AARHUS, Denmark — Although the headquarters for its Martin lighting unit will remain in Aarhus, Harman International announced Aug. 5 that the production facility for Martin lighting products in Frederikshavn, Denmark will close and operations there will shift to Hungary. Martin’s smoke machine factory in the U.K. would not be affected by the relocation. Harman noted that the Frederikshavn factory will remain in operation for at least six months as the transition takes place.
More details from Harman (www.harman.com) and Martin (www.martin.com):
“It has been some very tough considerations given Martin’s history in this community and the goodwill we have enjoyed with our outstanding employees. Still, it was a necessary one to improve our leading position in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” said Lars Dige Knudsen, Vice President and General Manager of Martin. “Importantly, the Martin Headquarters will remain in Aarhus and will become Harman’s global Center of Competence within dynamic lighting solutions for the entertainment industry and architectural purposes.”
The move to Hungary is part of a larger Harman strategy to consolidate its European manufacturing operations across its four divisions. Harman has more than 20 years of manufacturing experience in Hungary and has grown there to more than 2,200 employees. The new manufacturing site is expected to reach a staff of approximately 400 employees, once the existing production has been transferred.
Today (Aug. 5, 2015) Martin Professional has initiated the formal negotiations with employee representatives (Workers Council) and furthermore the local Labor Market Committee has been informed as per legal requirement. The manufacturing process in Frederikshavn is expected to run at full capacity the next approximately six months.
“In connection with the negotiations on the closure of the production facilities in Frederikshavn, our company will focus on securing our employees a fair retirement benefit plan as well as assistance to find other jobs,” Lars Dige Knudsen said. The final decision on the relocation is expected to be taken before end of August, 2015.
