Attleboro ring maker to close; 177 will lose jobs

ATTLEBORO – Ring manufacturer Jostens Inc. plans to close its Attleboro plant in early February. About 177 full-time and seasonal workers will lose jobs, the company announced recently.
Jostens, based in Minneapolis, Minn., has made championship rings for the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox. Its Attleboro plant, which began jewelry production in 1962, makes mostly high school rings. The latter work will shift to Jostens’ operations in Denton, Tex.
In a Dec. 4 statement the company said it is consolidating ring-manufacturing operations “to take advantage of scale, enhanced technologies and improve workflow efficiencies.”
Company spokesman Rich Stoebe could not say how much the move might save Jostens. Some of the savings will go toward expanding the Denton operation, which now employs about 250.
The company owns both the 52,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Attleboro and the 17 acres it sits on. Stoebe said the company will soon announce plans for the property.