Tulsa, Okla. – October 07, 2026 -- EMCO Industries has brought online a 30,000-square-foot automated manufacturing facility in Claremore, Oklahoma, dedicated exclusively to heavy-duty trailer leaf springs, more than doubling the company's production capacity. The multimillion-dollar plant pairs with the appointment of 35-year industry veteran Wayne Sornberger as director of business development, giving OEMs a domestic supply alternative with an eight-week lead time against 16 to 20 weeks for imported components.
Twelve robots automate the full production line from raw steel to finished spring
The Claremore facility runs 12 robots in sequence through shearing, tapering, forming, heat treating and quenching of American steel bars. Roughly a dozen heavy-duty spring configurations are now produced on the line, and the plant is expected to support approximately 20 new jobs in the region.
A 22,400-pound-rated mono-leaf spring cuts component weight by 25 percent
Among the products running through the new line is EMCO's High-Performance Mono-Leaf Spring, introduced in January, which carries a 22,400-pound gross-axle-weight rating. The spring dropped from 53 pounds to 40 pounds while exceeding Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association B-10 fatigue life requirements.
Sornberger joined July 13 to cover the North American heavy-duty market
Sornberger, who spent three decades serving major North American trailer manufacturers, joined EMCO on July 13 and works from Alberta, Canada, covering the heavy-duty trailer segment across the continent. "What EMCO gives me to sell is a spring built in Oklahoma from American steel, an eight-week lead time instead of 16 or 20, and a supply line that isn't exposed to import tariffs," Sornberger said.
Domestic steel sourcing shields customers from tariff exposure
Because EMCO manufactures in Oklahoma using domestic steel, customers avoid tariff costs and shipping variability tied to imported leaf springs. Marcus Hester, president of EMCO Industries, said the company built the new capacity specifically for the heavy-duty trailer segment following post-pandemic shifts toward dual sourcing among trailer OEMs that left mid-sized manufacturers waiting behind larger accounts.
EMCO is ISO 9001:2015 certified and has received multiple OEM Supplier of the Year awards, with an engineering team representing more than 120 years of combined leaf spring experience. The company is now accepting orders for its full heavy-duty trailer spring line.