Production at the Willmar, Minnesota plant will shift to their facility in Morden, Manitoba
Bühler Industries has announced the upcoming closure of their Willmar, Minnesota production facility and plans to shift production to their facility in Morden, Manitoba. Bühler, the parent company behind such brands as Farm King and Versatile, is trying to streamline their North American operations by optimizing output at the Morden plant while capitalizing on the fluctuations in the exchange rate.
The Farm King equipment line, which is currently manufactured in Willmar, Minnesota and Vegreville, Alberta, produces augurs, mowers, bale carriers, snowblowers, compact implements, and tillage equipment. The facility in Modern, one of the company’s original and most efficient factories, will now take over production from the Willmar factory, which will close in early 2021.
The company already underwent some changes in production locations this year when they consolidated their U.S. manufacturing into one plant at Willmar, which is now slated to close in the new year. This included moving their Fargo, North Dakota-based production to the Willmar plant. Bühler has been operating at the Willmar facility since 2011 after it bought an existing 135,000 square-foot facility that they currently use to manufacture Versatile sprayers and Farm King application equipment.
The company does not anticipate any delivery delays for their Farm King dealers in Canada or the United States due to the relocation. Bühler reported Q1 2020 revenue of $49.2 million, down from $57.3 million in Q1 of 2019. The company attributed lower sales to trade uncertainties, bad harvesting conditions, low commodity prices and bad crop yields.
Sales in the United States have seen a return to historical levels of Q1 sales, but they continue to be below historical levels in Canada and Eastern Europe.