News - Local News

POSTED: Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009

Johnson Outdoors to close Ferndale facility, eliminate 90 jobs

A major boat manufacturer will be leaving Whatcom County, eliminating 90 jobs.

Johnson Outdoors Inc. will be closing its plant and retail store north of Ferndale by the end of September as part of a consolidation plan to improve profitability of its business, the company announced Tuesday, June 30, from Johnson's headquarters in Racine, Wis.

The facility at 2468 Salashan Loop makes various brands of kayaks including Ocean Kayak and Necky. The consolidation plan calls for the production to be moved into a new facility in Old Town, Maine. The move is expected to save the company about $4 million a year and add about 48 jobs to the Maine facility.

Cynthia Georgeson, a spokeswoman for the company, said employees of the Ferndale-area operation were informed Tuesday and offered severance packages and extended health care benefits. About 10 employees in the marketing and research and development departments will remain in the area at a different office.

"It was not an easy decision because there was so much great talent there (in Ferndale)," Georgeson said. "We've struggled with profitability, however, and spent a lot of time looking at different options. We value our employees and will try to help them as best we can."

The closure will have a big impact beyond the loss of jobs, said Guy Occhiogrosso, director of the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce. He said the facility is a fairly popular tourist attraction, with people stopping into the chamber regularly, asking for directions to the retail store. It was also a part of the identity of the area, since that facility started out as Ocean Kayak, locally owned by Tim Niemier.

"This is a huge loss for the county, especially the loss of 90 jobs," said Occhiogrosso, noting that it puts the local job market in bad shape, given the uncertain future of the nearby Alcoa Intalco Works smelter.

Niemier said it seems Johnson Outdoors has been experimenting with centralizing and decentralizing its operations for some time before today's decision to consolidate.

"It'll be sad for this area to see them go. Bellingham is considered such a great place for kayaking that it's too bad they won't be in this region," said Niemier, who sold Ocean Kayak to Johnson Outdoors in 1997. He currently owns Wild Design Inc., which does consulting work on developing watercraft and watercraft companies.

Next week the state will send representatives to the facility for a dislocated worker orientation program. This program will help workers learn about unemployment benefits and explain what services are available, said Alex Kosmides, department director at the Northwest Workforce Council at WorkSource in Bellingham.

According to the Johnson Outdoors, Old Town was selected as the hub of watercraft operations because of its manufacturing capability and capacity for expansion. Maine Gov. John Baldacci said the state and the city of Old Town teamed up to offer a package of incentives.

"We are grateful for the support of Governor Baldacci and the City of Old Town enabling us to continue our 100-plus year tradition of quality boat production in Maine," said CEO Helen Johnson-Leipold in a press release.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.