WEST GOSHEN—Almost everybody in the area knows somebody who worked for, or is employed by, drill rig maker Schramm.
Announced this week, the iconic West Chester area company is leaving the area.
As many as five generations from a single family have collected a paycheck from Schramm.
“The Schramm name is synonymous with West Chester,” Craig Mayman, EVP Global Sales, Service and Marketing and General Manager in Australia, said Thursday. “Everyone knows the brand and it’s something we’re really proud of.”
The 122-year-old company informed 47 employees this week, at the Virginia Avenue headquarters, that the rig maker will restructure and shutter its local facility by June 21, 2023.
Work will move to Perth and Adelaide in Australia where there are now 85 employees.
As part of a Thursday press release, the company attributed the closure to a prolonged market downturn and the difficult supply chain environment of post-COVID.
“Business decisions that directly impact the lives of our employees are extremely difficult,” Otis Spencer Jr., president and CEO of Schramm, said. “Recognizing that Schramm has been a significant part of the local economy for over 122 years makes the closure especially painful but necessary for the long-term health and competitiveness of Schramm.”
To make the layoff as “smooth as possible” employees will receive a severance package and most will be eligible for unemployment compensation, reads the release.
Spencer said, during an interview Thursday at his office, that the supply chain was disrupted. With thousands of components needed, rigs couldn’t be completed on schedule.
The factory has the capacity to produce one large rig per month and parts would arrive in bunches. A “horrible, unmanageable bottleneck” was created, according to Spencer.
The company is assuring its customers that all current orders will be fulfilled as scheduled and the company will provide seamless support.
As part of the restructuring, JV partner and dealer Hardwick Machinery, which currently provides aftermarket parts and services, will ramp up to ensure seamless coverage.
Schramm extended its worldwide reputation in October of 2010 when the East Virginia Avenue company drilled 2,041 feet and saved 33 miners in Chile who had been trapped far underground for months.
