100 lose jobs in closing

ELKHART, Ind. -- An Elkhart factory that for decades manufactured band instruments stopped production Thursday, putting 100 people out of work.\nSteinway Musical Instruments of Waltham, Mass., announced in October the shutdown of Conn-Selmer's North Street plant. Steinway, Conn-Selmer's parent company, said it was trying to improve profitability and compete more effectively.\nLarry Banghart, international representative for the United Auto Workers, which represented Conn-Selmer workers in Elkhart, was angry over the decision.\n"The only thing they care about is the bottom line and they don't care how they get there," he said.\nHe said at $17 an hour, it was one of the better paying jobs in Elkhart County.\nWith the closure of the North Main Street plant, Conn-Selmer will operate seven plants nationwide, including two in Elkhart.\nThe plant produced flutes, clarinets, oboes and bassoons under the Selmer name.\nThe factory had been in the Selmer family since the 1940s or 1950s, said Julie Theriault, a Steinway spokeswoman. Conn-Selmer was created in 2003 with the merger of United Musical Instruments and Selmer Co., both subsidiaries of Steinway, she said.