American Greetings to close down McCrory plant

McCRORY (AP) - American Greetings Corp. announced Wednesday it would close its greeting card plant at McCrory, a cost-cutting move that will put 310 people out of work.

Doors to the plant will be closed by August, the Cleveland-based company said. Work from the plant will be shifted to American Greetings' plants at Osceola and Danville, Ky.

"This change represents an opportunity to optimize efficiency in our supply chain, which is one of our four key strategic initiatives that will drive our growth over the next couple years," company vice president Mike Goulder said.

The McCrory plant has a 770,000-square-foot building that has been used as a distribution facility for Carlton Cards. The company said the work of seasonal order-filling work at the plant will move to a 2.6 million-square foot facility in Osceola. Everyday order filling will move to a recently renovated 1.4 million-square foot facility in Danville, Ky.

"We will be certain to make this a seamless transition to ensure that more of our retail partners benefit from the utilization of the advanced technology and additional capacity at our facilities in Danville and Osceola," Goulder said.

The Osceola plant is the largest employer in Mississippi County, with 1,600 employees.

The company customarily produces holiday greeting cards for Arkansas' governor and produced presidential holiday cards for Bill Clinton.

American Greetings announced the move after the markets closed Wednesday. The company's share price dropped 40 cents to $13.10 Wednesday in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.