Bristol Compressors, based in Bristol, Virginia, has announced that they will be closing their plant after 43 years in business and laying off 470 employees.
According to Bristol’s Chief Restructuring Officer, Dalton Edgecomb, “Bristol’s business has been struggling for years. It’s a competitive industry. And, we simply ran out of cash”
Apparently, the company which manufacturers hermetically-sealed HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) compressors suffered a major loss of business from the Middle East which caused the company to become unprofitable, and in spite of assistance from local, regional, and state resources, could not turn the corner. Bristol was Washington County’s third-largest employers and the layoffs will ripple throughout the community and region.
The company’s Middle East business was also responsible for 180 layoffs in 2016 with the reason cited as being “depressed global oil prices and budget cuts by oil producing governments.”
Coincidently, the Mayor of Bristol, Kevin Mumpower, is the Vice President of Engineering and Development at Bristol Compressors.
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