Camso celebrates opening of rubber track plant in US

Peosta, Iowa — Off-road tire/track specialist Camso Group recently marked the start of production at a rubber track and undercarriage plant Peosta that replaces an older, smaller facility in the same town.

Employees, their families and members of the community celebrated the opening 4 Oct of the 240,000-sq.-ft. plant, which actually has been in operation since October 2017.

Dignitaries participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, while those in attendance received guided tours of the facility, which makes rubber track and undercarriage systems to serve the materials-handling, construction, agricultural and powersports industries.

The larger facility sits across the street from the previous factory. Camso said the move increased its manufacturing and storage footprint by 85%. Camso invested $6.4 million (€5.5 million) in the new plant.

Camso said all existing machinery and operations were moved from the company's previous Peosta location within four months, with no impact on product delivery.

"This is an achievement we're proud of," Peosta Plant Manager Patrick Fortin said. "The move was done in such a way that we maintained all of Camso's regular product availability, thus showing our constant commitment to being the best partner for our customers."

Mr. Fortin said Camso deemed the relocation necessary because of anticipated growth in industries the plant serves. He said with increased capacity, Camso will have more products on hand.

Among the plant's customers are John Deere, Agco, Volvo, Toro, Kinze and Bülher, Camso said.

The offices and cafeteria were built to reflect Camso's brand identity, and assembly operations received a new paint line and additional equipment and machinery.

Camso employs 119 at Poesta plant and said it expects demand for track systems to grow, thus creating job opportunities at the enlarged facility.

Group Michelin is in the process of finalizing the $1.45 billion acquisition of Camso. In a deal announced July 21, the French tiremaker is melding its OTR tire activities (farm, earthmover, off-road truck, etc.) into a new division to be based in Quebec and overseeing a global business with 26 plants, roughly 12,000 employees and annual sales exceeding $2 billion.