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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies Expands Shelbyville, Indiana, Plant

10/03/2016
Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies completed a major expansion of its Shelbyville, Indiana, manufacturing plant, while marking a milestone at its facility in Morristown, Indiana.

According to company officials, Morristown marked the completion of its 20,000- square-foot expansion and Shelbyville marked its 50th anniversary.

"Shelbyville and Morristown are important facilities in our global network of manufacturing sites, and we are happy to honor them today," said Matthew Portu, President, Freudenberg-NOK. "Both of these facilities have prioritized continuous improvement, innovation, customer satisfaction, health and safety initiatives and community involvement in their plant cultures. Their collaboration with other plants has helped build our company's success."

The Shelbyville and Morristown facilities provide a variety of seals, boots, diaphragms, specialty components and custom-blended materials for the automotive and general industries. The Morristown plant expansion includes new manufacturing space, a new product test lab, a tool fabrication shop and updated metrology area. Employee amenities including a new cafeteria and locker room were also added during the construction.

Morristown is home to three component areas including Special Sealing Automotive, Diaphragms and Integrated Molded Components. The plant projects strong growth in all three areas driven by a strong automotive industry and emerging opportunities in several general industry segments.

"We are happy to celebrate the completion of our expansion, and we look forward to the new business opportunities it will drive at our plant," said Stacy Flora, Site Manager, Morristown. "This is not only a bricks and mortar celebration, it's also a celebration of our people. Morristown's employees are the reason we are successful as both a business and community partner."

As an incentive, Freudenberg-NOK worked with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Shelbyville County Development Corporation and the City of Morristown to secure and complete the plant addition. The expansion is already up and running thanks to additional capital equipment investments at the site.

Freudenberg-NOK's Shelbyville plant opened in 1966. By 1989, the plant was 100 percent owned by Freudenberg-NOK.Shelbyville produces automotive steering, automotive driveline components, suspension boots and custom-blended rubber compounds.

The Shelbyville plant has added state-of-the art robotics to its mixing capabilities which supply custom-blended rubber compounds on a Just-In-Time basis to Shelbyville and five other Freudenberg-NOK manufacturing locations. In 2015, the facility produced 4.9 million pounds of materials.

"Throughout its history, Shelbyville has successfully embraced a culture that promotes continuous improvement, lean, employee safety and community support," said Jeff Clark, Site Manager, Shelbyville. "We are recognized by our customers, sister facilities and community as an important business and civic partner. I am proud of our employees and their achievements and look forward to the next 50 years of opportunities that their dedication will bring."

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