Horton Inc. announces the second-phase expansion of its viscous manufacturing facility in Britton, S.D. The plant will produce and test the company's VMaster Viscous Directly Controlled Fan Drive product line for medium-duty truck and off-highway market segments. Completion of the addition is scheduled for December 2009, with production to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

The 7,500-square-foot expansion is being added to the main plant and will more than triple the original viscous manufacturing area that was added on in 2007. The Britton plant manufactures the Stratis Viscous Fan Drives for heavy-duty trucks, several lines of fan drives, remanufactured fan drives and repair kits including the DM Advantage On/Off and Two-Speed Fan Drives.

"This expansion is in response to increased demand for our viscous products from large agricultural and medium-duty truck and bus OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Britton was a logical location for our plant expansion because staff and management from the existing plant will be able to get production of our additional viscous products up and running more quickly," says Jeff Lindgren, senior vice president sales and marketing, general manager Britton/fan drives, Horton, Inc. "Horton has had a presence in Britton for 37 years, and we've found it to be a very hospitable environment with a strong, skilled workforce."