# Closing Bismarck Bobcat plant



## Iamhunting (Oct 24, 2005)

Bobcat closing Bismarck plant
LOADING 
Sep 02, 2009 - 08:32:56 CDT
Associated Press

Bobcat Co., which makes skid-steer loaders and light construction equipment, plans to close its Bismarck plant and shift the bulk of the 475 jobs there to its plant in Gwinner, in southeastern North Dakota.

Bobcat Americas President Rich Goldsbury told The Associated Press the move is due to a weak global economy and sluggish sales. He said, "We are facing a huge economic challenge and we need to adapt."

The company says 475 jobs at the Bismarck plant will be phased out by year's end, and about 390 of those jobs will be moved to Gwinner, southwest of Fargo.

Goldsbury says the Gwinner plant is larger and can handle more production.

Spokeswoman Laura Ness Owens says Bobcat will have about 1,500 employees in the state after the Bismarck plant closes.

Bobcat is based in West Fargo. It's owned by South Korea-based Doosan Infracore Co.


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## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

Bad news for Bismarck but great news for Gwinner. At least the jobs are staying in ND.


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## Cyrus (Nov 24, 2003)

This is a sad day for those loosing there jobs or those having to uproot there familys and move to Gwinner to keep there jobs.

Just my opinion but I wonder how long till the whole Bobcat operation is moved over seas to save on labor costs.


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Its a real sad day for Bismarck.


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## 9manfan (Oct 22, 2008)

Cyrus said:


> This is a sad day for those loosing there jobs or those having to uproot there familys and move to Gwinner to keep there jobs.
> 
> Just my opinion but I wonder how long till the whole Bobcat operation is moved over seas to save on labor costs.


Unfortunately, I believe you are probably right, seems all companies are outsourcing these days


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## curty (Sep 18, 2003)

What is kind of odd is that a bunch of Gwinner employees were just laid off and now are to be replaced by Bismarck employees.


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## 94silverado (Oct 16, 2005)

Curty, I have to disagree with ya they might give all of the people laid off in Gwinner first choice in getting their jobs back. They are 2 seperate Unions. I'm willing to bet the reason people worked at Bobcat in bismarck is because they already lived in the area. 
Seriously, how many people are gonna move to Gwinner from Bismarck to work at the same place that just closed a plant on them. They might but I highly doubt it. They would be better off looking for work in Bismarck or in Fargo. But to move to Gwinner would be a drastic move in the fact there is other places to work in Bismarck and in Fargo but if they move to Gwinner where are they going to work if Bobcat lays them off again. I don't think it would be worth the risk to anybody to move down here.

But I do believe this is just another Step in the direction of moving it over seas only time will tell.......
Josh S.


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## curty (Sep 18, 2003)

ok silverado you made some sense this time. (smart a$$) LOL. I hope our locals will be returned to work though There are a lot of families that depend on that plant. I hope it all works out in the end. Or until they move the plant overseas.


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## 94silverado (Oct 16, 2005)

Well dang I think thats the first time you ever said that to me (for those that don't know Curty is my father) lol I to hope that it works out for the family's alot of them here need it including some people I know. But I'm afraid its only a matter of time till this thing goes oversea's

Josh S.


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

Hope and Change


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

Great move for Bobcat. I'm suprised they didn't just shut down all ND plants and move the jobs overseas. I'm sure that would have really pleased the shareholders. Ahh, the beauty of a free market and capitalism...aint it great! :beer:


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

Bobcat is not a US company, it's a company owned by Doosan in Korea. If they do move the plant overseas, they're not outsourcing, they'd be bringing the work in house. Basically as it sits right now, they're in comparison to Toyota or Honda. Vehicles are built in the US but the primary corporation is on foreign soil.


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

Chaws, thanks for the info. We can only hope that Bobcat does the right thing and...


Hunter_58346 said:


> Hope and Change


...for the future.

Which means more money for shareholders and less US (and North Dakotan) jobs. :beer:

We can only hope and pray for change that Obama doesn't try to keep them here through government intervention and more socialism.

Lets be honest...the most important thing is that the rich shareholders are protected. Who really cares about the worker?


