Michigan Auto Parts Supplier Closure Leads to Furnace Auction

In 2025 Japanese auto parts supplier “Nippon Piston Ring Company Ltd.”, announced that they would be closing their Grand Haven, MI, USA facility “NPR of America Inc.” The closure is proceeding and the company announced that they would start auctioning the equipment off early February, 2026. Included in the auction are several sintering furnaces, (4) Gasbarre Pre-Sintering Furnaces and (2) Sun Furnace Sintering Furnaces (it would appear that “Sun Furnace” is a Japanese furnace builder-first time we have ever run across the name).

Based upon the lethargic pace of used furnace sales these days we would be surprised if the furnaces go for any more than scrap value but you never know.

“NPR of America Incorporated, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Piston Ring Company Limited, is closing its Grand Haven Township plant, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification posted to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity website. The plant will officially close in 2027, but most of the layoffs will happen by the end of 2025. NPR manufactures internal combustion engine parts. The company’s Grand Haven facility is one of two manufacturing plants in the U.S., the other located in Kentucky.”