Bonfiglioli USA will be expanding its Hebron, KY operations in Q4 2014. The expansion will include the progressive addition of new production lines of planetary gearboxes for mobile machinery to support the construction, mining, agricultural and forestry industries. The expansion will create dozens of new jobs for the northern Kentucky region.

The Hebron production line will be the first line of manufacturing in the U.S. for Bonfiglioli and will increase the Company’s annual capacity of planetary gearboxes by about 24,000 units in the first year to better serve the demand for these gearboxes in the U.S. market.  With six different SKUs, the production line will create over 30 new warehouse, operations and assembly positions, with an additional 10 to 12 support positions, when at full capacity.

The initial production will be dedicated to the 700C series drives for compact construction equipment, with additional production lines of wheel drives for construction and agricultural equipment planned over the next two to five years.

Quality and engineering excellence have always been the hallmark of Bonfiglioli products.  To guarantee quality consistency, the Hebron facility will also integrate a state-of-the-art quality lab for testing equipment throughout the assembly process, with multiple quality checks and controls performed.  To continue Bonfiglioli’s tradition of engineering excellence, the majority of product engineering will remain with the headquarters in Forli, Italy while continuing to work closely with customers and the application engineers in Hebron, to design personalized solutions for each customer.

“There will be many benefits to our U.S. customer base once this production line is operational,” said Greg Schulte, president of Bonfiglioli USA. “Most importantly, we will be able to shorten the overall supply chain for our U.S. customers by reducing lead times, improving flexibility and being more responsive to our customer needs and to variations in demand for planetary gearboxes.”

At this time, the addition of the production line will not require an expansion of the current facility; instead, Bonfiglioli USA will work within its current warehouse footprint of about 80,000 square feet. “With the continued implementation of lean manufacturing processes, we can add these production lines without the need to expand the building.  We have plenty of room for expansion in the future, if needed,” continued Schulte. “As customer needs change, we will adapt and change as well.”