The Associated Press

DANVILLE, Ill. (January 2, 2001 1:10 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - NACCO Industries Inc. announced Tuesday that it will close a lift truck assembly plant in Danville. The move will put about 680 people out of work.

The company's subsidiary, NACCO Materials Handling Group Inc., will phase out operations at the Danville plant over 12 to 18 months, consolidating some of the work into its plants in Berea, Ky., and Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Some lift truck components currently manufactured in Danville will be made by outside vendors or at the company's Lenoir, N.C., plant, the company said in a news release.

The move does not affect the company's Danville Parts Distribution Center, which employs another 282 people.

NACCO said an internal study found that consolidating assembly operations would offer "significant" cost savings and use its facilities more efficiently.

The company said it will negotiate severance and other benefits for its unionized employees with the Independent Lift Truck Builders Union. The telephone at the union hall rang unanswered Tuesday morning.

NACCO Materials Handling Group designs and makes lift trucks under the Hyster and Yale brand names. NACCO Industries also owns coal mining and household appliance companies.

Shares of NACCO Industries were off 38 cents at $43.31 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

-- kevin (ktross@mailcity.com), January 03, 2001