Phillips-Medisize closing Eau Claire facility, 230 jobs leaving

Jan. 22--A medical device company is closing its Eau Claire production facility after 35 years, resulting in the loss of 230 jobs in the city.

Phillips-Medisize announced Tuesday that it will be doing a phased closure throughout this year of its plant located at 1233 International Drive in the Sky Park Industrial Center on the city's southwest side.

The company stated that the closing does not reflect upon dedicated employees there but was a decision made "after careful consideration and analysis of its global footprint."

"Phillips-Medisize operates in changing markets that require us to continually evaluate global capacity and capabilities to ensure we remain competitive for the long-term," Andrew Veach, senior manager of corporate communications for parent company Molex, stated in an email.

Phillips-Medisize's 136,400-square-foot Eau Claire facility makes components and sub-assemblies for medical device and drug delivery products. Production of those will be shifted to the company's other Wisconsin facilities with the capacity to make them, according to the statement.

Phillips-Medisize's other Wisconsin facilities are located in Phillips, Medford, Menomonie, New Richmond and its headquarters city of Hudson.

There are 200 openings between those locations and the company stated it will help workers displaced by the Eau Claire plant closing to find job opportunities to still work for Phillips-Medisize. Severance packages and employee assistance also will be offered in the coming months.

In the context of Eau Claire's manufacturing sector, Phillips-Medisize is a medium to large employer, said Aaron White, the city's economic development manager.

While not employing as many people as large health care providers, educational institutions and retailers, White said Phillips-Medisize has been an important manufacturer and vital to Sky Park's beginning.

"The building was one of the first ones that went in," White said.

The company built its plant on International Drive in 1985, according to Veach.

While the city is sad to see an employer depart, White said that the building does create the opportunity for a "turn-key facility" that could house a future company, should it go on the market.

Phillips-Medisize stated it has no immediate plans for the building, but pledged to keep the city updated on any decisions regarding it.

In the past couple of years, the company has been adding onto its other Wisconsin locations in New Richmond, Menomonie and Hudson, according to Leader-Telegram archives.

Elsewhere in the U.S., the company also has facilities in Arkansas, Arizona, California and Massachusetts, according to its website. Globally, Phillips-Medisize has locations in China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand and United Kingdom.

Phillips-Medisize's products include pharmaceutical packaging, medical diagnostic products, disposable insulin pens, glucose meters, inhalers and single-use surgical devices.

Founded in Phillips and headquartered in Hudson, the company has been under larger corporate owners for the last six years. San Francisco-based private equity investment firm Golden Gate Capital bought Phillips-Medisize in 2014. Illinois-based Molex, which is a global manufacturer of complete interconnect systems, then purchased Phillips-Medisize in fall 2016. Molex is owned by parent company Koch Industries.

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