Vandor Corporation has announced that its Funeral Products Division will centralize the production of its hardwood caskets to their Richmond, Indiana plant. As a result, the CJ Boots hardwood caskets currently being manufactured in Anderson, Indiana will move to Richmond.
“This move allows us to use our modern, semi-automated hardwood assembly operation to manufacture all our hardwood caskets, including the high-quality hardwood caskets in the CJ Boots line,” stated Gerald Davis, president of Vandor Corporation.
As part of this move, a few low-volume specialty caskets in the CJ Boots product line will be eliminated. The balance of the caskets in the product line will receive improvements, including updates to some of the base and lid profiles as well as operational efficiencies created by consolidating some exterior colors and handle options. The models in the CJ Boots product line will also realize production and distribution efficiencies, since the caskets will be manufactured and warehoused with other Vandor Funeral Products, including Starmark Cremation Products and cloth-covered Elderlite models.
“In a time where many caskets are imported from China, Mexico and Canada, we firmly believe that our customers want and appreciate caskets that are proudly labeled “Made in the USA,” Davis added. “To help ensure that we remain a viable domestic supplier and keep production costs down, we will continue to look for ways, such as this consolidation, to become even more efficient, while not sacrificing quality.”
CJ Boots employees in Anderson have been offered the opportunity to transfer to the Richmond plant. Vandor is committed to doing everything necessary to take care of employees and customers during this transition.