BUSCHE renovating old plant, preparing for future growth
BUSCHE purchased the facility in October 2012 and started operations with 26 employees. That number has grown to 48.
However, general manager David E. Jones said they are hoping to employ between 200 and 300 workers when they get to full capacity.
“We’re only about 20 percent of where we want to be,” Jones said. “We have plenty of room to grow and we’ll add more employees and equipment as our demand grows.”
BUSCHE is based out of Albion, Ind. Jones said that the 263,000-square-foot Hartselle plant is the company’s first outside of Indiana.
Jones said BUSCHE is a metal machining company that builds components for original equipment manufacturers in the automotive, heavy equipment and agricultural industries.
One of the reasons why BUSCHE decided to locate to Hartselle was its proximity to automotive manufacturers.
“Hartselle is centrally located between several southeastern automotive manufacturers,” Jones said. “It was the perfect location for us.”
The Hartselle plant is scheduled to have a ribbon cutting on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. with the Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce, to celebrate its move to the community.
In addition to that, Jones said they are planning to host an “open house” for customers and suppliers to showcase their facility.
“Our vision is to be the leading supplier of metal components in the southeastern part of the United States,” Jones said. “We plan to do that by providing better production, better quality and better service.”
One thing in particular that has been good for the community is that BUSCHE has been able to hire some former workers with Copeland and CR Compressors. Jones himself was hired back with BUSCHE after working at the plant.
“It’s been great that we’ve been able to hire some of the employees back here,” Jones said. “The county and the city have been great to work with through this process, especially through tax abatements, to help us grow.”
