SHEBOYGAN – Local furniture-maker Mayline-Safco is preparing to leave Sheboygan for a new home in northwest Iowa in a move that could endanger 185 local jobs, local officials and a corporate spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.

“I can confirm that we did share with our employees this morning that we have reached a decision to relocate our operations,” said Polly Filing, a spokesperson for Liberty Diversified International, which owns Mayline-Safco.

The company’s Sheboygan factory, which specializes in making furniture and office supplies, is expected to continue operations until a planned closure late next year, Filing said. Manufacturing positions are expected to move to northwest Iowa, while administrative and office jobs will move to the Minneapolis area.

“It was disappointing news to get,” said Sheboygan Mayor Mike Vandersteen. He said a company official phoned him Tuesday to tell him of the decision. “We fought hard to try and keep this company here. ... We gave them a very good incentive package to try and keep them here.”

Dane Checolinski, director of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation, said Tuesday he’d also received notice from the company about plans to leave Sheboygan next year.

"My first gut reaction was for the employees of the factory," Checolinski said. "Of course, they’re going to be entering this holiday season with some unwelcome news."

The head of a local furniture workers’ union representing the company’s manufacturing employees didn’t immediately respond Tuesday afternoon to a phone message.

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The news didn’t come as a complete surprise. Filing said last week the company had been looking to move out of the Sheboygan factory since last year when Safco Products purchased Mayline.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority last week agreed to offer $500,000 in loans and $15,000 in state tax credits to lure the company to northwest Iowa. And Milford, the tiny city where Mayline-Safco’s manufacturing jobs are expected to move, has also offered incentives to attract the company.

Filing said the company is now working toward purchasing a factory building in Milford.

She said the company wanted to stay in the Midwest and had looked for a site with an existing facility to move into. State and local incentives also played a role in the relocation decision, she said.

The Sheboygan plant’s closure could take some time. Vandersteen said he’s been told the company is “going to take an entire year before they close operations.”

“They’d like to keep the people here fully employed until they reach that point,” the mayor said.

Filing on Tuesday said discussions about whether to offer employees opportunities to transfer to new positions in Iowa and Minnesota were still ongoing. She said the company currently employs about 185 manufacturing and administrative workers in Sheboygan.

“We are meeting with employees to talk about transition plans,” she said, noting the company was also talking with the local union.

Mayline-Safco's history in Sheboygan dates to 1939 when a company then known as the Engineering Supply Company began manufacturing tables. By last year, Mayline specialized in producing a range of office furniture, including filing and storage products.