Ann Arbor's Kaydon expects big financial gains with wind energy

Concentrate, 8/28/2008

The wind is in Kaydon's favor as the Ann Arbor ball bearing manufacturing
catches great gusts of success from the wind turbine industry.

Excerpt:

For 20 plus years, Ann Arbor-based Kaydon has made its money manufacturing ball bearings for military vehicles, like tanks and Humvees. Today it is diversifying its business plan beyond military contracts to the burgeoning alternative energy sector.

Some of the firm's customers approached the company a few years ago about making ball bearings for wind turbines, specifically bearings that allow the turbines to rotate with the direction of the wind.

Sales of those ball bearings have gone from nothing two years ago to $90 million of the company's $590 million in revenues today. And Kaydon expects to hit $175 million in revenues in turbine ball bearings by the end of next year.

Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor