Rotek Incorporated, a leader in the design, development and manufacture of large diameter slewing ring bearings, today announced plans to invest $82 million to expand its plant in Aurora, Ohio. The expansion is expected to create up to 150 new jobs, bringing employment up to 365 at the new facility.
The investment includes a second ring mill at the Aurora facility to serve its own expanding large diameter slewing ring production and help meet the growing demands in the United States for seamless rolled rings. With ring diameters of up to 280 inches and individual weights of 17 tons, the new SMS Meer RAW 400/400/6000 ring mill will be the most modern facility of its kind in the United States, providing high quality rolled rings for high integrity applications in the wind energy, construction, tunneling and offshore markets. Work on the new facility is scheduled to commence at the end of May 2008 and the plant is expected to begin production in the first quarter of 2010.
Large Diameter Slewing Ring production at the Aurora site will also be further expanded with the addition of a new 116,000-square-foot manufacturing plant housing the latest in production machinery and tooling.
"The planned expansion is an integral part of the company's growth strategy," said Rotek President Leonard F. Osborne. "This significant investment represents our continued commitment to provide the highest quality products and customer service possible." The investment will be the largest made since Rotek's founding in 1962.
"Rotek is developing and manufacturing components for several high growth industries, including wind energy, where Ohio has become a national leader with a strong competitive advantage," said Governor Ted Strickland. "We welcome Rotek's growth and the 150 new jobs in the City of Aurora. Combined with its work in the medical and construction industries, and the military, Rotek is an outstanding partner to the City and the State of Ohio."
ThyssenKrupp Rotek received funds from the State of Ohio Department of Development for job creation and training, as well as machinery and equipment purchases. In addition, the City of Aurora offered the Company property tax abatement and funds for road infrastructure improvements.
The Company will create 150 new full-time jobs within three years of the project's initial operations and retain 215 existing full-time jobs at the project site. The hiring process is expected to begin in the fall of 2008.
Rotek rings and slewing bearings are important structural and connection elements used in wind energy turbines, tunnel boring machines, power cranes and excavators, radar equipment, rail vehicles, telescopes, solar energy plants, and general engineering. With headquarters and a plant in Aurora, Ohio and an additional facility in Florence, Kentucky, Rotek Incorporated currently employs 350 people.
Rotek Incorporated is a subsidiary of Rothe Erde based in Dortmund, Germany, the worldwide leading manufacturer of slewing bearings (including ball and roller bearing slewing rings and wire-race bearings) and of seamless rolled steel and non-ferrous metal rings. Rotek also manufactures seamless rolled rings in aluminum grades, carbon, stainless and alloy steels. Rothe Erde is also a well-known manufacturer of turntables and structural elements. The company is part of the ThyssenKrupp Technologies Group.
The ThyssenKrupp Group, based in Duesseldorf, Germany, is a global technology company which consists of five business segments - Steel, Stainless, Technologies, Elevator and Services. In fiscal 2006/2007 the company had annual sales of 51.7 billion ($68.7 billion) and employed approximately 191,000 in over 70 countries.
Rotek Incorporated and Rothe Erde are part of ThyssenKrupp Technologies, an international manufacturer of advanced-technology plants, components and machinery as well as a vendor to the automotive industry. As a global market leader in innovative systems and engineering capabilities, ThyssenKrupp Technologies supplies systems, modules, specialty machinery and components in addition to related services. The segment, with headquarters in Essen, Germany, has annual sales of 11.5 billion ($15.3billion) and 55,000 employees worldwide.
ThyssenKrupp operations can be found in every state in the U.S. There are 70 ThyssenKrupp companies in more than 400 locations accounting for 24,000 employees and more than US$9.5 billion in annual sales. Through its predecessor companies, ThyssenKrupp has been part of the U.S. historical landscape for 170 years, dating back to 1837 when Alfred Krupp, founder of predecessor company Krupp, provided coin minting machine prototypes to the U.S.
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