The CeramTec North America plant will add at least 25 people to its existing workforce of about 210 by the middle of next year as part of the launch of a new product, said Patrick McPoland, the plant's executive vice president of finance and administration.

The new product was invented by CeramTec AG, CeramTec North America's German parent company, and is already being sold overseas, McPoland said.

If the U.S. launch of the product goes well, the plant in Laurens County could add as many as 50 jobs over time, he said Tuesday. McPoland said the new line of business also has the potential to double or triple the plant's revenues, which were $40 million in 2007, according to the Hoover's Inc. business research service.

CeramTec North America supplies ceramic products to customers in various industries, including automotive, semiconductor, electronics, textiles and defense. Presently, the 256,000-square-foot plant off of State 14 near Laurens has 180 on its payroll and another 30 contract workers, McPoland said.

McPoland said the expansion is related to a 10-year, multi-million dollar piece of business that CeramTec North America secured earlier this month. He declined, however, to identify the customer, saying only that it's a U.S.-based company that makes petrochemical derivatives.

McPoland also declined to say what the new jobs would pay.

Worldwide, CeramTec employs more than 3,000 people. The company is part of Rockwood Holdings Inc., an industrial conglomerate based in Princeton, N.J.