SPX Heat Transfer to close Tulsa operations

TULSA — An international company has eliminated one of its divisions, forcing the closure of its Tulsa plant by early next year, a spokesman said Monday.

SPX Corp. recently announced that it is leaving the heat transfer business within its engineered solutions segment.

As part of the exit, SPX has sold its Yuba and Ecolaire brands and the technology of its heat transfer business to Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., a private industrial conglomerate based in India.

More than 50 people will lose their jobs at SPX Heat Transfer plants in Tulsa, 2121 N 161st East Ave., and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said Paul Clegg, vice president of investor relations and communications at Charlotte, North Carolina-based SPX Corp.

About a dozen employees at the two venues accepted severance packages commensurate with company tenure, he said.

According to the Tulsa Regional Chamber, SPX Heat Transfer in Tulsa has from 250 to 499 employees.

“The power generation business has gone through some very tough times,” Clegg said Monday by phone. “We’ve tried to restructure the business a couple of times.

“In the end, this was our best option.”

Gene Lowe, president and CEO of SPX, said the closures are part of overall changes within the division.

“Exiting the heat transfer business substantially completes the reshaping of our engineered solutions segment and our move away from power generationfocused businesses,” he said in a statement. “We anticipate seeing a return to revenue growth in this segment in 2019.”

SPX Corp. had about $1.4 billion in annual revenue in 2017 and more than 5,000 employees in 14 countries. Shares of SPX Corp. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

SPX Heat Transfer designs, manufactures, sells, installs and services heat transfer equipment and accessories for the power generation industry in the United States and internationally.

The factory has been in Tulsa since 1928, according to newspaper archives.

It was known as Yuba Heat Transfer LLC until late 2009, when it was purchased by SPX.