Kobelco USA plans to nearly double manufacturing capacity at its North American excavator production facility by 2018.
Mass production at the Spartanburg, S.C. facility began in 2016 with conventional machines weighing 20-plus tons.
Throughout the last year, Kobelco has tripled production capacity and is now preparing to produce 1,800 units per year.
Today, seven excavator models are produced at the South Carolina-based manufacturing facility; the SK210LC-10, SK210LC-10 Long Reach, SK260LC-10 Long Reach, SK300LC-10, SK300LC-10 High & Wide, SK350LC-10 and SK500LC-10.
Expanding scope
Kobelco will increase manufacturing capacity in late fall, with the addition of the SK500LC-10 unit with removable counterweight as well as the SK210LC-10 High & Wide.
By 2018, production capacity will include 11 models with the addition of the SK170LC-10 and SK260LC-10 excavators.
“In a short period of time, we went from land and dirt to a factory with excavator production in full swing,” says Pete Morita, Kobleco USA’s vice president of the Excavator Division.
“We continue to increase U.S. production capacity, expand our U.S. manufacturing team and keep our dealers and customers up and running by delivering excavators that are built like no other excavators in the industry.
“This is an exciting time for Kobelco USA as we implement aggressive plans to further our growth and momentum in 2018.”
Kobelco’s United States-based manufacturing facility also allows the company to support the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).
New employment
Through the facility, Kobelco has created more than 100 new jobs to date for the skilled workforce living in the communities that surround the Greenville and Spartanburg area of South Carolina.
The company is now conducting another phase of hiring, which will welcome more than 20 new employees in all operational areas including fabrication, paint, assembly and warehouse. The production facility plans to steadily increase the number of employees during the next year.
Kobelco Construction Machinery USA offers crawler excavators in the 3,000 lbs. to 245,000 lbs. classes including zero tail swing, compact, standard, long-reach, mass excavation and demolition models.
