Wacker Neuson to start skid-steer production in US
New production facility in Wisconsin to go on stream in first quarter of 2015, initially manufacturing four models
WACKER Neuson Group are building a production line for skid-steer and compact tracked loaders at their US facility in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The facility will go on stream in the first quarter of 2015, initially manufacturing four models.
‘The US is the largest market for skid-steer loaders, so it makes sense for us to build skid-steers in the region where demand is strongest,’ explained Cem Peksaglam, chief executive officer of Wacker Neuson SE.
He added: ‘We unveiled four loader models tailored to the needs of the North American market at the start of the year and received positive feedback from dealers and customers alike. Producing these products in North America will speed up time to market and allow us to adapt these high-quality, powerful machines more rapidly to the specific customer requirements of this core market.’
Christopher Barnard, regional president of Wacker Neuson in North America, said: ‘We took feedback from contractors and users in the region who regularly work with these machines, and channeled these insights into the development of our new skid-steer loaders. The four models will initially only be distributed via the US and Canadian dealer network.’
Wacker Neuson’s facility in Menomonee Falls, near Milwaukee, covers an area of 260,000 square meters and is home to Wacker Neuson Corp. and its research and development departments. In addition to the facility’s existing production lines, from next year it will produce the SW24 and SW28 skid-steer loaders with payloads of 2,400 and 2,800 pounds (1,088 and 1,270kg), respectively, and the ST35 and ST45 compact tracked loaders with payloads of 3,500 and 4,500 pounds (1,587 and 2,041kg).
Until now, all Wacker Neuson skid-steer loaders have been produced at the company’s Hörsching site, in Austria, and the company plans to use the free capacity at this facility from 2015 to expand its dumper and excavator production capabilities, to meet growing demand for these machines worldwide.
