Horton has started work on the second phase of the expansion of its viscous manufacturing facility in Britton, S.D., where the company will produce and test the VMaster Viscous Directly Controlled Fan Drive product line

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The Roseville, Minn.-based company expects the expansion to finish up by next month, with production to begin in the first quarter of 2010. The addition will include a 7,500 square-foot expansion to the main plant and the tripling of the original viscous manufacturing area.

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," said Jeff Lindgren, senior vice president of sales and marketing and general manager of Britton/fan drives at Horton. "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. 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."