Benchmark Electronics to close plant in North Dakota

The Associated Press//February 12, 2015//

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DUNSEITH, N.D. — Workers at the Benchmark Electronics Inc. plant in Dunseith and area officials say they have been notified by the company that the factory will close by the end of the year.

The shutdown will put 140 people out of work in the northern North Dakota town of fewer than 800 residents. Officials with Texas-based Benchmark did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment Thursday on why the Dunseith facility is being closed.

The plant has operated for 30 years, making electronics parts for the military and private companies. News of its pending closure spread quickly through the community just a few miles from the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, KXMC-TV reported.

“It was a shock to begin with when I heard it, and I think it’s the same thing for the entire community.” said former City Councilman Bob Leonard, who helped bring Benchmark to the town three decades ago.

Economic development officials in the area will work to find another tenant for the 100,000-square-foot plant, Mayor Jesse Marion said.

Benchmark has locations around the world. It reported $2.8 billion in net sales last year and $82 million in net income. However, the company said in a statement earlier this month that its fourth quarter revenue was “at the low end of our expectations due to softness in the computing and telecom sectors.”