Fritz Winter Holds Grand Opening of Kentucky Foundry & Mechanical Machining Facility
German-owned Fritz Winter North America LP held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of its new foundry and mechanical machining facility in Franklin, Kentucky. The 306,878 s.f. facility will manufacture disc brake rotors for leading automakers in the Midwest and Southwest and will serve as the company’s new U.S. headquarters.
In Numbers
- Franklin, KYLocation
- 306,713 s.f.Square Footage
- 12 monthsOperational
“After a construction time of not even one year, the first products rolled off the production line. This is a performance we can be really proud of,” said Jörg Rumikewitz, the company’s CEO.
Gray Construction was selected to design and build the new facility, which will employ some 200 people. Fritz Winter is one of the leading companies in the production of cast iron engine blocks and heads, brake rotors and drums, flywheels and hydraulic housings. The company produces nearly 800 different cast iron parts for automotive and commercial vehicle brakes, chassis, and motors, as well as hydraulic systems. The new Kentucky facility will manufacture over 60,000 metric tons of ferrous parts per year.
“It’s been an exciting journey to work with Fritz Winter on their new Kentucky facility,” said Stephen Gray, president and CEO of Gray Construction. “Not only will this facility impact the entire state of Kentucky, but it will also serve a critical purpose in automotive manufacturing.”
The company selected Kentucky due to the close proximity to customers, availability of highly-skilled workers and excellent infrastructure on site.
The Fritz Winter Foundry is a supplier and partner of the international automotive, commercial vehicle and hydraulic industry. For 65 years, the family-owned enterprise has been developing and producing rough and finish part components as well as complex system components for customers worldwide. A special focus lies on innovative light-weight concepts by means of an optimal utilisation of the material characteristics. With 3,700 employees and approximately 689 million € turnover in 2015, the company from Stadtallendorf, Germany ranks among the leading automotive suppliers of its branch.
About Fritz Winter
To learn more about this project, visit https://www.fritzwinter.de/en/. The grand opening included an official ribbon-cutting ceremony with special remarks from Gary Broady, chairman, Franklin Simpson Industrial Authority; Jörg Rumikewitz, CEO, Fritz Winter Group; Roland Reim, CEO, Fritz Winter North America; Terry Gill, secretary of the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet; Jim Henderson, Simpson County judge executive; Ronnie Clark, mayor of Franklin, Ky.; and Stephen Gray, president and CEO of Gray Construction. Guests consisted of local government officials, partners and friends.
About Gray Construction
Gray Construction is a nationally-ranked engineering, architecture and construction firm with nearly 60 years of experience in manufacturing, automotive, food and beverage, distribution and retail facility construction. Currently, Gray has several large projects that are underway or recently completed including: a Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility in Vance, Ala.; a manufacturing facility for automotive supplier MöllerTech USA, LLC in Woodstock, Ala.; a fresh pork processing facility in Coldwater, Michigan for Clemens Food Group; a manufacturing facility for Weber Metals in Paramount, Calif.; and a manufacturing facility for Italian paper product manufacturer Sofidel in Circleville, Ohio.
If you have manufacturing plant construction needs, please contact Phil Seale, executive vice president, manufacturing at pseale@gray.com. Or, contact Jeff Bischoff, executive vice president, business development at jbischoff@gray.com.