Jackson, Minn., facility will have more jobs and a higher production
capacity to continue building quality products
JACKSON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 8, 2013--
AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE:AGCO) (http://www.AGCOcorp.com),
has begun further expansion of its Jackson, Minn., manufacturing center.
During the next three years, AGCO will invest an estimated $42 million
in infrastructure, increasing production capacity and efficiency in
order to help meet growing demand for the tractors and application
equipment built there. Eric Fisher, AGCO director of operations in
Jackson, was joined by city of Jackson Mayor Wayne Walter in a
groundbreaking ceremony at the site May 7, 2013, to mark the start of
the facility improvement project.
Eric Fisher, AGCO Jackson, third from right, was joined by local officials for a groundbreaking ceremony May 7, 2013, to mark the start of AGCO's $42 million expansion. From left, Jennifer Bromeland, Janice Fransen, Clayton Lewis, Fisher, city of Jackson, Minn., Mayor Wayne Walter and William Tusa. (Photo: Business Wire)
The three-year endeavor is made up of seven phases affecting all areas
of the campus, including component manufacturing, the tractor assembly
line and the application equipment assembly line. Once completed, the
expansion will create 75 additional permanent jobs at the facility,
bringing the total number of employees to more than 1,200. The project
will increase production capacity by 25 percent for both the tractor and
sprayer assembly lines while maintaining best-in-class product quality.
The first phase, scheduled to be complete fall 2013, includes a
30,000-square-foot expansion of the component manufacturing area, which
will increase capacity by 20 percent and improve efficiency by
reengineering the flow of materials to assembly stations. The
installation of an additional robotic welder and a sheet laser will
improve productivity and positively impact all equipment built in
Jackson.
Fisher comments, “This expansion builds on the excitement that began in
2011 when AGCO chose Jackson as the location where high-horsepower
wheeled tractors for North America would be built. Continuing to invest
here reinforces AGCO’s commitment to bringing our North American
customers high-quality tractors and application equipment built how the
customer wants them and delivered on time.”
Remaining phases include expanding the tractor assembly line for
increased production capacity, an in-line paint system for the
application assembly line, and cutting-edge testing capability of our
finished products.
Looking Back: Recent Investments in Jackson Facility
In June 2012, AGCO expanded its Jackson location to bring production of
Massey Ferguson® and Challenger® wheeled row-crop
tractors to North America. That expansion included AGCO’s first North
American welcome center, Intivity CenterSM. These efforts
contributed more than $17 million to the local economy by adding more
than 200 jobs. This brought the total number of professional, support
and skilled manufacturing positions at the facility to 1,050.
Intivity Center, a 17,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art visitor center,
showcases the farmer-focused innovation behind the brands upon which the
company has been built. It offers an extensive collection of historical
artifacts — many never before seen by the public — and includes a
glimpse of the future of agricultural equipment through interactive
displays demonstrating equipment technology in development at AGCO. For
more information about Intivity Center or to make reservations to tour
the AGCO Jackson manufacturing center, visit Jackson.AGCOCorp.com
(http://jackson.AGCOcorp.com).
Farm equipment manufacturing has been a part of the Jackson community
since 1963, when Ag-Chem Equipment Company was founded as a distributor
of spraying equipment. Ag-Chem was purchased by AGCO in 2001. Jackson is
home to Challenger and Massey Ferguson high-horsepower wheeled row-crop
tractors as well as the Challenger track tractors and application
equipment.
Intivity Center is a service mark of AGCO. Massey Ferguson is a
worldwide brand of AGCO. Challenger is a registered trademark
of Caterpillar Inc. and is used under license by AGCO.
ABOUT AGCO
AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE:AGCO), is a global leader focused
on the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery.
AGCO supports more productive farming through a full line of tractors,
combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment, tillage implements,
grain storage and protein production systems, as well as related
replacement parts. AGCO products are sold through five core machinery
brands, Challenger®, Fendt®, GSI®, Massey Ferguson® and Valtra®, and are
distributed globally through 3,150 independent dealers and distributors
in more than 140 countries worldwide. Retail financing is available
through AGCO Finance for qualified purchasers. Founded in 1990, AGCO is
headquartered in Duluth, Ga., USA. In 2012, AGCO had net sales of $10
billion. http://www.agcocorp.com/
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements which are not historical facts, including expectations
regarding the manufacture of equipment, are forward-looking and subject
to risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
suggested by the statements. These risks include possible declines in
demand for products as a result of weather, demand and other conditions
that impact farm income, actions by producers of competitive products,
and the general risks attendant to acquisitions. Further information
concerning these and other factors is included in AGCO’s filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2012. AGCO disclaims any obligation to update
any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
To download digital assets, visit AGCOnews.com http://www.agconews.com/na/newsroom#story/AGCO-Announces-ThreeYear-42-Million-expansion-of-Minnesota-Facility/preview

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130508006136/en/
Source: AGCO
AGCO
Lindsey Pettyjohn, 770-232-8434
Lindsey.Pettyjohn@AGCOcorp.com
or
broadhead
Dee
Weeda, 641-344-0757
dweeda@broadheadco.com