A homegrown firetruck manufacturer known around the world announced plans to close its Nesquehoning headquarters in 2021.

The parent company of KME Inc. announced in September that it would shift operations to other sites from Nesquehoning and KME’s aerial plant in Virginia. The plants will remain open to complete trucks already on the line, which the company said would happen in April 2022.

“The transition of production has a significant impact on KME employees and is not a decision we take lightly,” said Kent Tyler, president, REV Fire Group. “We are grateful to our teams at both locations, who have worked with us over the years to build the KME brand. We also thank the local communities for their ongoing support, and we would like to thank our dealer partners for their outstanding efforts in servicing our mutual customers over the many years and thank them in advance for their efforts in supporting this transition.”

The decision will affect 388 workers who were employed at the site as of September.

Local officials said KME is a loss to the area’s economy, as a large employer and contributor to the tax base of Nesquehoning and the Panther Valley area.

“This forthcoming closure is an additional challenge to maintaining a diversified local economy that is able to weather downturns in the general economy,” the Carbon County commissioners said in a statement at the time.

REV Group LLC purchased KME in 2016, after 70 years of continuous ownership by the founding Kovatch family. The company makes a wide range of commercial vehicles, and owns multiple fire truck manufacturers.

Founder John “Sonny” Kovatch grew his commercial vehicle business out of an auto dealer and repair shop. In the 1980s, he purchased the assets of a firetruck manufacturer that was being liquidated and began producing them in Carbon County.

REV said the brand will continue with production at its other sites. When REV announced the decision, it said changing where KME engines are produced will allow them to enhance quality and improve delivery times. They also produce fire apparatus in Lancaster County, New York, Florida, Michigan, Louisiana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

“The KME brand has a rich and enduring legacy. Our commitment with this transition is to preserve the legacy by continuing to deliver to our customers and dealer partners what they have come to expect from the KME brand through their many years of valued loyalty to KME,” Tyler said.