GBB (formerly Glacier Garlock Bearings, USA, a division of EnPro Industries, USA) has broken ground on a new bearing manufacturing plant in Slovakia, but will close two others in a consolidation move.
Formerly part of Goodrich, Glacier is the world's largest manufacturer of prelubricated and self-lubricating metal-polymer plain bearings. Glacier has production facilities in the United States, Germany, France, Slovakia and Brazil, along with 22 other operating units in 17 countries.
Under Goodrich, the company was assembled from Garlock Bearings and Glacier Industrial Bearing, which it acquired from Dana in May 2001. Put together, Goodrich renamed the unit Glacier Garlock Bearings. In mid-2002, Goodrich spun off its manufacturing businesses as EnPro Industries; Glacier Garlock is the key manufacturing component of EnPro. In mid-2003, Glacier acquired Saver North America, Inc.
The new facility, being built in Martin, Slovakia, is scheduled for completion late in 2004 and will eventually employ over 200 people.
The Martin plant is consolidating metal-polymer bearing production from two plants in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and Dolny Kubin, Slovakia, which will both be closed.
The Kilmarnock factory specializes in the development and manufacture of aluminum and copper-based bimetals which are fabricated into bearings, bushings and thrust washers. Kilmarnock supplies global engine manufacturers both in the highway and off highway sectors. Dolny Kubin is a cold war era facility which has manufactured plain bearings under several owners since 1952.
In Slovakia, Martin the eighth largest city, with a population approaching 60,000. It is only 17km from the much smaller town of Dolny Kubin, so most workers from there will transfer to Martin.
GBB also manufactures bearings in Heilbronn, Germany; Annecy and Dieuze, France; Barueru, Brazil; and Thorofare, New Jersey, USA.
The company said the Martin plant is being built to give it better access to what have become some of the world's fastest-growing industrial markets. Bernd Fischer, GBB's President, said, "In addition to supplying existing customers in Western Europe, our new facility gives us a strong presence in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union."
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