The company operates out of a 150,000-sf headquarters in Chesterfield Township, MI, with a distribution center, marketing, sales, and a visitors center, as well as manufacturing.
"It's far too premature to say what our plans are yet, we are still in the initial stages of discussion (with United Auto Workers Local 417). However, whatever happens, we will not be selling the building. We will continue to stay in Michigan," Maddox tells GlobeSt.com.
Maddox said the company is struggling to compete with other model train companies, who have shipped their manufacturing work completely overseas. Only half of the manufacturing of Lionel trains is done in Korea and China.
Maddox is waiting for a response from the union to his call to reduce overhead while continuing manufacturing at Chesterfield plant. He expects a response by Monday. Maddox said if he goes through with the move, the new space would be taken up by warehousing operations. "We don't do warehousing here currently," he said. Maddox stressed that regardless of the decision all scheduled shipments will continue throughout 2001 and beyond.
Since 1900, Lionel has sold more than 50 million model trains. Lionel LLC is owned by New York-based Wellspring Capital Management LLC, an investment firm, along with rock-and-roll artist Neil Young, and Richard Kughn, chairman emeritus and prior owner of Lionel Trains Inc.
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