Hallmark Consolidates Kansas Manufacturing

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Hallmark Cards, Inc., announced plans to consolidate its Kansas manufacturing operations.  Greeting card and envelope production will move from the company's Topeka Production Center to its manufacturing facility in Lawrence, Kansas.  Production of specialty items such as stickers, ribbon and bows will transfer from the Lawrence Production Center to Hallmark's facility in Leavenworth, Kansas.

The transition will occur in phases, beginning immediately. As a result of this move, the Topeka Production Center will close by the end of 2013.

Hallmark has taken this step to address excess capacity at its Kansas manufacturing facilities and reduce the company's cost structure.

Currently there are approximately 1,300 employees at Hallmark's three Kansas facilities.  About 1,000 positions will be needed between the Lawrence and Leavenworth plants once the transition is complete.  None of the work currently done in Kansas is being moved out of Kansas as a result of this consolidation.

Hourly employees at all three locations will be offered the opportunity to accept a financial incentive to assist them in voluntarily transitioning out of the company.

"Hallmark has a long history in Topeka and any action that impacts employees, and in this case a community, is taken only after a thorough evaluation and careful consideration," said Donald J. Hall, Jr., Hallmark president and chief executive officer.  "The work we are now doing in three facilities can be accomplished in two.  This decision allows us to streamline our operations and improve our cost structure so we can remain competitive in today's marketplace."

The Topeka Production Center first opened in 1943. The current facility, completed in 1966 and located at 240 S.E. Madison, occupies 711,000 square feet and employs approximately 500 people.

About Hallmark
Kansas City-based Hallmark is known throughout the world for its greeting cards, related personal expression products, and television's most honored and enduring dramatic series, the Hallmark Hall of Fame.  Hallmark greeting cards and other products are found in 38,000 retail outlets in the United States, including the network of flagship Hallmark Gold Crown® stores.  The brand also reaches people online at Hallmark.com and on television through Hallmark Hall of Fame original movies and cable's Hallmark Channels.  Worldwide, Hallmark offers products in more than 30 languages available in 100 countries. In 2011, Hallmark reported consolidated net revenue of $4.1 billion. Visit http://corporate.hallmark.com for more details.

SOURCE Hallmark Cards, Inc.