UniTek buys out portion of plant

By Stan Maddux Post-Tribune correspondent

LaPORTE — A year after American Rubber Products announced plans to expand its LaPorte facility, a portion of the company has been sold.

The company was acquired by UniTek, a LaPorte-based company formed prior to the purchase and headed up by Jeff Bernel, who once was the president and chief executive officer at the American Rubber Products plant in LaPorte.

Bernel sold the firm 10 years ago. A year later, he joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame teaching business and helped start the school’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, which opened this year.

No explanation was offered by American Rubber Products for the sale, but Bernel said he saw an opportunity.

“I thought it was a good business decision, so the last couple of months we’ve been negotiating to do that,” Bernel said.

Last June, American Rubber announced plans to move its Niles, Mich., operation that manufactured thermo-plastic seals to LaPorte.

That manufacturing line was to occupy 30,000 square feet of space to be vacated at the LaPorte facility by discontinuing the assembly of molded sponge rubber seals.

The plant shutdown, which cost Niles more than 100 jobs but retained 40 or so jobs in LaPorte, has been completed.

For now, Bernel said he anticipates no major changes at the plant that currently has a work force of about 40.

Among the focuses over the next six to nine months, though, will be evaluating the prospects of steady but slow growth and possible addition of more production equipment.

“It’s a little too soon to say. It’s my first day on the job after 10 years and it’s going to take awhile to sort out where we are and make sure we’re serving the correct markets with our products,” Bernel said Tuesday.

Recently, Bernel retired from the University of Notre Dame, but after a few months got the itch to go back to work.

“I liked retirement, but not as much as I should,” Bernel said.

The plant will continue to manufacture lightweight, abrasion-resistant and durable sealing components for the automotive, light truck and RV markets throughout North America, Bernel said.

LaPorte manufacturing executives Mark Dilley, Glenn Oman, Roger Brown, and Roger Schuster have been retained as UniTek president, chief financial officer, sales manager, and production control and purchasing manager.

Only minimal job losses are expected from the change in ownership.

In balance, though, LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris said jobs were retained and there are prospects of future growth in the payroll.

“I think this is going to be good news for our community,” Morris said.

Story posted: 6/14/2006