The operations of a Collegedale furniture firm are being phased out due to the down economy, officials said Monday.

ALC-College is a manufacturer of laboratory furniture and equipment, including casework, storage cabinets and fume hoods for science, education, industrial and healthcare.

Herb Hill, vice president of operations at ALC-Collegedale on Monday made an announcement concerning a reduction in force that will start taking place as the operation moves towards consolidation with its location in Round Rock, Tex.

Currently there are 34 in the factory and 11 in the office.

Chip Albright of ALC Collegedale said, "We will start the process today of drawing down the assets at the 6115 Mountain View Road (Ooltewah) location and reducing activity in an orderly fashion in order to complete a transfer of the operation to Round Rock, Tex. over the next few months. Employees will be given the opportunity to transfer to the Texas operation."

Officials said, "The economic slowdown has profoundly influenced our market dynamics. In the last couple of years, there was an overcapacity in the laboratory furniture industry which has lead to intense price competition as the market has softened. As a lagging indicator, our industry is just beginning to feel the impact of the economic slowdown.

"ALC-Collegedale has been working to offset the extremely competitive market which the current deep national recession has exacerbated. While efficiency initiatives are continuing, consolidating more of our overall operation in Round Rock is a good business move.Under these circumstances, we are starting a planned draw down of resources from our Ooltewah operation.

"We are not anticipating an overall improvement in market conditions until mid-year of 2012. We will continue to adjust our resource level in Tennessee as appropriate. The initial draw down will result in a Reduction in Force. Exact numbers and timing have not yet been determined.

"While these reductions regrettably will have a negative impact on many of our employees at the Tennessee operation, as well as a minor impact on the local economy, the overall impact for the company will be more positive in that it allows us to adjust our costs to be more competitive by eliminating duplication and better utilizing our resources in Texas.

"Consolidation is on the rise in the market as companies are constantly improving their market position. Increasing consolidation has provided more opportunities for new solutions to be developed and enable positive market momentum in the future. With competition intensifying, meeting the customer’s expectations is increasing challenging.

"Training is an essential criterion to impart knowledge about the challenges that impact our ability to meet the customer’s expectations, thereby winning customer loyalty. We have to go the extra mile to satisfy customer requirements. To that end, we have launched a new internal program called 'Quality First' which typifies our comment to providing our customer the quality they expect in a cost efficient manner."

Mark Etheridge, CEO, said, “As the complexity escalates, both in our materials and processes as well as in the overall lab project, it is increasing challenging to meet everyone’s expectations.

“We are refocusing on our roots and our core competencies. We are rededicating ourselves to work hand in hand with our suppliers and our customers to insure the quality expectation is met.

”As the consolidation occurs, we anticipate some job growth in our Round Rock operation as we invest in centralizing in a single location in Round Rock."