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The eBearing News
April 1, 2004
Glacier Garlock Bearings Building
New Factory in Slovakia
copyright © 2004 eBearing Inc.
GGB (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 between 250 and 300 people. Total cost is projected near USD $17 million.
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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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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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
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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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