Over $3 million will be committed to capital investment in the next six months, leading to more jobs for LaPorte, following the sale Aug. 4, 2010, of Unitek Sealing Solutions Corporation to Jaeger Group of Hannover, Germany.
Bernel
“This is a wonderful opportunity, not only for the employees of Unitek, but also for the city of LaPorte and for the highly successful Jaeger firm,” said Jeffrey Bernel, president and chief executive officer of Unitek.
Unitek currently employs about 40 people at its 315 Brighton Street plant, where thermoplastic and rubber extrusions are manufactured, primarily for the automotive industry. With the purchase by Jaeger Group, employment at the LaPorte plant is expected to double over the next two years, a spokesman for Jaeger Group said.
“Our new company, Jaeger-Unitek Sealing Solutions Inc., will manufacture high quality thermoplastic and rubber extrusions. Within the next six months we will be adding rubber and thermoplastic injection molding, cryogenic deflashing and robotic inspection to our Indiana plant. This will be the first phase of over $3 million in new capital expenditures slated for the LaPorte location,” the Jaeger Group spokesman stated.
Bernel, former owner of the American Rubber Corporation plant and Bernel Foam Products plant, had high praise for the current employees of Unitek.
Unitek, like virtually every supplier to the automotive industry, was hit hard by the economic downturn that began in the fall of 2008. But Unitek weathered the challenges posed by the market place and positioned itself as a viable manufacturing plant that initially caught the eye of Jaeger Group last year, Bernel said.
“We hung in there, and we did it without the aid of any state or federal bail-out money,” Bernel said. “I’m proud of our people.”
He lauded the leadership efforts of Mark Dilley, Unitek president; Glenn Oman,chief financial officer; and Ray Young, vice president of engineering.
Bernel remains in his position as a teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business. Bernel and his wife, Kathy, will continue to reside in LaPorte.
