Husky Liners in Strother Field, a manufacturer of automotive aftermarket products, including custom fit floor and cargo liners as well as many other automotive aftermarket accessories, will close this summer as part of a consolidation move by its parent company, RealTruck.
According to a statement from RealTruck (formerly Truck Hero) sent to Cowley Post Thursday morning, the move includes its Park City location as well.
“RealTruck, Inc. has made the difficult decision to close operations at the Winfield and Park City, Kansas, locations of Husky Liners and moving the operation to our Lawrenceville, Georgia facility,” an email from Public Relations Specialist Susan Collins stated. “Since 1988, we’ve been proud to call Kansas home. This is a strategic move to support our continued growth and expansion of the Husky Liners brand.
“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our associates to making Husky Liners one of the top names in vehicle protection. We are actively working with our associates to support them through the transition.”
The Strother Field plant will close June 19, according to the Cowley Courier-Traveler Wednesday.
Cowley County Administrator Lucas Goff told Cowley Post the announcement was a surprise.
Goff said corporate representatives were in the area earlier this week and notified local management.
“We were as surprised as a lot of other people were,” he said.
Goff described the situation as a sad one for the county and that the Strother Field location employs 100 people or more. Goff added the county’s economic development team will be working to find another company to make use of the facility.
Husky Liners was founded in Winfield initially as Winfield Consumer Products by Bob Tyler 35 years ago.
“Since starting the company in 1988, our team in Winfield, Kansas, has been relentlessly focused on premium innovative products to protect your ride inside and out, and we’re confident that we’ve made the right decision to partner with the team at Truck Hero who shares our passion,” Tyler said when he sold the company in 2016.
The Strother Field office has yet to comment on the closure and efforts to obtain comment were not successful as of Thursday morning.
