LISLE, Ill., Jan. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Navistar
International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) plans to sell its
Melrose Park, Illinois facility to
a developer who has an actionable plan to redevelop the parcel into
a state-of-the-art industrial business park. Navistar estimates
that half of the facility's current workforce will be transferred
to other facilities. The company expects to cease operations at the
Melrose Park campus by
November 2021.
The property sale is part of Navistar's continued adaptation to
rapid changes in the industry, as well as its own operations.
Engine manufacturing is no longer present at the facility, and
Navistar's need for engine testing has significantly decreased due
to reductions in the company's manufacturing of engines and the
trucking industry's increasing interest in alternative fuel
drivetrains.
"Given changes at Navistar and in the industry, it no longer
makes sense to maintain a facility of that size," said Phil Christman, president of operations for
Navistar. "Further investment in the Melrose Park property would divert substantial
resources away from investments in new technologies and products.
While this decision is difficult, it is necessary to best position
Navistar for the future and to unlock economic growth for the
Melrose Park community."
Navistar believes that the site's comprehensive redevelopment
will more than double property tax revenue for local governments
from current levels, and that the redeveloped site will lead to
substantially more local jobs than Navistar's current operations
provide.
"The hardest decision we can make is to part with dedicated
colleagues at a property that has been integral to our company's
history," said Persio Lisboa,
Navistar president and CEO. "We're confident the sale of the
Melrose Park property will spur a
sizeable reinvestment in the community, resulting in new jobs and
economic opportunity."
The company will take an approximate $85
million charge as a result of the exit from the facility,
including approximately $40 million
of cash-related charges.
Navistar expects the sale agreement and subsequent divesture of
the Melrose Park property to be
completed by the end of 2021.
About Navistar
Navistar International Corporation
(NYSE: NAV) is a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates
produce International® brand commercial trucks,
proprietary diesel engines, and IC Bus® brand school and
commercial buses. An affiliate also provides truck and diesel
engine service parts. Another affiliate offers financing services.
Additional information is available at www.Navistar.com.
All marks are trademarks of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
Information
provided and statements contained in this press release that are
not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
("Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended ("Exchange Act"), and the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements
only speak as of the date of this press release and Navistar
International Corporation assumes no obligation to update the
information included in this press release. Such forward-looking
statements include information concerning our possible or assumed
future results of operations, including descriptions of our
business strategy. These statements often include words such as
believe, expect, anticipate, intend, plan, estimate, or similar
expressions. These statements are not guarantees of performance or
results and they involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. For
a further description of these factors, see the risk factors set
forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
October 31, 2020. Although we believe
that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, there are many factors that could affect our actual
financial results or results of operations and could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. All future written and oral forward-looking statements
by us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in
their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred
to above. Except for our ongoing obligations to disclose material
information as required by the federal securities laws, we do not
have any obligations or intention to release publicly any revisions
to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances in the future or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
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SOURCE Navistar International Corporation