{"id":10843,"date":"2025-08-13T14:51:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T14:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/?p=10843"},"modified":"2025-08-13T14:52:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T14:52:01","slug":"vdg-celebrates-40th-anniversary-at-state-of-the-art-michigan-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/13\/vdg-celebrates-40th-anniversary-at-state-of-the-art-michigan-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"VDG celebrates 40th anniversary at state-of-the-art Michigan facility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Mark S. Kuhar<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Van der Graaf (VDG), the world\u2019s leading manufacturer of drum motors for all types of belt conveyor applications, including aggregate, mining, food processing and material handling, celebrated 40 years of innovation and growth with an Open House at its state-of-the-art facility in Shelby Township, Mich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event \u2013 which took place July 11 \u2013 was attended by Rock Products\u2019<\/em> Editor Mark Kuhar and National Sales Manager Kyle Nichol, as well as SEMCO President Peter Johnson and North American Mining<\/em> National Sales manager Vic Matteucci.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event offered media and guests an exclusive opportunity to go behind the scenes at VDG\u2019s Shelby Township facility \u2013 a key hub in the company\u2019s fully integrated and automated production process, where every component of the VDG Drum Motor is manufactured in-house.<\/p>\n\n\n

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VDG President Alex Kanaris<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

VDG President Alex Kanaris<\/strong>
VDG President Alex Kanaris thanks family, employees and the media for their role in the company\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis company was started on a dream and a prayer,\u201d said Alex Kanaris, president of VDG. \u201cVDG has spent the last four decades pushing the boundaries of reliability and performance in motorized pulley systems and we\u2019re proud to be manufacturing the VDG Drum Motor here in North America and especially in the great state of Michigan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kanaris thanked his family, employees and the media for their critical role in making VDG a world-class operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With deep roots in Macomb County, VDG\u2019s Shelby Township facility is an example of American manufacturing excellence. The company\u2019s more than $50 million investment in advanced production technology and local talent continues to fuel job growth, innovation and pride across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having started manufacturing in 1985 in Canada, VDG established U.S. operations in 2003 to better serve its growing American customer base with after-sales service. This eventually grew into the first service and assembly plant in Shelby Township in 2010, a full-scale manufacturing facility by 2018, and the opening of a second facility in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, VDG is continuing its commitment to U.S. manufacturing with plans to move more manufacturing capabilities from Canada to the United States to support increased demand and reinforce its commitment to American industry. \u201cAnd we have plans to open an additional facility in Michigan,\u201d Kanaris stated.<\/p>\n\n\n

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by Mark S. Kuhar Van der Graaf (VDG), the world\u2019s leading manufacturer of drum motors for all types of belt conveyor applications, including aggregate, mining, food processing and material handling, celebrated 40 years of innovation and growth with an Open House at its state-of-the-art facility in Shelby Township, Mich. The event \u2013 which took place July 11 \u2013 was attended…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[2963,2961,3940,3900],"coauthors":[1640],"class_list":["post-10843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-drum-motors","tag-van-der-graaf","tag-vdg","tag-vdg-drum-motor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t