P-J file photo by Eric Tichy

FALCONER — Truck-Lite has tentatively decided to cease production at its longtime Facloner manufacturing facility by the end of 2020.

Employees at the 310 E. Elmwood Ave. facility were notified Thursday of the decision.

“Truck-Lite has made the tentative decision to cease production at our Falconer manufacturing facility by the end of this year and relocate work to other Truck-Lite facilities,” a spokeswoman said in a statement to The Post-Journal. “Our tentative decision is consistent with other recent actions designed to meet customer demands and make Truck-Lite more cost competitive in the global marketplace. This is not a decision that we take lightly, and we are committed to treating the impacted employees fairly. This tentative decision has no impact on our other Falconer office-based employees. We intend to maintain a presence in the Falconer area.”

Truck-Lite is a manufacturer of heavy-duty and off road lighting.

The company would not state how many employees will be impacted by the facility’s closure. The corporate office, located next to the plant, handles accounting, customer service, purchasing and engineering, among other duties.

The 170,000-square-foot plant in Falconer was the largest for Truck-Lite in the U.S. The company has 10 facilities across North America and Europe.

In March 2019, Truck-Lite announced it was moving its headquarters from Falconer to Southfield, Mich. The move included the creation of 95 jobs through an agreement with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. in the form of a $850,000 performance-based grant.

Truck-Lite was founded by George D. Baldwin in 1955 in rented quarters in Jamestown. Ground was broken in 1966 at the Elmwood Avenue location in Falconer at an estimated cost of $800,000.

The company also consists of Truck-Lite Road Ready; DAVCO Technology in Saline, Mich.; RIGID Industries in Gilbert, Ariz.; Truck-Lite Mexico; and Truck-Lite Europe.

State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, said he plans to talk with Truck-Lite officials regarding the local plant and “see what can be done to reverse this decision.”

“I’m confident that their skilled workforce can continue to produce high-quality products,” Borrello said. “Hopefully we can find a path to address the other factors that may have led to this tentative decision.”