Nord Celebrates Grand Opening of Texas Production Facility

Nord Drivesystems recently celebrated the grand opening of their new, state-of-the-art production facility in McKinney, Texas. This factory marks the fourth U.S. production location of the global gearmotor and control products manufacturer, with established facilities located in Corona, CA, Charlotte, NC, and the 291,700 sq. ft. U.S. corporate headquarters in Waunakee, WI. The Texas plant will enable Nord to offer additional support in the southern region with localized pre-sales, inventory, assembly, and aftermarket services, as well as function as a fourth hub to support customers across the United States.

The McKinney facility, situated in the northeast suburbs of Dallas, covers a total of 85,000 sq. ft. with space allocated for assembly, service, and offices. The location is staffed with production, warehouse, quality, service, customer experience, and administrative personnel and began producing unpainted gear units in June of 2023 after Phase 1 construction was completed. Phase 2 included the addition of 5 assembly cells, bringing the total to 10, and build-out of the front office area that houses leadership offices, a conference room, training room, break room, and locker facilities. Most recently, Phase 3 was completed, adding a full-service paint system that enables gear units to be painted with a variety of surface treatments on-site. Once the facility is at full operational capacity it will produce up to 200 units per shift.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday, May 21st with guests from around the world including Ullrich Küchenmeister, managing partner, and Gernot Zarp, managing director of sales and domestic sales at Getriebebau-Nord GmbH & Co KG, Nord’s global corporate headquarters in Bargteheide, Germany.

Representatives from the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and Affiliated Distributors (AD) also joined in the celebration. Michelle Bishop, district director for Congressman Keith Self, 3rd District of Texas, presented a Congressional letter of congratulations officially welcoming Nord to the Lone Star State and members of the McKinney Chamber of Commerce welcomed them to the city. Following the ceremony, Küchenmeister kicked off the festivities by raising a toast to commemorate the grand opening and future success of the plant. Food, drink, and guided tours were then provided to showcase the technology utilized within the facility. Keeping with the Texas theme, guests were given a themed gift bag with a Nord-branded grill kit, authentic Texas barbeque sauce, and more.

In addition to the ribbon cutting ceremony, NORD also hosted a customer open house on Wednesday, May 22nd. Guided plant tours were provided by Rich Heineman, Texas Operations Manager, and Mike McConville, Texas Assembly Supervisor, to highlight the features of the facility and answer questions about Nord’s expanded capabilities. Lunch was catered by Hutchins BBQ, home of The Ultimate BBQ Experience, giving guests a taste of real Texas BBQ as they explored and learned about the McKinney factory.

“We look forward to building strong relationships within the McKinney community and the city has welcomed us with open arms,” says Torsten Schultz, President of NORD USA, “This milestone will help us maintain our customer promise and continue to offer very short lead times on our standard configured products, as well as exceptional customer service.”

With the latest manufacturing technology incorporated into every aspect of the McKinney facility, Nord plans to capitalize on the added capacity and deliver their reliable, highly efficient products, and continue to provide the highest levels of service to their customers.