Updated Nov. 20.
Manufacturing facilities represent major capital investment. Opening or closing factories indicate what the manufacturer sees in its future. Sometimes that is a short-term future; other times it’s a long-term view.
Cummins announced slowdowns in several of its factories. Last week, Deere-Hitachi announced it would invest $97 million on a factory expansion in Kernersville, N.C., to produce more excavators. In that same week, Navistar said it would be reviewing all 19 of its U.S. factories to determine if closures could help its balance sheet. Volvo Construction Equipment says it will stay the course on opening an excavator plant in Kaluga, Russia, next year.
Here’s what’s been happening on the factory front the last couple of months. Let me know if we missed any.
Opened:
- Doosan Portable Power, Bangladore, India, portable air compressors and light towers
- Wacker Neuson, Horsching, Austria, compact equipment
- JCB, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, backhoe loaders and excavators
- Caterpillar, Victoria, Texas, excavators
- Sany, Shanghai, China, excavators
Slowed:
- Volvo Construction Equipment, Sweden, corporate staff.
- Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wis., trucks
- Cummins, Seymour, Ind.; Columbus, Ind.; Jamestown, N.Y.; Brazil
- Hitachi, Hefei China, excavators
- Caterpillar, Decatur, Ill., off-road trucks
- Caterpillar, Peterlee, UK, off-road trucks
- Caterpillar, Xuzhou, China, excavators
- Komatsu, China, excavators
- CNH, San Mauro Torinese, Italy, mini excavators
