Energizer Holdings will spend $43 million upgrading equipment and hiring more workers at its battery production and packaging facilities in Asheboro, North Carolina, the company announced Monday.
The investment will help optimize the company’s operations to meet rising demand for batteries, according to the news release. The company produces Energizer, Rayovac and Eveready brand batteries and flashlights as well as auto care products such as Armor All and STP.
“As Energizer Holdings strives to work smarter across its operations, we are constantly reviewing our enterprise to strategically invest to maximize the growth of our operations,” Tom Bendl, VP of global battery and lights supply chain, said in a statement.
The battery maker will continue building out its alkaline capabilities, which combine alkaline minerals for use in batteries, for its Energizer, Eveready and Rayovac brands as part of its investment.
The Asheboro site will be upgrading equipment over the next 14 to 18 months, which will include hiring in support of the facility changes, an Energizer spokesperson said.
The expansion will also add 178 operators, supervisors, maintenance personnel and engineering jobs over the next five years, bringing the Asheboro plant’s total number of employees to 589.
The equipment expansion and hiring for the plant will begin in the next two to three weeks, Energizer said in its release.
The news comes months after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced in January that the alkaline battery maker is closing its plants in Fennimore and Portage, Wisconsin.
Workers at both facilities were told Energizer planned to offshore manufacturing jobs to Singapore and a non-union plant in North Carolina, the Teamsters said in March. Teamsters Local 695 negotiated with Energizer for an economic package to protect the 600 workers losing their jobs at the Wisconsin plants.
“We have previously announced a phased closure of our facilities in Portage and Fennimore, impacting approximately 300 total colleagues, who have been our focus from the beginning,” an Energizer spokesperson said in an email. “Subsequently, equipment from these locations will be moved to other facilities in our network, including Asheboro, to reduce complexity and better serve our customers and consumers.”
