A-Team: AFCO plant on schedule to close in the fall

Q: Is the AFCO plant on State 81 closing this year?

A: Linda Beckmeyer, a spokeswoman for Associated Fuel Pump Systems Corp. (AFCO), said the plant is scheduled to close sometime between July 1 and Oct. 30.

AFCO is a joint venture between Bosch and Denso.

The plant, which opened in 1991, makes fuel pumps and fuel pump modules at a modern facility near the Bosch plant. Bosch and Denso, which is based in Japan, decided last year to dissolve the joint venture.

Beckmeyer said AFCO's 346 employees were notified earlier this month that the plant would be downsized gradually.

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"To fulfill existing business obligations, operations will continue at the facility through approximately the third quarter  .... at which time, production will wind down completely and the facility will close," Beckmeyer said.

Last year, the company said the advantages for the two companies to operate a joint venture "have diminished, as each parent company launched independent fuel pump designs."

Meanwhile, Anderson County administrator Rusty Burns said the county was no longer considering the purchase of the facility. 

"It's a modern, well-maintained manufacturing facility in a great location," Burns said. "We expect a lot of companies to be interested in that property when it becomes available."

Reporters Abe Hardesty and Mike Ellis make up the A-Team. Their weekly column is dedicated to answering any and all of our readers' questions. To submit a question, email ateam@independentmail.com or send a letter to the Independent Mail at 1000 Williamston Road, Anderson, SC 29621. The question-and-answer articles will appear in print on Saturdays as well as online at independentmail.com and on our Facebook page.