Norres growing with new Indiana plant

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Success usually breeds success. Certainly that's the case at Norres North America Inc.

It has grown rapidly and experienced steady, double-digit sales growth each year since 2017. That success has created a bigger customer base—and the need for greater capacity and much larger quarters.

Norres North America has expanded almost two-fold, moving to a production and warehouse facility in South Bend that spans more than 55,000 square feet. Its old 30,000-sq.-ft. factory, also located in the city, has been shut down.

A subsidiary of Gelsenkirchen, Germany-based Norres Schlauchtechnik, the firm also has added a separate, unconnected section in the complex that houses its administrative offices.

Norres North America—which was established in 2014 and primarily manufactures polyurethane hose, ducting and high-temperature exhaust hose (up to 2,000 degrees) at the South Bend factory—completed the move to the new building in May, according to Mark Bobonick, vice president of sales for the North American branch of the company.

New machinery was added at the complex, which was retrofitted to accommodate the firm's equipment needs. He said additional employees are being hired at the plant, which currently employs 18.

The cost of the expansion was not disclosed.

Bobonick noted that the company has worked hard to grow in the industrial hose marketplace, "especially the automation, food and pharmaceutical, plastics, fume and dust extraction, industrial vacuum, agricultural and vehicle exhaust hose segments, just to name a few." This was the prime reason for the expansion, he added.

Norres North America constantly strives to be a leader within the polyurethane hose and ducting market, he said, and will continue to do so by making investments in the retrofitted building complex, new production machines, along with increased production capacity and stock levels "to deliver both service and products promptly to our customers."

Bobonick said the company, which serves as Norres Schlauchtechnik's North American headquarters, has been on an extensive growth path since its inception, posting double digit growth for more than five years, and is currently on pace to continue growing at that rate in 2022.

"We attribute our success to our unparalleled customer service levels, being able to deliver product in a timely fashion to our customers and unmatched quality levels offering a more superior premium grade of polyurethane hose across all markets served," Bobonick said.

Lead times have become a major problem area within the industrial sector, he maintained, "but we have done our due diligence in planning ahead to foresee the obstacles facing our competition as it relates to current supply shortages within the markets we serve."

Because of that, he noted, the company has significantly reduced the lead times for its core product lines in North America.

Supply deficiencies that result in long lasting lead times "will hurt any business within our industry, and Norres is in a position to capitalize on those deficiencies and take care of our customers to keep them running efficiently," according to Bobonick.

At the expanded facility, the company has greatly enhanced its manufacturing capacities "through adequate supply of on-hand raw materials, having a bigger, fully stocked warehouse of our most popular hose products within our portfolio that can be shipped within 24 to 48 hours."

Norres North America's parent, Norres Schlauchtechnik, was founded in 1889 and is one of the market leaders in the global industrial flexible hose marketplace, Bobonick said.

The German parent primarily produces high-abrasion polyurethane hoses; suction and transport hoses made from polyvinyl chloride, thermoplastic elastomers, PE, EVA, silicone and other materials; high-temperature hoses; electrically conductive and antistatic hoses; connecting elements; and accessories and numerous customized products.

Its products are available as suction and transport hoses used for the transportation of bulk solids in the food and pharmaceutical industries, for municipal vehicles, and as membrane diffusers in sewage plants.

Norres Schlauchtechnik has a strong global manufacturing base in the U.S., Germany, China, Italy and Switzerland. In 2014, it set up the warehouse in South Bend, adding the polyurethane hose production plant at the site in mid-2015 to serve the U.S., Canadian and Mexican markets.

Since then, Norres North America has carved out a special niche for itself and rapidly expanded its manufacturing capacity to fuel stronger growth in the future, Bobonick said.