Bobcat cuts ribbon on its largest North American factory

Bobcat more than doubled the footprint of its Statesville, N.C., plant with a $70 million expansion. Photo: Bobcat Company

Bobcat Company celebrated completion of a $70 million expansion of its Statesville, N.C., factory with a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The investment makes the location the company’s largest manufacturing facility in North America and will add hundreds more jobs in Iredell County over the next five years.

The 600,000-square-foot expansion increased the facility’s footprint to more than 1 million square feet on a 150-acre campus. The expansion is expected to add up to 250 jobs in the next five years, more than a third of which have already been filled. Bobcat’s Statesville team now numbers nearly 600.

Bobcat mini track loaders will join compact tractors, which have been assembled in Statesville since their 2019 launch, on the Statesville assembly lines. Photo: Bobcat Company

Production of the Bobcat mini track loader (MTL) will shift from the Bismarck, N.D., facility to Statesville by late 2022. The new MTL production lines are designed to produce 35 units per shift, rolling a new Bobcat MT100 off the line every 10.8 minutes.

The Bobcat compact tractor line that has been assembled in Statesville since its launch in 2019 will continue to be assembled in this facility. The Statesville location also produces generators, light towers and air compressors.

The expansion adds space for:

• manufacturing and warehousing
• research and development
• an automated paint line
• parts control and storage
• shipping and receiving docks
• open air space for product testing and quality control
• additional parking
• shipping and delivery entrance
• finished goods inventory storage

New state-of-the-art technology will improve production and streamline operations across Bobcat’s North American locations. Factory technology and systems are consistent across the company’s North American facilities improving process and design collaboration, as well as simplifying transfer of information.

The Statesville facility is also where Bobcat produces generators, light towers and air compressors. Photo: Bobcat Company

“It has been exciting to see these additions and enhancements to our facility take shape, and we greatly appreciate the support of our employees, partners, officials and the community during this process,” said Doosan Bobcat Portable Power Global Vice President Lance Mathern. “We are ready for the future and look forward to the benefits this expansion brings.”

Bobcat employs nearly 5,000 people at 13 facilities in seven U.S. states. Among its other facilities, Bobcat has engineering, research and development centers in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arizona; a training facility in Colorado; and manufacturing facilities in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Carolina.