Oerlikon Fairfield
Oerlikon Fairfield – Lafayette, IN
More than 95 years after its founding, Oerlikon Fairfield now employs 1,100 workers in its manufacturing facility in Lafayette, Indiana. With sales of more than $320 million, it is the largest North American independent gear and drives producer.
Most of the company’s products are utilized in the off-highway markets, such as energy, transportation, mining, construction, and agriculture – and many of those products are exported to customers around the world. Oerlikon Fairfield’s customers, like GE, rely on the Import-Export (Ex-Im) Bank to help secure international contracts and stay competitive against foreign corporations.
“Our strategy is a global one, and relies on policies which create opportunities for our business to export to the global market,” says Clem Strimel, Vice President of Global Business Development. Mr. Strimel will be traveling to Washington, D.C. later in February to educate policymakers on the benefits of the Ex-Im Bank to local employers like Oerlikon Fairfield. “Our policies need to take into account the simple fact that there are so many people and businesses outside our borders, and U.S. manufacturing cannot rely on our economy alone to survive and grow.”