Paul Mueller Co. to lay off 134

Annual sales growth of more than 113 percent during the last three years led the company to bulk up its Springfield operations – it added more than 500 employees in that time and operated on an around-the-clock schedule, according to a company news release.

The layoffs, representing about 10 percent of Paul Mueller staff, are necessary “due to the recent timing of order entry,” the release said.

“A lot of our work is project work … and the gestation period can be sometimes fairly long on those projects,” Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Don Golik said. “We do a lot of custom equipment that requires that kind of process.”

Paul Mueller manufactures stainless-steel processing systems.

Golik couldn’t say whether any of the employees would be able to find assistance as members of local labor unions; a call to Sheet Metal Workers, Local 208, was not immediately returned.

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