An Illinois-based manufacturer has acquired Turkington USA, the industrial oven-maker located in Clayton that in February announced plans to shut down.

Middleby Corp., which makes foodservice equipment, purchased the assets of Turkington to bolster the food processing and baking capabilities of its equipment, a release stated.

Turkington announced in February it would close its Clayton plant and lay off 101 workers in the process. The company detailed the layoffs in a notice filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce, saying a temporary receiver had been appointed to wind down or sell the business.

Turkington USA is a subsidiary of United Kingdom based Turkington Industries. In 2009, Turkington relocated its manufacturing plant to Clayton from Goldsboro, where it had operated for 27 years.

A local uniform manufacturer ceased operations on short notice and laid off 125 employees this month.

Royal Park Uniforms notified the N.C. Commerce Department that the financial institution backing the uniform company had cut off funding, forcing the local manufacturer to shut its doors.

The letter said the financing entity "would no longer fund payroll or any other expenses past November 10, 2011 at 5 p.m."

"This was a complete shock and surprise to RPU ownership and management," the company said in its letter to the N.C. Commerce Department. "There was no indication that the financial entity that RPU was dealing with would take such a strong stand."

North Carolina is adding the kinds of manufacturing jobs one almost never hears anymore: cabinets.

A kitchen cabinet manufacturer announced today it will add 136 jobs over five years in Rutherfordton, about 225 miles west of Raleigh.

The expansion will come as a result of Connecticut-based Gourmet Group acquiring Geppetto Kitchens and investing $2.3 million in the existing facility. Geppetto currently employs about 45 people at the site and had planned to close if not for the acquistion.

The planned jobs will pay $34,093 on average, not including benefits, exceeding the the Rutherford County average annual wage of $28,392.

If it meets the job creation goals, Gourmet will qualify for $270,000 in One N.C. Fund grants as well as local tax credits that could exceed $100,000. The local incentives will pay $1,000 for each job created in the first year, $660 in the second year and $330 in the third year.

Laminate flooring maker Pergo, hurt by the housing slump and increased competition, recently cut 16 jobs at its Triangle operations.

The layoffs reduced Pergo's workforce in Raleigh and Garner to about 175 people. The company doesn't expect to eliminate any more jobs, said Marc Kmec, Pergo's human resources director.

"We don't take these types of cuts lightly," he said. "We don't cut with a hairtrigger when there are slowdowns. But we're in the same circumstance as any company tied to consumer spending and the housing market."

Kmec declined to comment on financial results or how much Pergo's sales have dropped during the economic downturn.

Billionaire and activist investor Carl Icahn isn't giving up his fight for control of Clorox, the parent of Durham-based Burt's Bees.

In a regulatory filing today, Icahn proposed replacing the company's entire board with his own 11 directors, including himself.

Clorox, which last month rejected Icahn's $10.7 billion takeover offer, said it would review the proposal, but doesn't support his efforts. "Mr. Icahn is nominating candidates solely to advance his own agenda," Clorox wrote in a statement.

The owner of a Scotland County factory that makes Purell hand sanitizer plans to close down, laying off about 70 workers.

Production at the QualPak facility is being phased out and equipment will be shifted to other sites, Joe Drenik, a spokesman for parent corporation GoJo Industries told the Fayetteville Observer.

QualPak started producing Purell hand-hygiene products in 2004 at the Laurinburg factory, which is about 100 miles southwest of Raleigh, near the South Carolina border.

Surgical supply maker Zimmer said today it plans to close its Statesville plant and lay off 124 people.

The company has operations in more than 25 countries and employs more than 8,000 employees worldwide, according to its web site.

A construction equipment manufacturer in Wilmington will be shutting down operations and laying off 92 people this year.

Terex Corp., based in Connecticut, notified the N.C. Department of Commerce to say it will close its Wilmington facility by Dec. 31.

The workers affected are in production and sales, with the first round of layoffs to happen Oct. 7.

In Wilmington, Terex did final manufacturing and assembly of cranes for sale and distribution in North America. Terex employs 18,000 worldwide makes cranes and other heavy equipment for construction, mining, energy and other heavy industries.

"While the economy is beginning to improve, our manufacturing capacity is greater than needed to meet foreseeable market demand," the company's letter said.

The maker of moissanite gemstones reported a decline in sales and profit during the second quarter.

But officials with Morrisville-based Charles & Colvard are optimistic about new efforts to boost sales. That includes more shows on home-shopping TV networks devoted to moissanite jewelry and the company's direct-to-consumer web site.

Also, Charles & Colvard plans to begin testing home parties later this year to build sales.

Moissanite is a lab-made gem that's used in fine jewelry. Some are sold through retailers such as Kohl's, but sales have suffered in recent years as consumers cut spending on discretionary items.

"On a longer-term basis, we remain confident in our belief that moissanite is destined to significantly expand its share of the $120 billion global jewelry market," CEO Randy McCullough said in a prepared statement.

Billionaire and activist investor Carl Icahn is pushing for a sale of Clorox, the consumer-products conglomerate that owns Durham-based Burt's Bees.

Icahn offered to buy Clorox for $76.50 a share, or more than $10 billion. But he also urged company officials to seek other "strategic buyers" including Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive.

These potential acquirers could market Clorox's brands more aggressively overseas, Icahn wrote in a letter to Clorox CEO Donald Knauss.

"I would love to have this company," Icahn told CNBC today. But he added that he expects there will be competing offers.