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

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 rotate with the direction of the wind.

Sales of those ball bearings have gone from zerog 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.

“It’s a very steep growth rate that we have been preparing for,” says Jim O’Leary, chairman and CEO of Kaydon.

Growth that the O’Leary expects will help create some more jobs in Kaydon’s ranks. The firm employs about 2,000 people worldwide, including 30 in its Ann Arbor headquarters. O’Leary can see the company hiring a handful of people locally to help accommodate the growth.

Source: Jim O’Leary, chairman and CEO of Kaydon
Writer: Jon Zemke