Yanmar Compact Equipment North America (Yanmar CE North America) has broken ground on a 32,000ft² expansion to its facility in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, US.

Yanmar CE North America encompasses the Yanmar Compact Equipment and ASV brands.

The expansion will significantly boost production capacity and enable production of Yanmar’s recently announced compact track loaders alongside ASV compact track loaders.

Yanmar CE North America president Tate Johnson said: “We have talked a lot about expansion plans over the past year to our customers, dealers and those we visited with at CONEXPO, so it is thrilling to break ground and see those plans come to fruition.

“This project is ultimately about better serving our customers, both through expanded manufacturing capabilities and increased staffing to make sure their needs are met.”

The project is expected to create hundreds of jobs over the next five years.

The new expansion will house a paint system that will boost paint capacity by up to three times, while the parts manufacturing capacity will increase by up to two times in the earlier occupied space.

The new powder paint system will have less environmental impact and be more efficient, stated the company.

The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by several officials including Tate Johnson, Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority president Sholom Blake, Itasca County commissioner John Johnson, Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation deputy commissioner Al Becicka, and Honorary Consul of Japan Ron Leonhardt.

Yanmar CE North America expects to complete the expansion of the facility in spring (March–April) 2024.