WESTFORD — Yet another factory is shutting down in Greater Lowell.
A week after the public learned that Notini & Sons in Lowell and Sunny Delight in Littleton would be closing, employees outside Courier Corp. on Friday confirmed the Westford plant is shutting down in October. About 200 workers are losing their jobs, the employees told The Sun.
In June, Courier’s shareholders voted to approve the company’s $261 million sale to Chicago-based RR Donnelley & Sons Inc.
Formed in 1824, Courier is a maker and publisher of books, and provider of content management; RR Donnelley is a global provider of integrated communications.
“We have older technology and older presses here than other places,” an employee said outside the plant on Friday. The worker did not give his/her name because the closure is not until October.
“There’s all this digital equipment at other places, and we haven’t kept up,” the employee added.
When a Sun reporter entered the facility at 22 Town Farm Road seeking comment, a company representative told him to leave the property. The reporter left his contact information, but Courier did not respond by presstime. Also, calls to RR Donnelley were not returned.
“The combination of RR Donnelley and Courier is complete,” according to a statement on RR Donnelley’s website. “Our expanded resources will deliver increased value to our customers and position us to address our customers’ unique market needs.
“We now offer an even broader range of capabilities, an expanded geographic footprint, and we are exceptionally well positioned to provide specialized solutions and innovations that only an organization of our size and scope can offer.”
One employee said the plant is closing on Oct. 24. Employees said they expect to receive severance packages.
Christopher Yule of Yule Development Company Inc., who renovated the Abbot Mill in Westford’s Forge Village, said the closure may impact him.
Yule said he had a purchase-and-sales agreement with Courier to buy four of the buildings at the site, which is located adjacent to the mill. The plan was to renovate the buildings similar to the Abbot Mill apartments, he said.
On Wednesday, Yule said he had not heard from the company about whether the closure would affect his plan to acquire the buildings.
Courier’s impending closure is not the only one in Greater Lowell. Last week, Notini & Sons on Aiken Street in Lowell shut down. Close to 100 employees at the wholesale distributor were laid off; the 125-year-old family-run company is being sold to competitor Pine State Trading Co., out of Gardiner, Maine.
Then at Littleton’s Sunny Delight Beverage Co., there could be 63 layoffs at the 20 Harvard Road plant, which is expected to shut down in September. The company is consolidating production to other sites on the East Coast.
Earlier this week, business experts stressed that the local economy is strong, emphasizing these closings are more likely related to the individual companies and industries.
Reporter Melissa Hanson contributed to this report.
Follow Rick Sobey on Twitter and Tout @rsobeyLSun.
