The first compact track loaders have rolled off the assembly line at Takeuchi's new manufacturing facility in Moore, S.C.
This facility, Takeuchi's first production facility in North America, will eventually produce nearly all the company's compact track loaders, allowing Takeuchi to reduce compact track loader production lead time for its North American customers and better meet market needs worldwide.
"The North American market has demonstrated the greatest demand for Takeuchi compact track loaders over time, and that demand continues to grow," said Jeff Stewart, president of Takeuchi-US.
"Manufacturing these popular machines here is a sound business decision because it eliminates the need to ship them from an overseas facility to supply our North American dealers and customers. However, Takeuchi's global markets are also expanding, and we expect to export more compact track loaders from our new facility as production levels increase."
Takeuchi has historically produced compact track loaders at one of its factories in the Nagano province of Japan. After most compact track loader production has moved from Japan to the South Carolina facility, Takeuchi will retool that facility to produce compact excavators.
"All in all, our new production facility will help us continue growing our compact track loader business by reducing lead times and helping us get the right units to market faster," Stewart said.
"It will also allow us to increase our compact excavator business by allowing our facility in Japan to focus on producing these very popular machines."
Forty people currently work at the new 156,000-sq.-ft. production facility and standalone office building, with plans for additional staff to come on board as Takeuchi ramps up track loader production over the next few months. Ultimately, the facility will employ approximately 150 people, generating even more job opportunities and infusing money into the local economy.
"Opening this new manufacturing facility required great teamwork and cooperation between Takeuchi's employees in the U.S. and Japan," said Toshiya Takeuchi, president of Takeuchi.
"It is truly an investment in our future. We're very proud and excited to see the first compact track loaders come off the assembly line in South Carolina, and we look forward to the benefits this new venture will bring to our stakeholders worldwide."
For more information, visit www.takeuchiglobal.com.
