Brunswick to close Wisconsin bowling pin plant

Brunswick Bowling & Billiards announced today that it is shifting bowling pin production from its Antigo, Wisc., facility to a contract manufacturer, resulting in the immediate closure that plant and the cutting of 70 jobs.

Antigo employees were informed today and will receive severance and other benefits. The company will be meeting with local union bargaining agents to determine those benefits for union members. Further, Brunswick will continue to pay employees for the next 60 days, even though the plant will be immediately closed.

"The marketplace has evolved, and the industry has more capacity to provide pins than it can support," said Warren N. Hardie, president of Brunswick Bowling & Billiards. "By utilizing contract manufacturing, Brunswick will be able to better focus its efforts on serving customers in the global bowling products market."

Brunswick has chosen QubicaAMF to make Brunswick's full line of bowling pins at the manufacturer's plant in Lowville, N.Y.

Hardie added that Brunswick Bowling & Billiards expects that this action will be largely transparent to customers, as Brunswick will continue to offer both its Brunswick and Vulcan brands to the international bowling center market.

Closing the Antigo plant is expected to result in charges of approximately $4.5 million in 2008, the company said.

Brunswick Bowling & Billiards is a unit of Lake Forest-based Brunswick Corp.