LOC Performance Products is working on expanding its home in Plymouth, hiring a couple dozen people last year and planning to hire dozens more this year and the next.
The 44-year-old company specializes in manufacturing, getting its start as an automotive supplier. Not it works in driveline and suspension systems for heavy-truck, heavy-equipment, agriculture, rail, and oil-and-gas industries. However, it’s biggest gains are coming from its defense work.
"We have won a lot of new business," says Wayne Dula, director of business development for
LOC Performance Products. "The largest contract to date is the Bradley ECP1. That is a $161 million contract over four years. We’re working on the first delivery order now."
LOC Performance Products' defense contract is working to restore lost mobility to the U.S. Army’s
Bradley Fighting Vehicle, specifically Engineering Change Proposal (ECP-1) vehicle modifications. LOC Performance Products is installing track kits, vehicle suspension support system kits, shock absorber kits, and heavy weight torsion bar kits.
The Plymouth-based company is expanding its facility to meet the demands of that contract, investing $12.1 million in new equipment and machinery. The state of Michigan is giving it a $600,000 grant to make the investment here. LOC Performance Products plans to hire 95 people as part of that expansion. It currently employs 205 after hiring 25 over the last year. Dula expects that hiring to continue over this year as it works to fill up those 95 positions and attract more business.
"We're always working on new business opportunities," Dula says.
Source: Wayne Dula, director of business development for LOC Performance Products
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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