Doosan Bobcat completes expansion of plant in North Carolina

Doosan Bobcat's Statesville plant in North Carolina. [DOOSAN BOBCAT]

Doosan Bobcat has completed the expansion of its Statesville plant in North Carolina, in an effort to meet the growing demand for tractors.

The heavy equipment manufacturer spent $70 million to double the size of the site.

The expansion is aimed at meeting the steadily increasing demand for grounds maintenance equipment (GME), such as ride-on mowers and hedge cutters.

Bobcat's compact tractors will be produced in the Statesville plant from now on. Its mini track loaders and small articulated loaders will also be produced in the plant soon. They are currently being made at the company's North Dakota factory.

The GME market is growing rapidly thanks to the rising number of hobby farmers in North America. Hobby farmers are people who run farms as a hobby rather than as a means of making a living.

Doosan Bobcat said its GME sales in the North American region grew at an annual rate of 58 percent for the past two years.

Bobcat has been pushing for new businesses to produce compact tractors and farming and landscaping equipment, including mowers, since 2018.

It finished the $26 million expansion of another plant in Litchfield, Minnesota, last year.

The company bought a forklift business division from Doosan for 750 billion won ($530 million) last year.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]