Marc Cesare,, Smallvehicleresource.com
A four seat Gator utilty vehicle from John Deere, the XUV 825i S4
John Deere is close to finishing an expansion of their Horicon Works facility in Wisconsin to consolidate Gator utility operations under one roof. The 388,000 square foot expansion allows the company to add assembly and shipping to production operations at the location. Management expects the move to be completed by March 2017. As part of the expansion, 70 new assembly jobs and 10 salary positions will be added to the existing work force of about 1,000. According to management, “We’ll be able to serve our dealers and customers better, improve the overall quality of the vehicles, and make our operations more efficient.”
While the growth in the UTV market has slowed, investments like this and others from the major players indicate that they continue to expect some market growth. John Deere spent an estimated $35 million on the expansion. The work and commercial utility segment, where the Gator is popular, has been targeted by a number of companies in search of sales growth. Coupled with the lower overall UTV market growth and other factors, this has increased the competition in the UTV market.