City receives $2,820 check from GKN

The City of Salem recently received a $2,820 check from GKN to help with landscaping costs on the city square. On Monday, July 26, Mayor David Bower, Pat Persinger, Nancy Fultz and Wally Terkhorn were invited to visit GKN’s employee appreciation luncheon where they received the check from plant manager Paul Cook and controller Rob Clarke. All 235 GKN employees donated $12 each toward the project.

“The city greatly appreciated the generosity of GKN Sinter Metals and its employees,” said Bower.

Cook said the employee appreciation luncheon was made possible because the plant is on the right track.

“The Salem plant is starting to be seen as a viable asset to the overall company and the future looks bright for this plant,” he said.

Cook added that if things continue as they have in the recent past, the plant may soon reach capacity and require expansion. GKN is currently the largest employer in the county with 235 employees and expects to hire 20-plus employees in the coming months.

“It’s possible that GKN may need as many as 300 employees by this time next year,” said Cook, adding that current employees can expect their profit sharing program to pay out for the first time in years.

Their success is due to their products being used in very popular sells models of vehicles. Their most significant success comes from parts being made to go in the fuel efficient six-speed front wheel drive transmissions installed in Ford’s and GM’s small to midsized cars and crossovers. GKN has also developed a new powder metal one-way clutch that is being installed in Ford’s F250 models and Ford’s larger industrial trucks.

GKN earned grand prize in the Automotive-Transmission category of the 2010 Powder Metallurgy Design Excellence Awards Competition for their cutting edge products.  

-M. Spaulding