Topre pushes back production restart to later in May

Topre America’s facility in Springfield. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Topre America’s facility in Springfield. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Topre America has pushed back production at its Springfield facility.

The auto parts maker is expected to resume production on May 18. The company ceased production in Springfield in March due to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on supply chains, especially in the auto industry.

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Topre was originally scheduled to resume production on Monday. However, it was pushed back in order to follow Toyota’s production schedule.

Toyota is expected to resume production at its facilities in the country in the next two weeks. Companies that rely heavily on contracts with Toyota are taking similar actions.

Brad Pepper, Topre America’s vice president, said that a majority of the work they do in Springfield is Toyota related.

Topre originally announced on March 23 that it would be suspending production in Springfield and would close the facility for two weeks in order to comply with state guidelines, at the time, set by Gov. Mike DeWine.

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That date was pushed to late April, before being pushed to May. That decision has lead to 200 out of 230 employees at the facility being temporarily laid off.

Pepper said when they resume production it will be at 65% as the company plans to monitor the market before resuming back to full production.

Pepper added that they have plans in place on what that restart will look like. That includes social distancing, temporary barriers as well as optional PPE for workers.