Lennox factory “shredded” by tornado

USA: Workers at the Lennox plant in Marshalltown, Iowa, fear for the future of their jobs after the factory was wrecked by a tornado on last week.

In a statement, Lennox International chairman and CEO Todd Bluedorn said the extent of damage to the facility was being assessed but made no comment as to its future.

“Our first priority is ensuring the safety of our employees, and we are pleased that there have been no reported injuries,” said Bluedorn. “Second is our commitment to serving our customers. An advantage of owning our own distribution network across North America is that we have a supply of more than 40 days of equipment in more than 235 distribution centres and stores ready to support our customers in the field. Beyond that, more than 75% of our North America residential equipment units are manufactured at our facilities in Mexico and South Carolina, and those teams stand ready to step up as Marshalltown recovers.”

The 93,000m² Lennox factory was hit when a flurry of tornadoes swept through central Iowa last Thursday.

Marshalltown, around 80km north east of Des Moines, was reported to be hardest hit. There were some injuries from the storms, but no reports of deaths.

The Des Moines Register described the Lennox plant as having been “shredded” by the tornadoes.

Marshalltown is recognised as the birthplace of Lennox, and has been associated with the town for 138 years. The factory manufactures residential air conditioners, heat pumps and heating products and has around 900 employees.

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