ORANGE COUNTY.

• Author: MAYER, KATHY
• Position: Business and industry - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

"I'm an optimist," says Judy Gray, executive director of the Orange County Economic Development Partnership. "When you do economic-development work, you're an optimist. The Simmons' closing was awful," she says of the mattress-maker's shut-down two years ago. "But it opened doors for two new companies to come in." Best Chair, from Ferdinand, bought one of the upholstery sites and employs 40. And Jasper Seating just bought the large Simmons building. "This is an expansion project of their plant in French Lick," Gray believes.

The most recent closing was in February, when A.O. Smith closed in Paoli, putting 170 out of work. It made small appliance motors. In December, Kimball...