DOVER, Ohio — Dover Hydraulics has broken ground on expansion of its southeastern hydraulic service location in St. George, SC, adding space, increasing capacity and installing new equipment to serve its growing customer base.
While the facility will double in square footage under roof, it also will be outfitted with an additional crane to facilitate material handling, a new hydraulic test bench and enhancements to machining, milling and honing operations. In addition, the expansion includes upgrades in heating, ventilation and air conditioning for employee comfort and to enable better climate control important for certain hydraulic cylinder and equipment service procedures.
“Recent indicators point to continued growth throughout the southeastern states in the manufacturing industries served by Dover Hydraulics,” said Gretchen Boring, vice president of sales. “Expanding our Dover South operations is a direct response to the new opportunities in the tire, auto, steel, aluminum, offshore oil and gas, and other industries reliant on stationary and mobile hydraulic machinery.”
Rich Engstrom, general manager of Dover South, expects the expansion of his facility will serve existing customers well and provide opportunities to perform comprehensive hydraulic service work to many more customer companies. The facility’s service area includes all of the southeast and reaches as far west as Chicago.
“The expanded facility will provide much-needed room for our hydraulic service work to grow along with our customer base and to make the work environment for our talented and close-knit workforce more comfortable,” Engstrom said.
He said he is planning to have the facility fully operational in April. Mike O’Cain Construction in Orangeburg, S.C., is general contractor for the expansion.
“With decades of work experience in hydraulic service work with a variety of manufacturers, Dover Hydraulics is constantly alert for opportunities to improve,” Boring said. “When this expansion project is completed, we look forward to dedicating our newly expanded Dover South operations to our customers, our employees and the community of St. George.”