Major Facility Expansion

While many U.S. manufacturers are shedding jobs, outsourcing to foreign countries or investing offshore, American born and bred Bal Seal Engineering Inc. is doing just the opposite – it is growing and adding jobs right here at home. 

Bucking current trends, Bal Seal Engineering announced plans to build a new $45 million, 137,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Colorado Springs, its largest facility to date. With the expansion, the privately held U.S.-based provider of custom-engineered, high-performance electrical contacts and seals will add 210-plus jobs to the local economy, doubling its global workforce as well as its manufacturing capabilities. Annual sales are also projected to double to $150 million by 2016.

With the U.S. manufacturing workforce down 39 percent since it peaked in June 1979 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Fall 2011), job growth among American manufacturers has continued to be in decline. Combined with the current nine percent national unemployment rate and an unsettled economy, the need for U.S. manufacturing growth is as strong as ever. 

Representing the quintessential story of American initiative and perseverance 50-plus years in the making, Bal Seal Engineering is doing its part to jump-start the sector by expanding its “Made in the USA” commitment.

“Bal Seal Engineering is an excellent example of American ingenuity and we are pleased with today’s announcement,” says Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.  “Bal Seal Engineering’s expansion in Colorado Springs will create jobs and continue the momentum our state has as an innovative place where businesses can thrive. We look forward to supporting Bal Seal Engineering as it continues to produce key engineering solutions for Fortune 500 companies with proprietary solutions made only in the U.S.”

With more than 120 active U.S. and foreign patents, the company applies its proprietary Beal Seal Canted-coil™ spring technology and material science expertise to design, engineer and manufacture customized sealing, connecting, conducting and shielding solutions. The result is the production of critical components that go into products from pacemakers, defibrillators and other implantable medical devices to planetary rovers that perform in the most demanding environments, from deep sea to deep space. 

“Our Colorado Springs expansion is a major milestone in our transition into a global technology and manufacturing powerhouse,” says Rick Dawson, Bal Seal Engineering president and CEO. “This growth enables us to better serve our rapidly expanding markets while staying true to the engineering and entrepreneurial spirit that Peter has imbued into the organization for more than a half century.”

Since its founding, Bal Seal Engineering has quietly produced more than 250 million units for Fortune 500-level customers operating within industries such as medical, aerospace/defense, energy, automotive and more. Well-known in the U.S. and global engineering realms, the company operates discreetly since designs and final components are often exclusively developed for highly-classified or patented products.

"Bal Seal Engineering's expansion in Colorado Springs is a win-win situation for us all," said Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach. "Not only will it produce hundreds of stable, good paying jobs, but it will also bring hundreds of millions of dollars to our local economy."

“Bal Seal Engineering is a tremendous company, and we are very glad to have them in Colorado Springs,” says Doug Quimby, chairman and acting CEO of the Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corporation (CSREDC). “Its expansion proves that manufacturing is alive and well here.  The company fits perfectly within our medical device cluster, and the jobs that Bal Seal Engineering is creating are the best kind of jobs to improve our local economy.”

The CSREDC, who provides primary employers with complementary, comprehensive relocation and expansion services, played a key part in assisting Bal Seal Engineering’s decision to expand in Colorado Springs.  

With the new facility, Bal Seal Engineering is continuing its growth from a start-up founded in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. in 1958 by Pete Balsells, a young inventor and immigrant from Catalonia, Spain and his American born-wife, Joan. Now an octogenarian, Pete remains actively involved as chairman of what is today a 460-plus employee entity with a 125,000-square-foot headquarters facility in Foothill Ranch, CA, and offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Prague.

Hiring for the new facility is expected to begin after its completion in early 2013.