South Bend Gear, LLC: a new state-of-the-art facility for the production of ground gears for trucking and automotive applications
There's a new gear manufacturer on its way to serve the heavy-duty truck market in North America. A joint venture of Schafer Gear Works, Inc. and Somaschini S.p.A., South Bend Gear, LLC will be located in South Bend, Indiana and will be housed in a new 50,000 square-foot manufacturing facility on the Schafer Gear Works campus.
This state-of-the-art facility will utilize the innovative process technology developed by Somaschini. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2011 and be fully operational within a year.
Schafer Gear currently operates three production facilities in the United States. At its South Bend location, Schafer produces high volume gears for a variety of industrial applications. Its plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, concentrates on high-precision fine-pitch gears for aircraft and medical applications. And the Schafer facility in Rockford, Illinois, manufactures larger gears for heavy applications.
Somaschini has been supplying gears for the heavy-duty truck market since 1992 for customers such as the Daimler Group. In 2008, the Italian manufacturer began producing engine gears to Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC), a part of Daimler that also owns Freightliner and Western Star truck companies. DDC has developed a series of highly energy-efficient engines compliant with the latest environmental regulations. South Bend Gear will provide parts for Detroit Diesel's DD13, DD15 and DD16 series engines.
3801 Schafer Gear Drive, South Bend, IN 46628
574-968-0273 Phone • 574-968-0278 Fax
