BREWER – A Kentucky-based company is setting up shop in Brewer, a move that will create up to 20 new jobs here.

MQR Inc., which stands for Manufacturers Quality Representatives Inc., is in the process of establishing a service center that will occupy more than 10,000 square feet of space at 48 Atlantic Ave., a building that also houses United Parcel Service, President Greg Burkot confirmed this week.

Workers at MQR’s Brewer site initially will inspect automotive parts manufactured at the Z.F. Lemforder Corp. plant in Brewer, Burkot said. If all goes to plan, the Brewer location should be up and running by early next month.

During a telephone interview this week, Burkot said that an interim manager from Michigan, Michael Hornig, has been selected for the Brewer site’s startup phase. Burkot’s initial plans call for hiring between 15 and 20 full-time employees, whose benefits will include health insurance coverage, during the Brewer service center’s first year of operation here. However, if MQR’s efforts to expand its client base in the area are successful, additional workers could be hired.

Because of the kind of work they’ll be doing, Burkot said he is seeking workers who are conscientious and able to pay close attention to detail. The company will provide the necessary training, he said.

Headquartered in Bardstown, Ky., MQR was founded in 1992, Burkot said. The company since has expanded to include regional offices and service centers in several U.S. cities, including Louisville, Kansas City, Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta, according to a company brochure. MQR also has sites in Toronto and Mexico City and has worked on behalf of companies in Germany, Australia, Spain, Austria and Brazil. MQR’s revenues for 2000 exceeded $2.3 million.

According to Burkot, MQR’s move to Brewer was prompted by his company’s business association with a Lemforder plant in his home state of Kentucky.

The inspection services his company will provide in Brewer are aimed at enabling manufacturing companies such as Lemforder to catch faults and defects early in the manufacturing process, thereby preventing costly recalls down the line.

Other services the company provides elsewhere include product certification, defect analysis and prevention, product launch support and product rework.

According to Brewer Economic Development Director Drew Sachs, the addition of MQR to the city’s commercial base will bolster Brewer’s efforts to develop an automotive cluster here that already includes Lemforder and its sister facility, Brewer Automotive Components. Sachs said that precision manufacturing is becoming a strength in the region.

Established in 1980, the Lemforder facility in Brewer produces low-friction ball and socket type suspension components, stabilizers, toe links, ball joints and cross axis joints for DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, to name a few. Brewer Automotive Components, established nine years later, manufactures tie rod ends, steering rack ends, ball joints and stabilizer links for a client list that includes Toyota and Subaru.