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The eBearing News
December 12, 2003
SKF Closing CR Franklin Seal Plant,
Curtails Guadalajara Operations
copyright © 2003 eBearing Inc.
SKF USA Inc. (a division of SKF AB, Sweden) announced the latest in a series of North
American manufacturing restructuring moves, this time involving Chicago Rawhide seal plants.
The CR seal manufacturing plant in Franklin, North Carolina, will be closed and production
transferred to other manufacturing facilities in North America.
Founded in 1878, Chicago Rawhide was purchased by SKF in 1990 and is part of SKF Automotive Division.
The other North American facilities are in Elgin, Illinois; Springfield, South Dakota; Hobart, Oklahoma;
and Seneca, Kansas. The Springfield plant dates to 1975 and Hobart recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Located on a 21 acre site on Industrial Park Road, CR's 50,000 square foot Franklin plant currently employs
approximately 150 people and is one of the area's largest employers.
SKF said Franklin's product line is now, "standard line seals for various industrial consumer segments
in North America."
In late December 1996, the entire Franklin facility was sold to and then leased back from
Lexington Corporate Properties. On that 18 year lease, 11 years are still remaining.
Ironically, another of the Franklin area's largest employers is literally next door, Caterpillar
Precision Seals, owned by CR until 1995. Caterpillar Precision seals produces highly
specialized abrasion-resistant precision metal faced seals for use in applications such
as heavy industrial and military vehicles.
The other move announced by SKF is the outsourcing of component stamping operations from its
CR Mexicana S.A. de C.V. plant in Guadalajara. Other operations will remain at Guadalajara, which
CR acquired full control of in mid-1998. The facility employs over 300 people and services
automotive, truck and industrial segments.
Overall, SKF said the two moves will result in 170 people losing their jobs as the operations are
phased out at Guadalajara and the Franklin plant closed down by the end of 2004.
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- by Bruce A. Carr
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Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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