RENK America, Muskegon Community Proudly Support U.S. Military
Company has a long, proud history of military engine manufacturing.
Sponsored by: RENK America
RENK America makes its presence felt in Muskegon, MI. Especially when the tanks are rumbling alongside the Moses J. Jones Parkway in the northern part of town.
RENK America manufactures engines and transmissions for vehicles that are used by the United States military; heavy armor, such as the 38-ton Bradley Fighting Vehicle; and the 55-ton Hercules recovery unit.
To ensure that the motors and supporting parts are providing peak performance, RENK America occasionally puts this military might through test runs on its wooded track located adjacent to the highway.
“The local community gets excited when we’re testing the tanks,” RENK America Program Director Joe Sherman says. “People will be driving down the road, and they’ll see the Bradley go zipping by off to the side. It gets the town buzzing.”
Such is the close connection between RENK America and Muskegon. The company has operated in the city under various names for more than 100 years, forging a bond through a mutual sense of pride and purpose when it comes to community and country.
“We have more than 60 veterans who work here,” says Sherman, who is retired from the U.S. Navy. “So, when we’re building and delivering these engines and transmissions, we know exactly who they’re going to. The soldiers and sailors and airmen out in the fields. Our brothers and sisters who we served with.
“We want to make sure that they’re getting the best product we can give them. It’s a big deal that the soldiers out there can trust their equipment, because they are put in situations where their equipment needs to perform.”
Sherman says RENK America takes that commitment even further by visiting U.S. military bases and interacting with the soldiers who are actually operating the vehicles.
“People in our development team will ride with soldiers in the tanks and ask them what they like and what can be improved,” Sherman says. “Then they talk with our design engineering team and give them this information from the soldiers on the ground.”
That is one of the numerous ways that RENK America lives up to its slogan of, “We Take Care of Our Own,” whether it’s the customers, the employees or the community.
RENK America takes care of its employees by creating a culture that encourages employee engagement, along with an enjoyable work-life balance. The company takes care of its customers by continuing to make technological advancements, with a focus on green initiatives and hybrid solutions.
And RENK America always makes sure to take care of the overall Muskegon community by supporting local veteran organizations, the local United Way, area S.T.E.M. programs and other events throughout Western Michigan.
The community returns that support, as shown by Muskegon’s Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. recently introducing a 12 Cylinder lager named after the engines that RENK America produces.
“We are a company and a city that contribute significantly to the defense effort,” Sherman says. “We’re proud and excited to be part of that.”
