On Thursday, April 13, 2023, Takeuchi-US celebrated a significant milestone when the 1000th compact track loader – a TL12R2 model – rolled off the assembly line at the manufacturer’s facility in Moore, South Carolina. This 156,000-square-foot production facility, Takeuchi’s first in North America, officially began assembling compact track loaders on September 22, 2022.
“It’s been quite a journey so far,” said Jeff Stewart, president of Takeuchi-US. “Bringing our track loader production to the U.S., while exciting for all of us, required a great deal of planning and collaboration. From locating the right location here in Moore to bringing in all the necessary production equipment to hiring new employees in a tight labor market, it was truly a team effort. The fact that it took us less than seven months to produce our 1000th machine is remarkable.”
Stewart and Ralph Wabnitz, director of manufacturing for Takeuchi-US, joined employees at the South Carolina facility to celebrate the production milestone with a company meeting and lunch. Employees also received commemorative “1000th Machine” stickers for their hard hats and took a group photo marking the achievement.
Takeuchi announced its acquisition of the Moore, SC plant just one year ago in April 2022. The company previously produced track loaders at one of its factories in the Nagano province of Japan. However, upon observing the North American market’s growing demand for Takeuchi compact track loaders over time, Takeuchi chose to begin assembling these machines in the U.S. This decision has eliminated the need to ship track loaders from an overseas facility to North American dealers and customers. As Takeuchi’s global markets expand, the company expects to export some machines from the U.S. to other countries.
“We started out with just 10 employees at this facility a few short months ago,” said Wabnitz. “Today, we have 117 on staff, with a goal of 140 by the end of 2023. Our goal is to assemble all Takeuchi CTL models here in Moore by the end of 2023. I’m very proud of what our team here has accomplished, and I look forward seeing what new milestones we’re able to achieve in the months and years ahead.”
