Photo by Deb Gau Norcraft Companies, the parent company of Mid Continent Cabinetry, announced Thursday that it will be closing its plant in Cottonwood sometime later this year. Norcraft said 200 employees would be affected by the plant closing.

COTTONWOOD — The parent company of Mid Continent Cabinetry in Cottonwood has announced it will be closing the Cottonwood plant later this year. The shutdown will affect 200 employees, according to a statement by Norcraft Companies.

The Mid Continent plant in Cottonwood will continue to operate until sometime this fall, said Emily Small, a spokesperson for MasterBrand Cabinets, the company that acquired Norcraft in 2015.

Cottonwood City Administrator Charles Seipel said he was informed of the plant closing by a company spokesperson on Thursday afternoon.

“This is coming as a shock to me and many people in the community,” Seipel said.

In a statement issued Thursday, Norcraft Companies said the business has seen changes in market conditions and consumer tastes over the past few years. Norcraft Companies is closing the Cottonwood plant to both improve operational efficiencies and address the market changes, the statement said. Manufacturing of products made at the Cottonwood plant will move to other Norcraft locations.

Norcraft Companies said it will be working to assist the 200 employees affected by the plant closing. According to the statement, the company will be providing additional compensation and resources from its employee assistance program, as well as working with state and local agencies to help employees find new jobs. Cottonwood employees are also being encouraged to apply at the company’s other manufacturing plants, the statement said.

Seipel said he would also plan on working with state and local agencies and economic development authorities, in response to the plant shutting down. When Mid Continent closes, Cottonwood will want the property to be marketable for a new business to move in, he said.

Mid Continent Cabinetry was founded in 1966, in Marshall. Today, Mid Continent’s products are generally sold by kitchen and bath cabinetry dealers, distributors, and builders in the U.S. Norcraft Companies said Mid Continent’s products are manufactured at three facilities — one in Cottonwood, one in Lynchburg, Virginia, and one in Newton, Kansas.

Norcraft Companies was acquired by MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc., of Jasper, Indiana, in 2015.

There seems to be some recent turmoil in the cabinetry industry, at least in southern Minnesota. In April, Elkay Wood Products in New Ulm announced that it planned to close its plant, and consolidate cabinet door manufacturing operations at a different location. The New Ulm shutdown will affect 105 employees, the New Ulm Journal reported.