Waukesha Bearings Glasgow Facility Wins Best Plant Award

Waukesha Bearings Ltd. (Scotland, a subsidiary of Waukesha Bearings Corp., USA, itself a division of Dover Corp., USA) recently won Glasgow's "Best Manufacturing Award" for 2004. The award is presented by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce; Waukesha Bearings was chosen above a field of more than 150 manufacturing plants and service businesses. Jack McLaren, President of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said, "I would like to congratulate all our winners who thoroughly deserve this recognition for their achievements and contribution to the long term prosperity of Glasgow, and I wish them continued success in their businesses in the years to come." Founded in 1950, Waukesha is a leading manufacturer of bearings for a variety of rotating machinery applications, including turbomachinery, motors and generators, industrial, utility, naval and commercial marine industries. Products include tilting pad thrust and journal bearings, sleeve bearings and housings. It was acquired by Dover Corporation in 1977. The Glasgow plant is a low-volume, short-run producer of a wide variety of specialty bearings. Formerly the Federal-Mogul Rotating Plant Bearings (RPB) Division, Glasgow and several other facilities were acquired from Federal-Mogul in 2001. Prior to Federal-Mogul, it had been the Glacier RPB Division. • Waukesha acquires Federal-Mogul RPB The Glasgow plant had been plagued by transition difficulties; shortly after the acquisition, Waukesha executives admitted communications and cultural difficulties were affecting its performance. Things did not improve when, later, a bugging device was found in the plant manager's office. • Employees face charges in Glasgow plant bugging As such, the Best Manufacturing Award represents something of a turnaround for Waukesha and Glasgow. Mike Phelps, of Waukesha Bearings Ltd., commented, "This award is testament to the success that Waukesha Bearings Ltd. has enjoyed in the last twelve months and the exciting time we predict for the future. We are very honored to receive this recognition. It truly acknowledges our commitment to investing in the best people and best technology, while achieving ongoing revenue growth."