German precision components manufacturer Leipold Group announced Tuesday plans to double production out of its Windsor facility to take advantage of growing international demand for its products.
“It is definitely a good thing to happen in economic times like these. We are very busy here,” said Michael Kraemer, general manager at the Windsor facility.
The company’s Windsor location on 545 Marshall Phelps Road — Leipold Precision Components — is its only U.S. subsidiary and currently its smallest facility.
In addition to serving high international demand from this U.S. location, Leipold Group said it also wants to take advantage, via its Windsor operation, of new market opportunities made possible by the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Locally, Leipold employs 27 people in a 16,000-square-foot production facility shapes metal parts. It has operated there since 1998.
For the expansion of its operations, Leipold plans to double the floor production space by the end of 2012 and wants its production levels to increase as well, Kraemer said. The expansion mostly will be of existing products, although the company may add new ones.
“At this point, I don’t know how many more people we will add,” Kraemer said.
Even before the expansion plans, the company struggled to maintain a full staff as skilled laborers are hard to come by, which is a common industry complaint, Kraemer said. Any skilled machinist can apply for a Leipold job immediately.
Counting Windsor, Leipold has five locations worldwide with its headquarters in Wolfach, Germany and the remaining operations in Dransfeld, Germany; Bunde, Germany; and Bridgetown, England.
In its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Leipold made $87.2 million in revenues, up 30 percent from its fiscal year revenues 2010. Over the last fiscal year, the company increased its worldwide workforce to 376 from 351.
