Gehl's RS series telehandler

Telehandler manufacturer Gehl Company's search for a new out-of-state headquarters has been scrapped after it received a USD7 million package of incentives to stay put in Wisconsin.

According to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Gehl was looking to move from its West Bend base because of overcapacity and obsolete technology at its corporate offices.

Gehl has promised to build a new office building and an R&D centre with the USD7 million assistance from Wisconsin state, City of West Bend and Washington County. The company will fork out the additional USD13 million for the expansion.

Gehl, which has been based in Wisconsin for 148 years, has promised to keep its existing 191 employees and add 87 more in the next four years for its new R&D centre.

Central to the effort to retain Gehl in Wisconsin is the initiative of the University of Wisconsin's Washington County campus. It plans to add a four-year engineering degree program to graduate the engineers Gehl and other local employers are struggling to find.

Washington County Economic Development Corp executive director John Caldwell told the Journal Sentinel most of the jobs in Gehl's expansion will be for engineers.
"All the money in the world is not going to keep a company unless they have the work force. What we're doing in the region is creating that work force."

The Journal Sentinel reported Gehl had received incentives from another, unnamed state to relocate its headquarters

Click here to read the Journal Sentinel's editorial piece on Gehl Company: A win in West Bend.