REP Corporation Relocating Headquarters

Company moving HQ to Kodak, Tennessee, near Knoxville; plans to retain Chicago area facility for sales and service of its molding machinery

REP Corporation (Bartlett, Illinois), the market leader in rubber molding machinery, today announces plans to relocate their corporate headquarters to Kodak, Tennessee, near Knoxville. The new facility is currently under construction and will be open in early 2019, according to company President Tim Graham. From the new location, REP Corporation will conduct sales, service, engineering and machine demonstrations, plus parts warehousing, for customers in North America. REP Corporation is a subsidiary of the REP International, based in Lyon, France. 

Plans include the employment of approximately 20 people for administration, engineering, sales and field service. REP Corporation currently maintains an install base of more than 3000 machines and has been selling in the North American market since 1970. 

The current facility in Bartlett, Illinois near Chicago, will be maintained as a sales and service office for the company. 

 Aftersales Director Jim Wirtz explains, “We began our search about two years ago, recognizing the migration of the rubber industry to the South, as it follows the primary automotive OEM. We were impressed by the efforts of Sevier County in Tennessee, especially Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters plus Allen Newton and his team at the Economic Development Council. This is a major step for REP, as we’ve occupied essentially the same location in Chicagoland since we began here in 1970. We look forward to broadening our presence in the country and becoming part of this vibrant new industrial community in Kodak.” 

Technical Director at REP, Josh Beachum, adds, “One of the strong factors in our decision was the talent pool of young engineers in this area, combined with the technical training options available to us. The rubber molding business has a very unique set of chemistries and manufacturing technologies that require ongoing training and mastery.” 

Anna Seel, the Accounting Director at REP Corporation, notes, “We will provide very competitive wages and benefit package to our new employees, most of whom will come from the local community. This second location will help us provide support to our customers more effectively.” 

National Sales Director Derek Williams further states, “This move represents an opportunity to support our transplanted existing customers who have followed the auto industry to the South, plus the newly emerging markets here.” 

 Tim Graham, concludes, “We’ve received a very enthusiastic welcome from the local business community here, making this decision to relocate from our longtime Chicago headquarters an easier move.” He added the company plans to relocate immediately upon completion of the new facility, located in the Smith-Thomas Technology Park in Kodak. 

REP provides the North America rubber industry with a full range of injection and compression presses, plus laser mold cleaning and other ancillary equipment, as well as REP Pack 4.0, its proprietary software suite for the management of all press parameters and machine kinematics, providing manageable data for the digital factory and Industry 4.0, the rapidly advancing standard for rubber factory operations. 

For further details, please contact: 

REP CORPORATION

8N470 Tameling Court

Bartlett, IL 60103

Phone: 847-697-7210

www.repinjection.com

Attention: Tim Graham or Jim Wirtz

Ad/PR agency:

Tim Daro

Bernard & Company

847-934-4500

tdaro@bernardandcompany.com

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