting. The WARN Act of 1988 requires employers to give official notice to government officials of a pending mass layoff or permanent closure. According to the notice, the closure will occur on or about March 24 and will affect all 131 employees of the plant. Employees are not represented by a union.
Eric Miller, American Woodmark’s Director of Human Resources, said closing the plant was not an easy decision.
“American Woodmark continually makes strategic decisions to increase synergies and reduce complexity to remain competitive in our markets and meet customer needs,” he said. “A team was recently charged with examining our manufacturing capabilities to seek ways to improve the efficiency of our manufacturing platform. Due to strategic growth and platform initiatives and the addition of capacity in other regions, we have made the difficult decision to close the Orange Plant located in Orange, Virginia. Production will primarily be transitioned to our Monticello and South Branch Plants located in Monticello, KY and Moorefield WV, and a small portion transitioning to our Insurgentes Plant located in Tijuana, Mexico. The Orange Plant is expected to cease operations in March 2025. Resources and support have been offered to our team members during this difficult transition, and we thank them for their contributions and years of service.”
Miller said the company has some employee events planned for February to assist in the search for employment. Those events, he said, are being held with the assistance of representatives from the town and county as well as Virginia Works, the state’s workforce development agency.
As for the facility itself, Miller said a team of American Woodmark employees are working with town and county representatives regarding the future of the building site, but no final decisions have been made.
The Madison Road site in has been in use for more than 100 years. It was initially used by the West Virginia Timber Company in the early 1900s, followed by the Rapidan Railroad Company. In 1928, it was bought by Kentucky Flooring and was sold to Orange Wood Products in 1947. That company was then purchased by Boise Cascade in the early 1970s before three of its cabinet division employees staged a buyout purchasing the company and creating American Woodmark. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary of the Orange Plant in September 2023.
Today, American Woodmark has 19 manufacturing facilities with eight primary service centers. It’s estimated to create 41,000 cabinets per day and is headquartered in Winchester.
According to labor statistics, American Woodmark is the top employer in the Town of Orange and one of the top 15 private sector employers in the county.
