Dallas Spring Corp. has chosen Durant, Okla., as the location for its new leaf spring manufacturing plant. The new company, which will be known as Eagle Suspensions Inc., will occupy the former Cornerstone Products manufacturing building on West Arkansas Street.
Durant was chosen over several other locations after an extensive search in the north Texas area. The Durant Industrial Authority worked very closely with the management of Eagle Suspensions in order to bring the plan together.
“Without the persistence and hard work of Team Durant [the local economic development organization], the new company would never have re-located to the area”, said Wayne Robinson, president of Eagle Suspensions. “We were extremely impressed with the support that we received from Team Durant and the entire community to make this project happen.”
Eagle Suspensions will be taking advantage of several incentive programs that make Durant a very attractive location to do business. Construction on the existing building, a longer rail spur and a new natural gas line will begin in July. When completed, these additions will allow for the most efficient handling of the steel bars that will be used to manufacture a complete range of leaf springs for all sizes of trucks. The leaf springs will be shipped to several original equipment track manufacturers and to Dallas Spring Corp., its North American aftermarket distributor.
Installation of equipment in the 200,000 square foot plant will begin in July, and production will start in September. Employment at the plant will be phased up to 70 people by January 2007, and projected growth over the next three years is expected to increase the work force to more than 150 employees. The total investment in the launch of the new plant will be $10 million.
“Eagle Suspensions is proud to be able to make a quality American product in Durant,” said Robinson. “The positive business environment in Durant and our modern production facility will combine to make our new company a competitive force in the industry.”
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