Harman Specialty Group Closes Its Conn. Facilities

Middletown, Conn.— Harman's high-end audio brands are undergoing another round of consolidation with the planned closing here of a facility that employs more than 100 people.

The facility's functions are being transferred to other Harman locations, and about 25 to 30 Middletown employees have been given an opportunity to move to the other venues.

Middletown is home to the marketing, sales and accounting departments and other select support functions for the Mark Levinson, Proceed, Audio Access and Revel brands. It also houses the engineering department for all brands but Revel, and it is the manufacturing cite for Levinson and Proceed products and select Audio Access products.

The Levinson, Proceed and Revel functions will be transferred effective July 8 to Harman's Bedford, Mass., facility, where the Lexicon consumer brand is based. Audio Access functions were transferred effective July 1 from Middletown to Harman's Woodbury, N.Y., facilities. Also effective July 1, Lexicon's pro division was transferred from Bedford to the Harman Music Group in Sandy, Utah.

Bedford is also the headquarters of the Harman Specialty Group (HSG), which was formed last year to bring its Lexicon and Madrigal groups under a single division to gain efficiencies, speed time to market, and improve product performance while retaining the individuality of the two groups' separate brands. The Madrigal group consisted of the Audio Access, Levinson, Proceed and Revel brands.