Kohler Confirms Engine Move

Confirming a move it had suggested as a possibility last year, Kohler Co. said it will move its gasoline engine manufacturing from Kohler, Wis., to an expanded site in Hattiesburg, Miss.

“This consolidation to our plant in Hattiesburg will help us serve our customers better by giving them a single source for all of our twin-cylinder gasoline engines,” said Brian Melka, president of Kohler Engines. “Our business continues to grow, and this development makes our operation even stronger and more capable of delighting our customers in the future.”

Kohler had informed employees last September that is was considering consolidating its gasoline engine manufacturing activity in Mississippi. The company is investing approximately $15 million in Hattiesburg, which will include a new 300,000 sq. ft. leased building that is near the existing Hattiesburg plant where the company has built engines for 20 years, primarily for zero-turn radius mowers and consumer mowers. The Hattiesburg expansion is scheduled to be complete in a year and Kohler plans to add 250 people at the site.

Kohler said it will maintain its Engines Business headquarters in Wisconsin, along with engineering and R&D. The company also said that workers at its Kohler engine facility will be offered alternative jobs in Wisconsin and that the facility would be repurposed.