Machinists and assemblers from Philadelphia Gear Corporation’s (PGC’s) Western Regional Service Center in Lynwood, California, moved into their new permanent home; a recently renovated 120,000 square-foot facility in Santa Fe Springs, California. Located 10 miles from the former service center, the newly-refurbished facility will serve as the base for PGC’s West Coast gear manufacturing and service operations.
The completion of phase one construction involved retrofitting the new facility for machining, aftermarket, and administrative operations. This consisted of creating a new interior layout to optimize production flow and maximize space, while enhancing and adding production capabilities. The southern 65 percent of the building was renovated to create more than 14,000 square feet of space for offices, locker rooms, and a secure document storage area. Specialty machining and operations rooms were added to provide optimal temperature and ventilation conditions for critical machining operations, painting, and inspection operations. Five new bridge cranes were added and new equipment foundations and utilities were installed. Finally, all of the building’s lighting, electrical, compressed air, and natural gas distribution systems were replaced.
Phase two of the construction work will commence this fall and will involve outfitting the 43,000 square-foot marine area for assembly and testing operations for main reduction gear assemblies for the U.S. Navy. Additionally, two new machines—4 meter and 1.6 meter grinders from Höfler of Germany—will be added. The upgraded machines will provide a higher degree of machining accuracy while handling larger diameter gears and pinions, further improving the capabilities of the service center.
According to Philadelphia Gear Corporation CEO Carl Rapp, the timing of the facility’s acquisition was auspicious following the company’s purchase of the majority of General Electric Corporation’s (GE) marine gear product lines in the summer of 2008. “With the agreement we acquired the intellectual property and key equipment to broaden our existing capabilities to service and manufacture main reduction gear assemblies for the U.S. Navy,” he says. “The new facility in Santa Fe Springs offers us a tremendous opportunity to grow this segment of our business.”
Operations will wind down at Philadelphia Gear’s Lynwood center by early 2011, with plans to decommission the facility by the summer of 2011. All toll-free and local phone numbers will remain the same and are being routed to the Santa Fe Springs office. For more information call (800) 766-5120 or visit online at [www.philagear.com].
