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Weitech sold to Florida company
By Jim Cornelius

Weitech has been sold and operations in Sisters will eventually be shut down.

Weitech, Inc. of Sisters has been sold to Applica Consumer Products, Inc. of Miami Lake, Florida, for an undisclosed amount. The operation will probably be relocated.

The 13-year-old Sisters company specializes in the manufacture of electronic pest control devices.

Weitech President Todd Weitzman confirmed the news on Friday, May 31.

"My dad (company founder Stewart Weitzman) and I have sold the company as of today," Weitzman said.

Applica Consumer Products markets household products under the Black & Decker name. The Black & Decker tool company is a separate entity.

Representatives from Applica Consumer Products were to be in Sisters on Monday, June 3, to evaluate the Sisters operation, the future of which "is their decision to make," according to Weitzman.

However, he said, "they will not keep the facility in Sisters long-term."

Weitech currently employs 52 people, plus some temporary workers. Most of those workers are facing the loss of their jobs.

"That is the extremely difficult part of this, that it's impacting people and the community as much as it is," Weitzman said. "We tried very hard to find a buyer that would continue to operate the company in Sisters."

However, according to Weitzman, companies that were interested in adding Weitech's product line and acquiring their retail shelf space were looking for more efficient operations -- making the Sisters plant unattractive.

"You run a company in Sisters for quality of life reasons, not for efficiency issues," Weitzman said.

According to Weitzman, Applica Consumer Products is moving into the market for pest control and had recently come out with an outdoor mosquito trap.

"I think that was part of the reason they were interested in adding the outdoor pest control," he said.

The company did not acquire Weitech's bird repellent products that are marketed to farmers. Those products, along with Weitech's flashlight line, will continue to be manufactured in Sisters under the company name Bird Gard.

Todd Weitzman will run that company which, he said, will have eight to 10 employees.

"I think it's got a lot of growth potential and I'm excited to be able to focus on that," Weitzman said.

Weitzman said he is committed to helping Weitech's employees -- from accountants and designers to production personnel and shipping and receiving clerks -- find new jobs.

He plans to spend time on the phone this week networking with Central Oregon companies, "trying to match people with jobs," and résumé and job application assistance will be available.

"We have a great work force that has been extremely loyal," Weitzman said. "they're the reason for our success and in the long run I want this to be something positive in their lives."

Weitech started in Sisters in 1989 in storefront space on Hood Avenue. The company moved to the industrial park a couple of years later, then built its current plant in 1999.

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