ARaymond invested more than $12 million in building and equipment to expand its Rayconnect, Inc. manufacturing operations in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The expansion adds 30,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space to an existing 75,000-square-foot Rayconnect facility and will allow the plant to run three, eight-hour shifts, five days a week.

Antoine Raymond, President/CEO, said the facility will be adding more than 60 new employees over a span of more than two years of expansion, including highly skilled production technicians to operate new injection molding and assembly machines. There also will be openings for maintenance technicians and manufacturing, supply-chain and logistics support functions, as well as other administrative personnel.

The plant produces Quick Connect fittings for fluid-handling systems for the automotive industry as well as the heavy truck, recreational, off-road vehicle and industrial markets. The fittings are used for fuel lines, fuel vapor lines, coolant hoses, oil hoses and other fluid applications.

The expansion nearly doubles the number of injection molding machine capacity at the plant from 26 to 46 and adds room for six additional assembly machines for a total of 18. In addition to its investment in production equipment and brick-and-mortar facilities, ARaymond is adding injection-molding tools and other auxiliary equipment to produce assembly components.

Gary Warren, the facility's Operation Manager noted that when the plant opened six years ago it achieved certification from the United States Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, one of the few manufacturing facilities certified LEED Gold in Michigan. The facility sits on 10 acres overlooking a lake and a natural habitat area south of M-59 and west of Crooks Road.

"Our objective is to be a socially and environmentally responsible corporate citizen," Warren added. "We are connected to Oakland University to further support learning and help in the development of new talent. We also believe in employee empowerment at all levels throughout the organization – empowerment that clearly contributes to the growth and success of our operations."