Company
Product
Year of Closing
Number of Employees at Closing*
Number of Employees at Historical Peak*
Stated Reason for Closing
Singer
Sewing Machine Cabinets
1954
1,200
2,600
Moved operation closer to wood resources
Kingan
Meat Processing
1954
150
Figure Not Available
Insufficient level of operations
Bike-Webb
Elastic Garments
1959
200
350
Moved to improve efficiency
Curtiss-Wright
Heavy Construction Equipment
1961
200
3,000
Insufficient share of the product market
Studebaker
Automobile Manufacture
1963
8,500
22,000
Forced out of the market
H.D. Lee
Clothing
1964
230
650
Deteriorating plant and equipment
South Bend Tackle
Fishing Gear
1965
90
Figure Not Available
Labor-intensive plant and equipment
Rockwell
Automobile Bumpers
1967
700
700
Inefficient operations
Roth Plating
Electroplating
1967
75
Over 100
Noncompetitive operations
Empire Box
Paper Cartons
1967
125
200
Marketing and operating difficulties
Essex Wire
Automotive Wire Products
1968
Figure Not Available
Over 550
No stated reason
Cummins
Diesel Engine Castings
1969
1,000
1,000
Necessary plant modernizations too costly
Drewrys
Beer
1972
250
500
Not competitive in in product market
Wilson Bros.
Clothing
1973
100
2,000
Necessary plant modernizations too costly
Gentner Packing
Meat Processing
1973
80
Over 100
Forced out of market by low operation level
Ward Baking
Baked Goods
1974
85
Figure Not Available
High labor costs and outdated equipment
Associates
Loans and Insurance
1975
550**
550
Advantages in Southern location
AM General
City Buses
1978
780
780
Not competitive in in product market
H.B. Skinner
Industrial Pipe Clamps
1978
40
Over 80
Products outdated
Weyerhaeuser
Paper Products, Warehousing, and Distribution
1979
60
Over 100
Market re-organization
Schumacher & Sons
Building Construction
1980
Figure Not Available
Figure Not Available
High labor costs and interest rates; business slump
Whitehouse
Health Care Apparel
1982
32
Over 80
Market conditions
South Bend Range
Commerical Ovens
1983
30
Over 200
High labor costs and inefficient plant
South Bend Tool & Die
Machine Tools
1983
35
450
High cost of labor and new equipment
South Bend Screw
Precision Machine Parts
1983
Figure Not Available
60
No stated reason
Garvey Pattern
Precision Machine Tools and Fixtures
1983
40
100
Down-turn in market and union problems
Torrington
Industrial Bearings
1983
164
Over 1,000
Excess production capacity