Morristown Expansion Project Complete
The major expansion of a Morristown manufacturing plant is complete. Officials from Michigan-based Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies will be joined Wednesday afternoon by Lieutenant Governor Eric Holcomb to celebrate the $20 million project, which is expected to create up to 75 jobs by 2019.
Freudenberg-NOK has added 20,000 square feet to its original 65,000 square-foot facility, which the company says will allow operations to grow by 40 percent over the next five years. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says the company, which provides custom sealing technologies for the automotive industry, produces more than 100 million components at the Morristown plant.
Freudenberg-NOK is a joint venture between Germany-based Freudenberg and Co. and NOK Corp. in Japan and has 23 facilities throughout the country. The event celebrating the expansion is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Wednesday.
The expansion was announced last year and has since been followed by more major economic development announcements. In March, Krone North America announced plans to move its headquarters from Memphis, Tennessee to Shelbyville and create more than 100 jobs. In June, Japan’s largest steel producer, Nippon Steel, announced a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Corp. to build a $50 million plant that is expected to create up to 70 jobs over the next five years.
In July, another Japan-based company, Ryobi Limited, announced plans to invest nearly $100 million to expand its Shelbyville operations, creating up to 150 jobs by 2018. In an interview on Inside INdiana Business in July, Shelby County Development Corp. Executive Director Brian Asher told Gerry Dick the influx of investment is the result of a team effort.
You can view the interview with Brian Asher in the video above.