Kobelco Continues to Increase U.S. Manufacturing of Excavators

In another bright spot for U.S. manufacturing, Kobelco Construction Machinery USA will continue to increase capacity at their North American excavator production facility in Spartanburg, SC and plans on several new hires. The $41 million facility opened in June of 2016 with the goal of producing 1,800 units/year.

The Spartanburg plant is currently manufacturing the Kobelco SK210LC-10, SK260LC-10 Long Reach, SK300LC-10 and SK350LC-10 crawler excavator models. Production of the Kobelco SK500LC-10 will begin this fall and production of the SK260LC-10 High & Wide excavator will begin in early 2018.

Kobelco is a participating member of the I Make America project, led by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), which advocates to advance policies that will support manufacturing jobs and help America’s equipment manufacturers compete globally. In demonstrating their support for the project, Kobelco has already created more than 75 new jobs to date and is currently hiring more than 20 new employees in all operational areas including fabrication, paint, assembly and warehouse, with additional hiring plans for next year.

"This is an exciting time for KOBELCO USA as we implement aggressive plans to further our growth and momentum. We continue to reinforce our foundation in the North American market, expand our team of KOBELCO USA employees, and keep KOBELCO dealers and customers up and running by delivering industry-leading machines."
- Pete Morita, Vice President – Excavator Division of KOBELCO USA