Town Hopes to Reuse Plant as Energizer Leaves Town

Local officials hope the plant can keep going ... and going.

Battery manufacturing in Bennington, Vermont, started in 1942 with a Union Carbide factory. 

At one time, the plant had 700 employees.

Now, the battery factory is owned by Energizer, and the company intends to close it this year and move production to Portage, Wisconsin. 

Far from its heyday, only 90 people work at the 300,000-square-foot facility. 

The company announced the closure in late 2019, to the town’s surprise.  

Local officials recently hired a commission to create a plan to reuse the plant, which is located in downtown Bennington.

The hope is to keep the lights on at the complex.

In 2019, the property was valued at $3.291 million. 

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