Briggs & Stratton to Move V-Twin Vanguard Production from Japan to U.S.

Briggs & Stratton is moving production of its V-Twin Vanguard engine from a joint venture partnership in Japan to its existing manufacturing facilities in Statesboro, Ga., and Auburn, Ala. The increased production in North America will create approximately 50 new jobs at each of the facilities.
Nov. 4, 2017
2 min read

Briggs & Stratton is moving production of its V-Twin Vanguard engine from a joint venture partnership in Japan to its existing manufacturing facilities in Statesboro, Ga., and Auburn, Ala. The increased production in North America will create approximately 50 new jobs at each of the facilities.

“Moving production of the Vanguard Small and Big Block V-Twin engines to the U.S. is another step in the execution of our commercial growth strategy,” said David Rodgers, senior vice president and president – global engines & power. “We see this as a strategic competitive advantage because we can manufacture closer to our customers in the U.S., resulting in faster production times and faster shipping. I’d like to thank Daihatsu Motor Company for being a great partner for the past 30 years and for their continued commitment to assisting with a smooth transition.”

Briggs & Stratton has worked closely with state officials in Alabama and Georgia, as well as county and local officials in Auburn and Statesboro to ensure a collaborative transition.

“I would like to extend our thanks to both the Alabama Department of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Economic Development for their overwhelming support, which has helped enable us to be competitive here in the U.S. and strengthen our communities by providing good paying jobs and training programs,” Rodgers added.

Production of V-Twin Vanguard engines in the company’s U.S. plants is expected to be phased in beginning in the middle of 2018 through the middle of 2019.

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.

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