Addition of a new production facility will provide needed capacity
and flexibility to support growth as well as close proximity to key
customers
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) today announced plans to build a new
production facility in Huntsville, Alabama to provide additional
capacity and flexibility as the company continues to experience rapid
growth. Located Southwest of Huntsville City Center, the 600,000
square-foot facility will focus on off-road vehicle production.
Polaris selected Huntsville due to its skilled workforce, history of
technology and innovation, existing utility infrastructure, and strong
local and state resources supporting economic development. The 453-acre
Huntsville site offers Polaris close proximity to its key customer base
in the Southeast U.S. and strong logistics network.
“This new facility will complement our already strong and growing North
American manufacturing footprint by reducing pressure on our existing
facilities and enable each to remain focused on their current product
lines as we continue to meet the demand for our innovative, quality
products,” said Ken Pucel, Executive Vice President of Operations,
Engineering, and Lean, Polaris Industries Inc. “We are grateful to the
city of Huntsville and the state of Alabama for their support as we
invest in our shared future.”
Polaris will design and develop a lean and flexible facility to drive
continuous improvement from the start. The new plant in Alabama will
become part of our North American plant network and will reduce
complexity within the existing plant network and enable logistics
optimization. The facility will have multiple assembly lines providing
flexibility to quickly replenish demand and support continued product
innovations. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, the plant will
support several core processes including, vehicle assembly, chassis and
body painting, welding, fabrication and injection molding. At full
capacity, the site will employ at least 1,700 people.
“I am honored to welcome Polaris Industries to Alabama,” said Governor
Robert Bentley
. “The Alabama workforce, our business climate and our
quality of life continue to make Alabama extremely attractive to
companies. I am confident that Polaris will soon experience the same
type of success that other companies in Alabama have already
experienced. Alabama’s success in advanced manufacturing is a result of
the state’s successful Accelerate Alabama plan, and Polaris’ off-road
vehicle production strategy fits perfectly within our manufacturing
goals. Today’s announcement will create at least 1,700 well-paying jobs
in Huntsville. I look forward to the completion of this state of the art
facility next year, and a continued partnership with Polaris.”
Polaris will break ground on the Huntsville facility in the first
quarter of 2015 with completion slated for early in the second quarter
of 2016. Production will begin shortly thereafter.
About Polaris
Polaris is a recognized leader in the
powersports industry with annual 2013 sales of $3.8 billion. Polaris
designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality
off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER®
and RZR® side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles,
motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles.
Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and
off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight
cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian
Motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the
global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with
Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S.,
and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding
experience with a complete line of Polaris Engineered parts, accessories
and apparel, Klim branded apparel and ORV accessories under the Kolpin
and Cycle Country brands.
Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol “PII”, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock
price index.
Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and
vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or
anytime at www.polaris.com.
Source: Polaris Industries Inc.