Lippert Components announced that it plans to add at least 100 additional robots to its factory floors over the next five years.
LCI President Scott Mereness said that, just like the rest of the Elkhart area, the company is having a difficult time finding more employees.
This story by Mark Peterson originally appeared on WNDU 16 News.
Earlier this year, Lippert added a fiber laser cutter on a factory floor in Goshen. It is now doing the work of eight human beings-quietly and mechanically.
On the factory floor, it’s now possible to see a high-tech, low-temp freezer press that cryogenically cools rubber parts to 125 degrees before they became axle inserts.
At plant 4-B Lippert has an automated brake press with a robotic arm that does all the heavy lifting.
While the RV industry has typically been stereotyped as “low tech,” Mereness is doing his best to change that. LCI rents a wing and often lends a hand at the ETHOS Science Center in Elkhart, a facility dedicated to teaching about science and technology to school age children.