General Kinematics celebrates 60th anniversary

General Kinematics (GK) celebrates its 60th anniversary this September by thanking its employees for their talent and support and by acknowledging the support of its customers and community.

Albert Musschoot founded General Kinematics in a small storefront in Barrington, Illinois, in 1960 with a box of letterhead, an electric typewriter and a grapefruit crate to use as a desk. As demand for GK vibratory equipment grew, by 1975 GK built a fabrication facility in Crystal Lake, Illinois, which is the company’s headquarters today.

In 1998, Albert Musschoot’s son Paul Musschoot took over leadership of the company after his father’s death, leading GK’s growth across multiple new markets and establishing manufacturing facilities and offices worldwide. Albert’s grandson, Tom Musschoot, leads the business today.

The company says its in-house manufacturing takes place in a 220,000-square-foot fabrication facility and uses the latest material cutting, forming and welding technology. GK also has expanded its global manufacturing footprint to include outsourced fabrication partners in Canada, China, England, Germany, Italy, Japan and Thailand. 

According to the company’s website, “Collaborating with our customers, GK continually innovates with the express purpose of achieving our customer’s goals.”

General Kinematics says its technology is designed to solve a variety of processing challenges. “Your process can rely on our equipment, from heating and cooling your material to moving it across a network of feeders and conveyors.”

Dick Reeves, GK director of resource recovery who has been with the company for more than 35 years, says in a post on the company’s website, “There have been a few instances while visiting some foreign country, either at a trade show or visiting a customer, I catch myself in disbelief of how far GK has come in 60 years. We are now a third-generation privately held company, with a fab shop located in the suburbs of Chicago along with five offices around the world. Much has changed over the years, but GK’s dedication to its employees, the equipment and their customers remains the reason for our success.”