Argus Plant's Redevelopment Planned
Argus Plant's Redevelopment Planned
May Result
In Added
Employment
Argus, Inc., today announced
plans to redevelop its Ann Ar-
bor division into a defense pro-
duction facility, optical center
and unit for manufacture of
technical items not yet identi-
fied.
Herbert R. Leopold of Chi-
cago, Argus president, told The
News that layoffs due to trans-
fer of all-camera produc-
tioin from Ann Arbor to the
company's Spring Grove,
Minn., plant effective almost
immediately, may not be per-
manent.
The transfer is expected to
result in the early layoff at the
local plant of about 100 work-
ers. But Leopold said those
furloughed may be called back
and up to 250 additional work-
ers hired by mid-August, de-
pending on the quantity of work
generated under redevelopment
plans for the local plant.
Argus here has a $2,000,000
'backlog in defense work on op-
tics goods for the U. S. Army.
And Leopold said his firm is
bidding on $9,000,000 of ad-
ditional work, some of which he
believes Argus is almost cer-
tain to get.
Paul T. Shirar, Argus senior
vice-president, operations,
sketched redevelopment plan-
ning for the concern's Ann Ar-
bor plant.
He said planning calls for H
"solid defense facility" at Ann
Arbor, creation of a company
optical center here and diversi-
fiction in production of such
technical items as components
for optical instruments being
made by other companies.
Leopold said that production
on the C-3, Autronic and Argus
75 lines of still cameras will be
continued at company's Spring
Grove plant. No lines will be
dropped, he said.
Some present senior super-
visors at the Ann Arbor plant
will be transferred to Spring
Grove, according to Leopold.
Argus' reason for quitting
still-camera production in Ann
Arbor revolves around what
company officials call an inef-
ficient plant with resultant high
production costs.
The shift of such production
"by no means is an indication
of lack of confidence in Ann
Arbor," Leopold said, adding
that the shift is in line with con-
tinuing evaluations of how exist-
ing plant facilities and skilled
help can best fit in with com-
pany growth plans.