Acument acquires, reopens Camcar

In a move that will create jobs and open a new chapter in the city’s long history of supplying assembly systems and technology to global producers of commercial and military aircraft, Acument Global Technologies Inc. announced it will re-enter the high-performance aerospace threaded fastener market with the opening of a production complex in Rockford, IL.

Acument’s new Camcar Aerospace production center will be housed in two renovated facilities that will include a materials research and development operation, along with heading and secondary machines organized in work cells to produce specialty screws, bolts and other threaded fasteners made from sophisticated aerospace-grade materials. Acument is a high-tech threaded fastener manufacturer with headquarters in Troy, MI.

“Our new manufacturing capabilities in Rockford will help address capacity shortages for specialty threaded fasteners generated by the boom in global aircraft production,” said Martin Schnurr, vice president and general manager of Acument North America. “As worldwide manufacturing of new aircraft grows to almost $140 billion by 2015, there will be strong demand for the high-performance fasteners we will be producing over the next 10 years.”

Camcar’s heritage began in 1943 in the midst of World War II when the Camcar Products Co. was founded to develop fasteners for the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. Later, the company’s focus on design and manufacturing engineering extended into specialty fastening systems for NASA’s Lunar Rover Vehicles. Acument expects Camcar to lead the way in threaded fastener and metal forming materials technology as aerospace manufacturing expands in the coming decade.

Schnurr said that low-volume production is already underway at Camcar Aerospace, and total outfitting of the two buildings will be completed over the next two years. It will reach peak production in 2010. “A wide range of different types of fastening systems will be added during that time to meet customer needs, and will feature Acument’s patented TORX PLUS Drive System,” he said. “We will begin with approximately 50 salaried and hourly employees, and will hire machine operators and other personnel as production ramps up.”

Schnurr made his remarks during a March 25 tour of the Camcar Aerospace facilities. Congressman Don Manzullo, of the 16th Congressional District of Illinois, and other local, state and federal officials attended the tour.

“Acument’s new Camcar Aerospace operation establishes a benchmark for resurgence of Rockford and Illinois as world capitals for research, development, design and production of systems and components for the aerospace industry,” Manzullo said. “As part of this commitment, we are directing $750,000 in federal funds to enable Camcar Aerospace and Northern Illinois University to conduct joint research and development programs to foster development of titanium components that are vital to America’s future aerospace and defense leadership. Our long-range goal is to establish Rockford as the world capital for titanium manufacturing processes and technology.”