Lilly Industries Closing South Gate Plant

Lilly Industries Inc. said it will close an industrial coatings plant in South Gate and shift its operations to another plant in a cost-cutting move that will eliminate an undisclosed number of jobs. Lilly said it has already moved administrative, technical, sales and marketing functions from the plant to one in Montebello, and will move its manufacturing there in the next six months. Some jobs at South Gate will be lost in the shift, said Douglas Huemme, company chairman, president and chief executive, but he declined to specify how many. Lilly employs about 2,200 people worldwide. Shares in the Indianapolis-based industrial coatings and specialty chemicals company fell 25 cents to $19.125 on the NYSE.