PartyLite to close Batavia candle factory
The PartyLite candle factory - the only U.S. plant for the world's largest direct seller of home fragrance products - is closing its Batavia plant in November.
About 144 people work at the plant at 601-605 Kingsland Drive, according to a letter the company sent to the city, notifying it of the closing.
It traces its history to 1905, when a New England schoolteacher began selling bayberry candles from her home. It became Colonial Candle and in 1973 set up PartyLite Gifts Inc. to sell excess inventory from its factory and gift shop. In 1990, it was bought by Blyth Inc.
The Carlyle Group acquired Blyth in 2015 and announced in May it would merge with the Ohio-based Candle-Lite company to create the Luminex Home Decor and Fragrance Holding Group.
The Batavia plant produced 220 million candles a year as of 2012 in a 450,000-square-foot facility. Its products, including candle warmers and reed diffusers, are sold by more than 45,000 independent representatives, typically at home parties or vendor fairs.
The Batavia plant opened in 1996. Workers produced tea lights, votives, jar candles and pillar candles.
A fire damaged the plant in April 2015, causing part of its roof to collapse.
Company officials could not be reached for comment.