JLG expands manufacturing footprint into Tennessee; adds capacity at three plants
JLG ramps up production of core telehandler, boom lift and scissor lift product lines.
JLG recently announced an expansion of its manufacturing footprint into Jefferson City, Tennessee. This new 60,000-square-foot space, which is being leased from the Oshkosh Defense segment, along with the addition of new lines at the company’s Bedford and McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania-based plants, and its Leon, Mexico manufacturing facility, will support the increased production of boom lifts and scissor lifts, as well as JLG and SkyTrak telehandlers.
“We have been pursuing a number of initiatives to establish a more agile and stable business model to support long-term, sustainable growth,” says Frank Nerenhausen, executive vice president Oshkosh Corporation and president JLG Industries. “The investment in additional manufacturing space and technology-rich manufacturing lines is indicative of our commitment to supporting customer needs in today’s dynamic marketplace.”
During the industrial revolution, companies had the option to replace cumbersome, manual tasks with automated processes. Those who didn’t risked obsolescence, while those who did saw the greatest long-term success. Digitization has brought this full circle, offering many new tools and technologies from which to outfit the “Factories of the Future.”
“JLG is leaning in, looking at everything from how to optimize digital twins during the design/engineering process, to regionalizing supply chains, to additive manufacturing, to the autonomous and semi-autonomous solutions required to assist a now five-generation workforce and reduce the load/gap caused by labor shortages,” adds Nerenhausen.
Heading into 2022 with a record $3.6 billion in backlog, combined with unprecedented inflationary pressures, labor constraints and supply chain disruptions required JLG to think differently about its manufacturing facilities and processes.
“Expanding and integrating new state-of-the-art technologies into our plants will allow us to optimize operational capacity to better absorb peaks in demand, while improving worker safety and flow management,” Nerenhausen continues. “We are investing in the connected and autonomous solutions that will make it easier to do business with us.”
Digitization has enabled automation and machine learning from the earliest stages of design through the manufacturing and field use of products. JLG officials foresee that customers will eventually be able to track a machine from its order stage through the end of its lifecycle, enabling a greater depth of insight into each unit's true utilization and ROI.
“We are driven to provide the most holistic and transparent customer experience possible to enhance customer satisfaction and improve the value stream of JLG products well into the future,” concludes Nerenhausen.
JLG’s new Tennessee facility and the additional manufacturing lines in Pennsylvania and Mexico are operational and in the process of ramping up to full capacity.
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