PRENTICE, Wis. (WSAU) — If cat’s have nine lives, the biggest cat in Prentice might be getting a new life soon.
Caterpillar announced last Friday they intend to close their Prentice manufacturing facility, putting 220 employees out of work, but those workers received some encouraging news Thursday.
There is a possible buyer for the Prentice Caterpillar facility. Cat may be moving their forest products production to Georgia and Texas, but now Ritalka, Inc. from Montevideo, Minnesota is in negotiations to purchase the Prentice plant. Ritalka Owner and CEO Kevin Wald did tell WJFW television he has been trying to buy the plant since last fall.
If successful, it would not be the first time Wald bought a closed Caterpillar plant. Ritalka has ten manufacturing and engineering sites now, and Wald would like to keep as many of the employees as possible. If Ritalka is able to acquire the Prentice plant, they may eventually expand it. for now, Wald will continue negotiating in hopes of closing the deal by the end of the year. So far, there’s no word on how his negotiations with Caterpillar are going.
Caterpillar has said they will move their production out of Prentice by the end of the year, impacting 220 workers.