STURGIS, Mich. — Officials and employees from a Sturgis business celebrated the inauguration of a new production line, incorporating a process that was previously outsourced.

In a report in the Sturgis Journal, a 110-foot assembly line was fired up, and met with applause and cheers from employees at the Rehau Americas plant in Sturgis, as well as officials from the company’s Virginia-based headquarters.

Damian Kirby, vice president of the interior solutions division for Rehau, said the occasion was a memorable moment in the company’s annals.

“This project was conceived before I actually arrived in the U.S. … but I’ve been really excited to be along for the journey the last nine months and honored to be here today to witness the start up,” Kelly said to the Journal.  “What a great moment for Sturgis … another level of production coming into Sturgis, coming into the company here.”

Rehau’s Sturgis plant is a manufacturing facility of finished cabinets and cabinetry components

Company officials said Rehau Americas used to outsource the laminate-pressing process to locations elsewhere in the U.S. and, in some cases, overseas. The new lamination line brings the pressing step in-house to Sturgis, streamlining the production process and investing in the Sturgis plant’s growth, company officials said.