Yanmar CE North America recently broke ground on a 32,000-square-foot expansion to its Grand Rapids, Minnesota facility, an addition it says will increase production capacity for its new Yanmar compact track loaders, which will be manufactured alongside its ASV compact track loaders.
[Watch: Yanmar vs. ASV CTLs – What’s the Difference?]
Construction is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2024. The company says the expansion will also allow it to add hundreds of new jobs over the next five years.
The expansion will include a more efficient and environmentally friendly powder paint system that will increase paint capacity by up to three times. Parts manufacturing capacity will also increase up to two times in the previously occupied space.
More than 500 people, including Yanmar CE North America President Tate Johnson, Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority President Sholom Blake, Itasca County Commissioner John Johnson, Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Deputy Commissioner Al Becicka, and Honorary Consul of Japan — Ron Leonhardt, attended the groundbreaking ceremony on June 2.
“We’ve talked a lot about expansion plans over the past year to our customers, dealers and those we visited with at ConExpo, so it is thrilling to break ground and see those plans come to fruition,” said Tate Johnson, president of Yanmar CE North America. “This project is ultimately about better serving our customers, both through expanded manufacturing capabilities and increased staffing to make sure their needs are met.”
Yanmar CE North America received the 2022 Governor’s International Trade Award in the Large Company category due to the expansion project.
