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Morse Rubber LLC (USA, privately held) has acquired Morse Marine Bearings and the Keokuk, Iowa manufacturing plant from Metso Minerals Industries (USA).
Morse Rubber is a new entity, created by Morse Marine management to buy the division from Metso. Owners are President Pat Boyd and Vice President John Rector.
The product lines acquired include Morse Marine bearings, marine bumpers, dry dock seals and Pushnee weld-on and bolt-on shipboard fender bumpers.
In addition to the land, building, and business assets, equipment acquired in the buyout includes 23 rubber-to-metal bonding and large-scale molding machines, equipment for extruding, rubber machining, composites machining, metal machining, as well as metal fab and welding.
Using water as the lubricant, Morse Marine bearings support, cushion, and seal the driveshafts of ships. They are primarily manufactured from marine-grade brass with rubber inserts, but the product line also includes nonmetallic bearing outers for use with metal hull ships. Competitors include Orkot and Vesconite. All are manufactured to standards set by the American Bureau of Shipping.
Morse covers a wide range of both metric and inch-dimension shaft applications, from approximately 3/4" to 6". The company also produces specials to customer specification.
Morse Marine Bearing is a mature, established name in the recreational marine, commercial marine, military and industrial markets.
Opened in 1972 and situated on 50 acres, the 12,000 square foot Keokuk plant has been through several owners, divisions and name changes through the years. It employed almost 100 people under Metso, but after product lines reduced or shifted from Keokuk to other Metso locations, Morse Rubber employs approximately 30 people.
The management buyout was precipitated by Metso's decision in early 2005 to sell or close the Morse Marine Bearing division. In a statement, Metso said the Morse bearing and Trellex fender business operations were determined to be non-core rubber products business having no synergies with Metso's other rubber-oriented businesses. Across its other businesses, Metso Corporation has been a key customer for ball and roller bearings from SKF Industrial Division.
A variety of assistance packages were put together to make the buyout possible, and keep the jobs in the community. Morse was granted a three year city tax abatement, revolving loan from the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, and help arranging financing from KSB Bank. Other institutions involved included the Keokuk Economic Development, Lee County Economic Development, and the chamber of commerce.
In a statement, Keokuk Mayor David Gudgel said: "Hopefully, we'll have more of these coming. Metso was a big presence in Keokuk. When the news of it closing hit, Pat came to me and asked if I thought he was crazy to keep part of it going. This is an investment in the community. I appreciate that as a mayor."
The company recently held a welcome reception and tour.
appreciation presentation by Keokuk Mayor David Gudgel
plant tour
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| 195X03 bearing | 495.3 | 584.2 | 57.15 |
| 195X02 bearing | 495.3 | 584.2 | 50.8 |