Packaging maker to close Indiana plant, eliminate 53 jobs

FREMONT, Ind. (WISH) — A designer and maker of pharmaceutical, medical and consumer packaging will close its northeast Indiana facility and eliminate 53 jobs, according to a notice to the state government.

Illinois-based Sonoco TEQ, known before 2020 as Sonoco Thermoform Engineered Quality, says it will begin the job eliminations at TEQ Fremont Plastics facility on Dec. 15, with further “employment reductions” on June 30.

Employees at the facility are not in a union, and bumping rights do not exist, the notice dated Oct. 10 says.

The notice also was sent to the Steuben County commissioners. The county of 34,435 sits on Indiana’s northeast corner border with Michigan and Ohio, and the town of Fremont is about a 55-minute drive north of downtown Fort Wayne.

At Monday’s close of the New York Stock Exchange, Sonoco Products Co.‘s stock had increased 1.32% to $53.56 a share on the day. Financial reporters have noted the company has faced a dropping stock price in recent years as its customers have lessened their inventories, raw material costs have escalated, and supply chain woes have grown.