The company’s payroll will still be about 150 people after the layoffs, city officials said.
Kurz-Kasch said its clients — HUSCO International Inc. and Behr America Inc. — in April stopped communications and business activities, according to the document. The two customers accounted for 42 percent of the revenue at the company’s Miamisburg facility.
It is unclear why the companies ceased working with Kurz-Kasch.
Kurz-Kasch declined to comment, and company officials from the other two companies could not be reached for comment.
But in March, Kurz-Kasch filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Ohio Western Division against HUSCO Automotive claiming the company owes them more than $75,000 for coils they purchased. In the suit, Kurz-Kasch claims HUSCO violated the terms of their supply agreement. HUSCO denies these allegations.
Miamisburg City Manager Keith Johnson said the layoffs are disappointing, but they represent only about one-quarter of the company’s payroll.
“They are still above where they were when they moved into the building, probably three years ago,” Johnson said.
A global company, Kurz-Kasch in 2008 moved its headquarters to Miamisburg. The facility is home to sales, engineering, customer service and supply-chain functions.
Founded in 1916, Kurz-Kasch designs and produces conventional and encapsulated coils, electromagnetics, sensing devices, solenoids, composite components and more.
The company was purchased by Dover Corp. in 2001, and then acquired by Monomoy Capital Partners, a New York private equity fund with $700 million of assets, in February 2007.
Johnson said the company serves the automotive industry, which has obviously suffered tremendously during the economic downturn.
“It’s a great company, and they are in a building that can support more growth,” Johnson said. “It is our desire and understanding that they’ll return back to where they were. If you look at what’s going on in the auto industry, you see some that have slipped and others that are growing. There are opportunities for companies like Kurz-Kasch to find that other niche.”
Johnson said he hopes to soon sit down with company officials to see what the city can do to help. If possible, he said he would like to connect laid-off employees with other companies in need of skilled workers.
“The other thing we do is connect these employees with the Job Center, because if their skills are not quite what they need to be, the Job Center will help retrain and retool them,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-0749 or cfrolik@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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