By Joe Carlson

Minneapolis Star Tribune

C.R. Bard will close its manufacturing operation in Stewartville later this year, the medical device company said Monday, eliminating about 185 jobs in the southeast Minnesota city.

New Jersey-based Bard became one of the largest employers in the city just three years ago when it acquired the catheter-manufacturing operations of Rochester Medical for about $262 million.

Bard celebrated a ribbon-cutting at one of its three buildings in Stewartville last year. The plant makes urinary catheters for men and women of all ages.

“After a thorough review and careful consideration C.R. Bard Inc. will discontinue operations at its Stewartville, Minn., facility by 2017,” a company spokesman said via e-mail. “We understand that our employees are directly impacted by this decision. We are committed to treating them fairly and with respect, and we will support them during this transition.”

Stewartville City Administrator Bill Schimmel said Bard executives met with employees in groups and one-on-one about the transition. He noted that the 185 jobs include a mix of full- and part-time jobs, but the tally doesn’t include temporary workers or any jobs that were moved out of the facilities last year.

“Obviously, it’s tough to see a big business head out, and we will hopefully look forward to other opportunities opening up,” Schimmel said. “This was basically, as their official said, strictly a corporate business decision. It had nothing to do with Stewartville or the region or the state business climate.”

Bard officials declined to elaborate beyond their three-sentence statement. It was not clear exactly when each building would close.

State Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, whose district includes Stewartville and the southern half of nearby Rochester, said she believes state officials will grant her request to dispatch a rapid-response team to the Bard plant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development to assess the situation and help workers.

She’s also hopeful that state officials will grant her request to provide two years of additional funding to the Rochester WorkForce Center, a regional job assistance and training center based at the Rochester Community and Technical College.

“It’s always hard when there is a plant closing. It is very hard for the people who are directly involved and for the community,” she said. “But it is a little more hard when there is uncertainty about the timing.”

She remains confident that Stewartville and the region as a whole will continue to grow, noting that several manufacturers in the immediate area are already looking for more workers.