07/27/2020- Hundreds of people will be out of a job as one Marinette manufacturer announces they plan on closing their doors by 2023. Officials with KS Kolbenschmidt sent a letter to employees of at their Marinette facility last week stating their parent company, Rheinmetall Automotive, has decided to shut down the local plant over the next three years. In that letter, it stated high costs and mounting pressure on prices means it’s no longer possible for Rheinmetall to produce small-bore pistons in the US on a profitable basis and adds that incoming orders at Marinette have continue to decline due to the changes in the auto market amid the coronavirus pandemic. The plan for operations at the Marinette plant is expected to continue unchanged until the second quarter of 2021, when production will then begin being gradually transferred to other KS Kolbenschmidt locations. Final closure of the local facility will take place In the third quarter of 2023.