December of 2025 bearing manufacturer "JTEKT North America Corporation" announced that it would be closing its Telford, TN, USA facility by August 31, 2026-in actual fact the facility is now closed. The closure is worth mentioning on "The Monty Heat Treat News" due to the fact this location had a substantial in house heat treating department which consisted of 4 Continuous Carburizing Furnaces. Few details are available about what happened to these furnaces; auction, scrapping or moving to another location.

"WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — More than 100 workers at a manufacturer in Telford will be impacted by a permanent closure starting in April 2026. JTEKT North America Corporation filed a WARN Notice with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD), stating it will begin its permanent closure on or around April 30, 2026. The notice comes more than a year after JTEKT, whose plant is commonly called Koyo, told News Channel 11 of its shutdown plan.

The closure will continue through Aug. 31, 2026, the WARN Notice states. JTEKT's affected location is at 146 Cutting Edge Court in Telford at the Washington County Industrial Park.

"The total number of affected workers is 136 Tennessee employees," the notice states.

The TDLWD stated it was notified by JTEKT on Thursday. In 2024, JTEKT announced it would be ceasing its manufacturing operations at the Washington County Industrial Park in 2026. Another manufacturing plant that directly supplies the JTEKT facility, Nakatetsu Machining Technologies (NMT), also revealed it would cease operations at the industrial park in 2026.

JTEKT's Scott Craig told News Channel 11 in August 2024 that 192 people worked at the Koyo plant, indicating close to 60 already had left since then. Craig said JTEKT would offer chances for Koyo workers to transfer to plants in Morristown and Vonore, Tenn. and Greenville, S.C. as available and provide severance packages and full job transition assistance to those who stay until they're laid off or the plant closes.

JTEKT manufactures components for the automotive industry. In 2024, JTEKT leadership said the changing landscape of the automotive industry and the emphasis on electric vehicles caused a decline in demand for the parts used in conventional engines. The Koyo and Nakatetsu plants began production in Telford in 2006."