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Great Dane Trailers said it plans to close its refrigerated trailer manufacturing plant in Savannah, Ga., in January, due to the economic downturn’s effect on the transportation industry and the need for more efficient production.

The closing “is no reflection on the caliber of the people or their work,” said Phillip Pines, Great Dane’s chief operating officer. “We have simply exhausted the ability of this plant to produce refrigerated trailers at a competitive price.”

The closing will be effective Jan. 9, the company said of the plant, which was built in 1919 for the Savannah Blowpipe Co. and later became a Great Dane facility.

Until a new plant is established, the plant’s production will be transferred to Great Dane’s two other refrigerated plants, in Wayne, Neb., and Brazil, Ind., the company said.