Life Fitness Celebrates Expansion of Ramsey Factory
Posted: March 3, 2016 in Suppliers
Life Fitness: What We Live For
RAMSEY, MN – Life Fitness, a global leader in commercial fitness equipment, held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its Ramsey, MN, factory to celebrate the completion of a nearly 50,000-square-foot expansion, which will provide increased production capacity and efficiency. Life Fitness leadership, employees and members of the Ramsey community will participate in the ceremony.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the completed expansion of our factory in Ramsey,” said Chris Clawson, president of Life Fitness. “Ramsey is vital to our global production. It is where we produce more products than anywhere else in the world and we’re excited to continue our commitment to the growth of the community as we expand.”
Currently, the Life Fitness Ramsey factory employs 460 people and produces more than 140 different commercial strength products for Life Fitness as well as Hammer Strength products. Additionally, Ramsey produces welded components for Life Fitness cardiovascular fitness equipment that are shipped for full assembly at other company locations.
The expansion has increased the size of the factory to a total of more than 333,000 square feet, allowing for a reconfiguration of the floor layout. This will provide Life Fitness the efficiency and capacity to support anticipated international growth requirements, and further position the company to provide customers with greater levels of customization and enhanced customer service.
Life Fitness has been a staple of the Ramsey community for more than 15 years. Acquiring the current facility in 1998 at 60,000 square feet, the factory was more than quadrupled in 2000 with the addition of 225,000 square feet amid global company growth.
In a related development, Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Life Fitness’ parent company, recently acquired Cybex International Inc., a prominent maker of commercial fitness equipment. Cybex is now part of Life Fitness’ portfolio of leading brands.
As part of that acquisition, Life Fitness secured additional manufacturing capacity with Cybex facilities in Medway, Mass., and a 340,000-square-foot plant in Owatonna, Minn., roughly 100 miles south of Ramsey.
“This expanded Ramsey facility, and our newly acquired plant in Owatonna, give us a strong foundation from which to continue to compete and grow, as these are both great facilities with a smart, talented and experienced workforce,” Clawson said. “Life Fitness is well positioned to accommodate future market developments and global demand expectations. For example, with the Ramsey expansion, we responded after seeing the plant’s production double within the past six years. As we go forward, we stand ready to continue to meet market demand with further facility expansions as necessary. We will do so where such action is practical and offers the greatest impact and economies.”
In addition to Owatonna and Medway, Life Fitness also has factories in Franklin Park, IL; Falmouth, KY; Tulsa, OK; Bristol and Delavan, WS; and Kiskoros, Hungary. Life Fitness is headquartered in Rosemont, IL.
