Armored vehicle maker that retrofitted JFK’s limo is closing

CINCINNATI (AP) — An armored vehicle maker that customized the limousine in which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 is shutting down its operations. The company near Cincinnati filed a notice last week that it will layoff all 200 of its employees in Fairfield, Ohio, and close permanently. The company was known as Hess & Eisenhardt in the 1960s, when it reinforced Kennedy’s presidential limousine after it was built by Ford Motor Co. in 1961. Among the modifications added were removable transparent roof panels, a hydraulic rear seat that could elevate the president and steps for Secret Service agents.