JLG Industries Breaks Ground on New Facility in China

JLG Industries has been selling and servicing products in the Asian market for decades. Now it finally has its first manufacturing facility in the Far East.

The company opened an office in Beijing in 2002 to enhance responsiveness for its Chinese customers in the shipyard, construction, airport, hotel, industrial and maintenance industries. Now JLG Industries Inc., along with its parent company, Oshkosh Corp., broke ground for a new manufacturing facility in Tianjin, China, giving JLG greater access to the Asian industry.

“Today’s groundbreaking is confirmation of our investment in the future, and a significant opportunity for our customers, as well as the company,” said Robert G. Bohn, Oshkosh Corp. chairman and CEO. “This facility will be the first-ever Chinese-based manufacturing facility for Oshkosh Corp. The facility we are building in Tianjin is a strategic initiative to directly service regional customers with a faster delivery turnaround for our JLG brand of aerial work platforms.”

This is another step in Oshkosh Corp.’s strategic business initiative to meet the demands of a global economy and the growing demand for aerial work platforms in the Chinese and Asian markets. The new facility will produce JLG access equipment specifically for the Asian market. JLG currently has manufacturing operations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Dakota, as well as in Maasmechelen, Belgium, Tonneins, France and Medias, Romania.

“This new Tianjin facility is a major milestone in our global business expansion and operations strategy,” said Craig E. Paylor, Oshkosh Corp. executive vice president and president of JLG Industries. “We have chosen to expand in China because we believe the Asian market holds tremendous long-term potential for our access equipment. In many respects, our Asian customers are just beginning to see the tremendous value that access equipment can provide in construction, manufacturing, maintenance, industrial and shipyard applications.”

As part of its on-going social out-reach program in China, the company also donated two JLG telehandlers to help local officials in the rebuilding in Wenchuan County, which was tragically impacted by the major earthquake that occurred in May in the Sichuan Province.

“This locally produced product will give Oshkosh a distinct strategic advantage in a very aggressive, competitive Asian landscape. JLG product made at the Tianjin facility will be targeted for the China and Asian markets and be a complement to other JLG manufacturing facilities which build product for the rest of the world,” added Bohn.