Some 220 Apex Tool Group employees will lose their jobs when the company closes its Gastonia plant in June.Work done in Gastonia today will go to Apex factories and warehouses in Dallas, Texas, and in China, a spokeswoman for the toolmaker said Thursday.Operations at the Isley Drive plant will begin slowing over the next few months, which could leave some employees out of work before the June deadline.The site has been home to tool making since 1978 when it was owned by the Moore Co., according to spokeswoman Kelly Blazek.Apex Tool Group, formerly Danaher, has traditionally been known for its American-made Craftsman tools, although the company manufactures, packages and ships dozens of other brands.“It’s really high-quality manufacturing,” said Donny Hicks, executive director of the Gaston County Economic Development Commission. “They’re going to be missed.”Gastonia’s factory started with steel, and then stamped and plated sockets, socket sets and handles.Longtime employees and their families have always identified with the well-known Craftsman brand and felt proud of the affiliation, said Brittany, a Gastonia woman who said using her last name could hurt her father’s chances for a severance.She was raised on the salary her father drew from the plant for more than 25 years — whether it was called Easco Hand Tools, Danaher or Apex.Her grandmother retired from Apex and an uncle also clocked in at the plant.For Christmas, she says, family members could count on getting Craftsman products.In spring the plant hosted family picnics in a nearby park.Summers brought Danaher’s day at Carowinds, when the whole family got tickets for the amusement park.Brittany isn’t left with negative feelings toward the company, but she can’t imagine an end to her family’s relationship with the employer.“It makes me sick to my stomach that my Dad has spent his entire working life at one place and now he’ll have to look elsewhere,” she said.Gastonia employees are eligible to apply for other positions with Apex Tool Group, according to Blazek, and the company will do its best to make them aware of other job openings. The closest remaining Apex Tool location will be in the Raleigh area.“While there is no guarantee of finding new internal jobs, it is in our interest to retain skilled talent,” she said.The company will offer severance packages to laid-off employees and try to connect workers with state and other job-placement agencies.Apex Tool is also applying for federal retraining money to assist employees.Nearby at the Triple E Express and Expressway Grill, Linh Phan says she’ll do her part to help displaced Apex workers, too.A family-owned convenience store and diner on the outskirts of Bessemer City, the business depends on the heavy manufacturing presence nearby for its repeat customers.Anyone close to that much manufacturing is used to layoffs and job hunters. So Phan makes it a point to talk to customers about where they’re working and who’s hiring.She collects business cards and passes along tips to the unemployed from her station behind the register.“We do worry about the plant closing,” she said. “It’s not really affecting us now but it could in June.”Tony Crouse lives nearby and once worked for an Apex Tool predecessor.“That’s an important part of this community,” he said. “Think of all the people who’ve been employed there. Anytime something shuts down like that it’s a disaster for all of us.”Apex Tool says the Gastonia plant is the only one it plans to close.Bain Capital, a private equity firm once run by presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in October announced a deal to acquire the company, which formed in 2010 from Danaher Tool Group and Cooper Tools. Businessweek reported this month the toolmaker is looking for more than $1 billion in loans to back the buyout