Modine Manufacturing Co. is expanding its operations in Harrodsburg as it moves production to the Kentucky plant from its Camdenton, Mo., facility, which is scheduled to close within the next 18 to 24 months as part of the Wisconsin-based company’s restructuring plan to improve profitability. With the new business, the Harrodsburg plant’s workforce is expected to double in size to approximately 400 hourly and 40 salaried employees.
Production being transferred to Modine’s Harrodsburg plant from Camdenton consists of aluminum radiators, charge air coolers and oil coolers for the off-highway market. The Harrodsburg facility manufactures round tube plate fin, heat exchangers, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning modules, and systems for automotive, truck and off-highway applications.
“We are excited about the opportunities the added production will provide for our facility and our employees,” said John R. Foutch, Harrodsburg plant manager. “We expect the plant to be running 24 hours a day, seven days a week when we’ve fully ramped up. In fact, we have already started hiring for segments of the business that are in the process of being transferred.”
One skill set the Harrodsburg plant is especially interested in is aluminum TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welders and the facility has made recruiting these specialized employees a priority. The TIG process generates heat via an arc of electricity that jumps from a tungsten metal electrode to the metal surface intended to be welded. Aluminum is the metal most frequently welded with the TIG process, particularly in lighter gauges associated with automotive applications. The company is working with the state of Kentucky for granting inducements in connection with the anticipated costs incurred in expansion of the Harrodsburg plant.
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