(L-R) are Mike Ballweber, president Doosan Bobcat North America; Scott Park, CEO Doosan Bobcat; Mike Kiefer, site operations manager, Litchfield; and Jim Flynn, vice president of operations, Doosan Bobcat North America.
Doosan Bobcat, a manufacturer of compact equipment industry, announced plans for a $26 million expansion of its Litchfield, Minn., manufacturing facility. The investment will enable meeting an increased demand for Bobcat's growing and expanded line of compact equipment and attachments.
The Litchfield announcement coincides with the official opening of Doosan Bobcat's nearly $2 million investment in a new Global Collaboration Center in downtown Minneapolis at 150 South Fifth St. The center serves as an easily accessible, centralized location where some elements of the company's global functions work, host global meetings and accelerate innovation.
"These investments demonstrate our commitment to our presence in Minnesota, which is a major manufacturing hub and now a center for our global operations," said Scott Park, chief executive officer and president of Doosan Bobcat. "We are proud to continually expand our compact equipment line to help empower our customers to accomplish more."
Located approximately 65 miles west of Minneapolis, Doosan Bobcat's investment in Litchfield will modernize the existing production facility by adding new paint lines, a climate-controlled environment, assembly line upgrades and more. When completed, the project will more than triple the size of the current footprint and expand the facility to nearly 200,000-sq.-ft. Once fully operational, the expanded facility is also expected to triple its workforce, from the current 100 employees to an anticipated 300 full-time employees, which will significantly impact the area's local economy.
Construction is under way, with full completion expected by September 2020. The Litchfield facility has been a part of Doosan Bobcat since 2004, and today manufactures attachments for Doosan Bobcat loaders and excavators for the North American market.
"We have enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the Litchfield community and appreciate the continued support of the folks there," said Mike Ballweber, president of Doosan Bobcat North America. "Our company will continue to expand our facilities and manufacturing capabilities to allow us to meet the future needs of Bobcat dealers and customers, while continually enhancing excellence across our business."
Bobcat continues to increase its manufacturing footprint with investments in facilities across North America. Recently, the company announced a $17 million investment in Gwinner, N.D., and an $11 million investment in Statesville, N.C. These efforts are part of Doosan Bobcat's long-term strategic growth initiatives as a global leader in the compact equipment industry, in addition to demonstrating its long-term commitment to employees and communities.
Doosan Bobcat is a part of the Doosan Group, which employs 43,000 people in 38 countries worldwide and is based in Seoul, South Korea. The entity represents world-renowned brands including Bobcat compact equipment, Doosan Portable Power products and Geith attachments. These Doosan companies are in the engineering, manufacturing and marketing of compact construction equipment, generators, air compressors, lighting systems, light compaction equipment and attachments.
Doosan Bobcat North America, headquartered in West Fargo, N.D., is the U.S. and Canadian subsidiary of Doosan Bobcat Inc. For more information, visit doosanbobcat.com and bobcat.com.
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