NESQUEHONING, Pa. – It lights up for one of the largest and best known companies in Carbon County.
Truck maker KME is closing for good, the Orlando-based Rev group announced Friday. The company’s sister location in Roanoke, Virginia, is also closing.
In a press release issued earlier Friday, KME said it was “meeting with employees of the Nesquehoning and Roanoke facilities to discuss options and reassignments.”
He wasn’t supposed to go that far when John Kovatch sold the 70-year-old family business to Rev in 2016. At the time, Kovatch said he hoped the deal would create hundreds of jobs.
“We feel a very close bond with the community. It was crucial in the agreement that KME’s operations continue here,” Kovatch said.
Instead, layoffs occurred almost immediately. In 2019, there were about 500 employees and more layoffs on the horizon.
Officials expected it to be the last time.
“We both hope this is just a temporary thing and we hope they can call these people back in the future,” Mayor Samuel Kitchko said.
It is not temporary at all, as we know it now.
KME will end its production schedule and the plant will officially close sometime in April 2022.