Bobcat completes $70 million Statesville, North Carolina, manufacturing facility expansion
Bobcat Company has celebrated the completion of its Statesville manufacturing facility expansion with a ceremonial ribbon cutting attended by company leaders, employees, and community members. The $70 million investment makes the location the company's largest manufacturing facility in North America and will add hundreds more jobs in Iredell County over the next five years.
The 600,000-square-foot expansion increased the footprint to more than one million square feet on a more than 150-acre campus, located at 1293 Glenway Drive, Statesville, north of Charlotte, North Carolina. This investment enables the Statesville operation to also serve as a key manufacturing hub to help meet the growing demand for Bobcat products by increasing production capabilities and efficiency.
"This is a significant day for Bobcat, the Statesville community and our customers as we grow our presence in North Carolina and expand our manufacturing capabilities in the U.S.," says Mike Ballweber, president of Doosan Bobcat North America. "This investment will not only position us to meet growing customer demand, but it also adds significant job opportunities to benefit the community."
Construction on the project began in July 2021 and took roughly fourteen months to complete.
Thanks to this expansion, up to 250 jobs will be added in the next five years. Since the start of this year, more than one-third of these new positions have already been filled, increasing Statesville's current team to nearly 600.
The expansion adds space for manufacturing and warehousing; research and development; an automated paint line; parts control and storage; shipping and receiving docks; open-air space for product testing and quality control; additional parking; shipping and delivery entrance; and finished goods inventory storage.
The manufacturing space includes new technology to improve production efficiencies and streamline operations across Bobcat's North American locations.
New factory technology and systems are consistent across the company's North American facilities improving process and design collaboration, as well as simplifying the transfer of information.
"It has been exciting to see these additions and enhancements to our facility take shape, and we greatly appreciate the support of our employees, partners, officials and the community during this process," says Doosan Bobcat Portable Power Global Vice President Lance Mathern. "We are ready for the future and look forward to the benefits this expansion brings."
Production of the Bobcat mini track loader (MTL) will shift from the Bismarck, N.D., facility to Statesville by late 2022. The new MTL production lines are designed to produce 35 units per shift, which will mean a new Bobcat MT100 will finish production every 10.8 minutes.
Additionally, the Bobcat compact tractor line has been assembled in Statesville since its launch in 2019 and will continue to be assembled in this facility, thus growing the company's grounds maintenance equipment production at this site. The Statesville location also produces generators, light towers, and air compressors.
