Kaydon Corp. said it will spend $3.6 million to expand its Sumter bearings-making operations and add at least 75 jobs.

The Michigan-based manufacturer operates an industrial tank turret/wind turbine bearing production facility in Sumter.

Kaydon will buy the old 178,000-square-foot Bosch brake plant in Sumter as part of the expansion, state and local development officials said. The plant should be operating by the fall. In three previous expansions since 2006, Kaydon said it added 100 jobs and invested $27.5 million in new equipment as sales to military, machinery, semiconductor, and renewable energy markets have grown.

Hiring for the latest jobs is ongoing, and the Central Carolina Technical College will conduct a pre-employment training for assemblers and machine operators, Sumter development officials said.

The Sumter expansion comes as Kaydon decided to close bearings manufacturing operations in Mocksville, N.C. later this year.

“These strategic actions will help us reduce our costs, increase our productivity and grow our market share,” chief executive James O’Leary said in a statement.

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