A Gehl telehandler.

Gehl Company has launched a USD8.7 million expansion of its Yankton, South Dakota, manufacturing and research & development (R&D) facilities.

The Yankton plant, which manufactures telescopic handlers and pavers for the Gehl and Mustang brands, will hold more equipment in its added manufacturing space.

The plant will also expand manufacturing capacity for the telescopic handlers it manufactures under a licence agreement with Manitou BF SA, of France.

Director of manufacturing operations Daniel Miller said the company planned to add in-house laser metal-cutting capabilities to reduce costs and shorten lead times.

He said Gehl planned to buy two high-tech laser metal-cutting systems this year and a third in the future.

"With these metal-cutting systems, we will ultimately gain additional savings on some secondary processes."

The systems are estimated to capture about USD1.7 million in annual savings while the expansion is expected to add new jobs in the Yankton market.

Miller said: "We expect we'll need to add manufacturing and tech positions. These opportunities will also increase as we add work from other Gehl facilities."

Construction is underway for a 49,200 square foot (4,570.8 square metre) addition to the manufacturing floor.

A 4,000 square foot (371.6 square metre) addition to the plant's R&D building to increase workspace to develop and prototype new products is also in progress.