SRC announces expansion with Deere joint venture

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation will add yet another subsidiary to its 22 companies. The local remanufacturer of heavy-duty diesel engines has entered into a joint venture with Deere & Co., a manufacturer of heavy equipment for the agricultural and construction industries.

Springfield Remanufacturing announced the joint venture Jan. 15. The company will create a subsidiary company equivalent in size to its Heavy Duty Division, which is a $50 million company, said Dan Rorke, president of SRC's Industrial Group, who will head the new venture.

The new company, called ReGen Technologies, will remanufacture diesel engines for the John Deere Agricultural Equipment and Construction Equipment divisions and will remanufacture engine-related components.

SRC will add 250-450 new jobs in the next year, much of it attributable to the Jan. 15 announcement, officials said.

ReGen will need a new facility for the new company; it is now scouting locations for a new site, Rorke said. SRC has narrowed its possibilities for a new site to the west side of town near its Heavy Duty plant, the Partnership Industrial Center, and sites south of Springfield.

About eight to 10 people will begin the company and will market and manage it out of SRC's offices on East Division Street. During the first year of operation, the Heavy Duty plant will remanufacture John Deere engines; the group of eight to 10 company officials will purchase the products from Heavy Duty and market and sell them to customers.

After about a year, ReGen will establish a location, purchase its equipment, and begin remanufacturing the engines itself, Rorke said. Employees of SRC's subsidiaries will probably flow into the new company, Rorke said.

ReGen will be remanufacturing diesel engines used in John Deere's construction and agricultural equipment. At the time the joint venture was announced, John Deere was the only heavy equipment company in the country not yet remanufacturing its engines.

SRC remanufactures engines for other heavy equipment companies, such

as Navistar and Case.

"Manufacturers are responsible for their products now from assembly line until they are no longer functioning. Manufacturers are taking

a stronger role in what happens to those engines after

they are no longer being used. Remanufacturing is a way to keep those engines out of the salvage yard and restore them to their former capacity," Rorke said.

ReGen will begin marketing the products almost immediately, Rorke said. SRC's Heavy Duty Division will continue to remanufacture those engines until ReGen has its own facility and equipment.

Deere & Co. has more than 34,000 employees and markets products in more than 160 countries. SRC has nearly 1,000 employees and operates 22 subsidiaries in the United States and Canada.[[In-content Ad]]