Going dark: Valley’s Lutron to close Caribbean plant
Lehigh Valley global lighting company Lutron Electronics said it will close a factory in the West Indies, effective March 1, cutting about 100 jobs.
Company spokeswoman Melissa Andresko confirmed the plant closing, which was first reported Thursday by media outlets in St. Kitts and Nevis, an island in the Caribbean Sea that claims Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. Andresko did not respond to follow-up questions.
The plant assembles dimmer switches and fan speed controls for export to the United States, according to sknpulse.com, an online publication covering St. Kitts and Nevis,
The company, which has operated the plant, known as Lutron Liamuiga, for 31 years, notified the country's minister of labour last month in a letter about the closing. Lutron will provide workers with severance and job retraining.
The Upper Saucon Township-based private company, which says it is the world's leader in lighting controls and automated shades, blamed a decade old federal law that has steadily cut production of the traditional light bulbs beginning in 2013 with the 100-watt and 75-watt bulbs. A year later, U.S. manufacturers stopped producing 40- and 60-watt bulbs. Lutron said the change significantly reduced its market for its incandescent-lighting products.
The U.S. and most global nations passed laws to phase out incandescents in favor of other versions that are more energy-efficient.
Lutron, with its headquarters are at 7200 Suter Road in Upper Saucon, also operates sales and service offices worldwide. The company's early inventions, including the first solid-state dimmer switch invented by Lutron's late founder, Joel Spira, are at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington.
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