ZELIENOPLE — ITT Leopold will close the manufacturing operations at its facility on South Division Street.

Alex Henley, spokeswoman for Leopold's parent company, ITT Water and Wastewater USA in Charlotte, N.C., said in a statement that 36 factory workers were told Friday that their positions will be eliminated in the move.

She said more than 100 employees in project engineering, research and design, purchasing, IT, human resources, and sales and marketing will remain at the facility.

Henley said severance, benefits continuation, outplacement and employee assistance packages will be offered to all those whose jobs will be eliminated.

"We recognize this is a difficult time for employees affected by this decision," Henley's statement said.

She said Leopold's Zelienople manufacturing operations provided plastics and metal fabrication for the water treatment company. Those items now will be bought externally.

"We believe we can best serve our customers by focusing our Zelienople resources on engineering and system design, which have been our core competencies since the Leopold brand was first established in 1924."

An ITT Leopold factory worker who did not want to be identified said workers were told their jobs would end at the end of June.