Posted 9:31 am Saturday, March 20, 2010
Carrier May Shift One Or More Lines To Mexico
By BRIAN PEARSON
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Changes could be coming for the Carrier plant in Tyler, but what they are and how many jobs would be affected is unknown, an industry representative said Friday.
Tom Mullins, Tyler Economic Development Council president and CEO, said Carrier corporate representatives said that because of a 40 percent decline in business during the past three years, one or more of the Tyler facility's production lines could be moved to the company's Mexico operations.
"This morning I started getting calls and e-mails from local people asking about it," Mullins said Friday.
He said he then began calling corporate officials in Indianapolis.
"They did confirm that a decision was pending to move some production to Mexico from the Tyler plant, but they didn't have any specifics regarding the timing of it, the amount of production, the number of jobs and whether or not there would be any plus side," Mullins said. "We don't know the net effect at this point."
He said that if there is a positive side, it could be that while some lines are moved to Mexico, others could be expanded in Tyler, with jobs retained.
"It sounds like the decision was going to be tied to the union negotiations," Mullins said. "The union contract expires in April. It sounds like some kind of public announcement would be made after the negotiations with their labor group."
Carrier officials could not be reached for comment late Friday.
Three years ago, Carrier had 1,300 employees at its Tyler plant, Mullins said. Now, the company is down to between 625 and 650 after waves of layoffs, he said.
Carrier, which is part of United Technologies Co., builds air conditioning, heating and refrigeration systems.
The company Web site bills Carrier, based in Farmington, Conn., as a world leader in building those systems. Uses include residential, commercial, industrial, food service and transportation.
Carrier, with 45,000 employees spread across 172 countries, reported $14.9 billion in revenues in 2008.
The company was founded in New York in 1915, only 13 years after Willis Carrier invented the first mechanical air conditioner.
Systems that could cool public places came along in 1922, and Carrier invented air conditioning for skyscrapers in 1939.
The company in 1965 provided control systems for the Apollo-Saturn V moon program.
United Technologies Co. acquired Carrier in 1979.
Today, Carrier systems can be found in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens in Virginia and the Singapore Expo, Asia's largest exhibition center.
