Parker Hannifin Corp. will close its plant operation on Clark’s Neck Road in Washington by the end of this year.

The closing came as a surprise to the plant’s 235 employees, as well as Beaufort County officials, who didn’t receive a warning notice about the decision.

“The (Economic Development) Workforce Development Team met with the plant manager and human resources manager at Parker Hannifin recently to discuss training and ways to improve the manufacturing facility,” wrote Martyn Johnson, Beaufort County’s economic development director, in an email. “In fact, up to a few weeks ago, NCWorks was providing candidates for open positions.”

Parker Hannifin, which took ownership of the plant after acquiring CLARCOR Engine Mobile Solutions in late February, plans to move production to South Dakota and Mississippi.

The closing will be completed by December. Employees will likely receive severance pay and assistance finding other opportunities, according to Aidan Gormley, director of corporate communications. In some cases, employees could move to other plant sites, he added.

Gormley said Parker Hannifin faces some excess in manufacturing and production capabilities since the acquisition, and that was the reason behind the company’s decision to move production to other locations.

“Unfortunately, Washington was one of the facilities we decided to close. … Since the acquisition closed, we’ve obviously been integrating the two businesses together,” Gormley said. “I would say it is a more recent decision.”

“The state government will establish a rapid response team, as will we in Beaufort County, to assist the business and employees. The employees will be Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act eligible and thus have access to on-the-job training, free college tuition and other services to help them move forward,” Johnson wrote. “Once I have further information from the company, we can assemble our team to start repairing the damage caused by this event.”

Parker Hannifin specializes in motion and control technologies, and its Washington plant made fuel filtration products. Stanadyne Corp. previously operated the plant, and CLARCOR acquired Stanadyne’s filtration division in 2014 for $325 million. On Feb. 28, Parker Hannifin acquired CLARCOR in a $4.3 billion transaction.

Parker Hannifin announced some other closures in June, and the company expects more to occur as it continues to merge resources, according to Gormley.

As of 2015, Parker Hannifin was the 13^th largest employer in Beaufort County, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Employers higher on the list include Beaufort County Schools, Beaufort County Community College, Vidant, AAF/Flanders and city and county government, among others.

Johnson said he hopes county businesses can reemploy the plant’s workers, and potentially sell the 175,000-square-foot facility to another company.

“Please keep the Parker employees in your thoughts and prayers,” he wrote.