Amway To Close Birthplace Of Nutrilite

Carl Rehnborg began experimenting with vitamins in the 1940s, and established operations at one of Amway's oldest and most historically significant facilities in 1954 at the 600-acre facility. The plant has since been marked for closure by the company, as part of a plan to divest the building over the next three years. Amway describes the closure as a reorganization of its supply chain to reflect the growing dominance of a predominately foreign customer base.

The company states that some work will be moved to Amway's Ada, Mich. headquarters, Buena Park, Calif. plant, as well as Washington state, however the remaining portion will be outsourced to Mexico and Brazil. Amway has suggested that relocating its agricultural production to other areas will provide more acreage and increased production capability.

Amway will begin its relocation by closing its under-used Spaulding facility in Michigan in 2011, and moving its employees to the main Fulton Street campus in Ada. While exact dates are uncertain, around 150 Lakeview employees will be affected by the closure, according to company management, who expects some of the separations to include early retirements and severance packages.

'More than 80 percent of our customers buy our products outside the United States, and Amway needs to update its supply chain to reflect that. As part of our long-term strategy, we are moving some production closer to customers to cut supply times and significantly reduce shipping-related costs. Some of these steps are difficult, but they will help us drive long-term growth and sustain existing jobs in all our markets.' said Steve Van Andel, chairman of Amway.

'Changes that affect jobs are always difficult, even when they are done to make our company more competitive. Saying good-bye to long-time friends and colleagues who have been with us through good and tough times is especially painful. We will do all we can during these changes to provide support to affected employees. We owe them our thanks for helping build a strong Amway over the years.' said Doug DeVos, president of Amway. Amway says that by 2013, it further plans to outsource production of several smaller product lines to Europe and Asian markets.