Avon Protection, formerly Ceradyne, closing Irvine facility as it shifts to Ohio

The company long known as Ceradyne and more recently Avon Protection Systems will close its Irvine doors permanently next year, ending a nearly 58-year run in Orange County as a military armor manufacturer.

Avon Protection is shifting production of its body armor, respirators and helmets to Ohio. It will either move or lay off the 128 workers at the Barranca Parkway facility.

Avon Technologies plc, the United Kingdom-based parent of Avon Protection, told employees in late 2023 that the Irvine plant could not meet profitability targets in order to keep it open, company spokesperson Gabriella Colley said in a statement.

Colley said efforts to keep it open came under pressure in 2022 after the company announced plans to sell its Lexington, Ky., manufacturing facility to Golden, Colorado-based CoorsTek Inc., and was winding down its armor-making plates for body and aircraft armor. The armor helmet and respirator business is shifting to Ohio.

"Despite extensive efforts to optimize our Irvine facility post the exit of our Armor (sic) business in 2021, we were unable to achieve the required profitability to keep this manufacturing site open," Colley said.

Colley also wrote that the lease on the Barranca Parkway facility was due for renewal in June 2025, prompting Avon "to gradually wind down production in Irvine over 12-15 months." The company will cease all operations by March 2025, moving remaining operations to either Cleveland or Salem, cities in northeastern Ohio that are about 70 miles apart.

"All impacted employees were provided over a year of notice of the closure, and where possible, we have offered impacted employees transfers to other sites, she said.

Jill McClune, general counsel for Avon Protection Systems, wrote in an Oct. 3 letter filed with California's Employment Development Department that 128 workers at the Irvine plant would be laid off permanently between Dec. 20 and June 30, 2025.

Jamie Murray, an analyst with Shore Capital Markets in London, wrote in an email that the Irvine plant is now part of Avon Technologies' Head Protection business – now rebranded to "Team Wendy," which makes mostly military-grade helmets and respirators.

"The rationale is to consolidate Team Wendy into a state-of-the-art and efficient production facility in Cleveland," he said.

More jobs could be created in the consolidation, he said.

"I believe the new facility will create (about) 200 jobs, which is more than the number of jobs that will be lost in Irvine," Murray said. "Although it's regrettable that jobs will be lost in California, the net increase in jobs in this division, indicates that selling protective head gear remains a key part of Avon Technologies' growth strategy."

The Irvine business has seen multiple owners in the last 12 years.

In 2012, Ceradyne was acquired by 3M for $860 million. Seven years later, 3M sold it to Avon Technologies, formerly known as Avon Rubber, for $91 million .

The company, founded by Joel Moskowitz in 1967, made specialized ceramics for industrial and military use. It would grow during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to 1,600 employees, with offices in Costa Mesa and Irvine. Moskowitz died in 2015 .

The move to Ohio, Avon said in an update earlier this year, will "significantly improve competitiveness and financial performance over the medium term."