Takeuchi’s 10,000th American compact track loader rolls off assembly line in South Carolina
The company’s first facility outside the U.S opened two years ago and has been growing ever since
The 10,000th compact track loader has rolled off the assembly line at Takeuchi's Moore, South Carolina, production facility, just two years after the plant opened. It was Takeuchi's first production facility outside Asia and represented a whole new venture for Takeuchi, which required a great deal of planning, expertise, and enthusiasm, according to the company.
Takeuchi's Moore employees signed the interior engine cover of the 10,000 CTL, and the milestone machine, a TL12R2 model, was shipped to Takeuchi dealer, Bennet Equipment & Supply. It was bought by Scott Childress of SEC Construction in Greenville, South Carolina.
"Our employees are very proud to have produced so many machines in a relatively short period of time," says Ralph Wabnitz, director of factory operations for Takeuchi-US. "Takeuchi has become a major employer in Spartanburg County, and we're intent on being good corporate citizens who give back to the community as much as we can. It seems appropriate that this 10,000th machine will stay in this area where it was built with so much pride."
A milestone achievement in only two years of operation
Producing 10,000 machines in two years is an accomplishment, and getting there required many on-site pep talks and encouragement from Takeuchi's headquarters in Nagano, Japan, according to Wabnitz.
"We constantly pushed forward, trying to get better and more efficient each month," Wabnitz said. "I give a lot of credit to our employees. Every month, we asked them to do better, to do more. And we've achieved every goal management presented us with, from manpower to production quality, to safety."
"We started out with just 11 employees," Wabnitz says. "Now, we're up to 146. We kept ramping up every month. The labour market in South Carolina is extremely challenging, with an unemployment rate of just three percent, making it difficult to find the right employees with the ideal skill sets and attitudes. But we've assembled a great team, and they've made incredible strides over the past two years."
Output from the plant will keep growing
Now that the Moore facility is almost fully staffed, the team there is manufacturing all five of Takeuchi's current track loader models. Since production started in September 2022, the team has increased the number of units produced each month.
"In the near future, we plan to start manufacturing a brand-new CTL model," Wabnitz said. "We're excited to start building this new machine, and we think it will generate great demand here in the U.S."