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2009)

Chaws said:


> Bobcat is not a US company, it's a company owned by Doosan in Korea. If they do move the plant overseas, they're not outsourcing, they'd be bringing the work in house. uote]
> 
> Maybe the first mistake was to sell to foreign interests. Hold the blame for the correct people.
> 
> ...


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

The sale of the company to foreign soil was needed, if not, the company would not have survived. By being purchased by Doosan, it has allowed the Bobcat company to provide implements that previously they didn't have R&D for or manufacturing space for. Their light tractors and excavators that are being imported from over seas and badged as Bobcat have saved the company.


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## HARRY2 (Jul 26, 2004)

Hunter_58346 said:


> Hope and Change


If you read any of my post here you will find that i as am anti-obama as a guy can get. he has nothing to do with it. Unions destroy jobs, why in the hell should some guy get paid 19 an hour to do a simple job like putting a couple bolts in on an assembly line. No wonder everything is made in China. Unions workers for the most part are not worth what they are paid and do a lousy job, you can get the same lousy worker in China for less than 5.

We are in this mess because we are greedy. Go union and pay your toilet cleaning guy 15 an hour, or keep your company in the States, your choice. If i owned a buisness and the union came in i would lock the doors the next day and sell everything.

We are in this mess becasue somehow we have to pay low rate employees triple what they are worth. So now we sell raw materials to China and buy finished products from them. Go to walmart for something you need and see if you can find it with a MADEINTHEUSA tag on it.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

There are a lot of misconceptions regarding this issue. First, the sale that started all of this was when Bobcat was sold to Ingersoll Rand. Prior to the sale to IR, Bobcat to control quality and cost would buy mfg companies that supplied them with products. They not only got a better price on the product, but also had the profit from other sales from these companies.

This resulted in a very well made product, that was not only dependable but had a great supply line for parts, which increased the service turn around on the machines.

Now fast forward to the sale of IR/Bobcat to Dooson. Those subsidiary companies where not sold along with the product. Thus quality control,costs and parts supply service was not and is not of the same level it use to be.

Even prior to the sale to Dooson, IR was cutting corners on quality, they also where building products over seas and shipping them into the US for sale. Talk to anyone who works on them and they will tell you that US made still had a high quality of workmanship, but the imports where lousy. Looking at a machine one cannot tell on the outside, thus the reputation of the Bobcat product was dropping fast. Parts for service where cut, leaving long down time for machines which was not good for resale or new sales.

Market share as a result dropped both from quality and dependability as well as non competitive pricing. IR tried to ride the reputation of Bobcat for all it was worth.

Then comes the sale to Dooson at a time of world wide down turn. They have made some great strides, and some mistakes as well. Not defending them, just pointing out that timing was bad for them.

Now let's really look at this consolidation. From a practical point, the consolidation makes sense. Without it, both places close permanently, and Bobcat once a premiere name in skid steers and mini ex would no longer be made in the US and more than likely would have been absorbed into other lines made by Dooson.

Matt seems to want to blame the free market, but I ask of him, what is your solution? Really should we have the Gov buy the plant and company and employ people building the product as it is?

You want to cast stones but have no frigging clue as to why this or any company moves forward or has to draw back. You want to blame someone, blame the Melroes for selling in the first place!!!!! They started this, not Dooson!!!!!!!

I have good friends who are affected by this. I feel very deeply for them, and I hope that things work out for them as well. Sad to see anyone get laid off, but the facts regarding much of this has not been discussed, talked about or recognized by a lot of people both on the net and the media.

If anything, people should be glad Dooson bought the company and is working to keep it open, to make it profitable. If they had not, both plants would have idled a long time ago!!!!!!!


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## TK33 (Aug 12, 2008)

Stupid trade agreements and greed ruined the whole market. Bobcat is just another in a long line of american failures thanks to Washington DC.



> Unions destroy jobs, why in the hell should some guy get paid 19 an hour to do a simple job like putting a couple bolts in on an assembly line. No wonder everything is made in China. Unions workers for the most part are not worth what they are paid and do a lousy job, you can get the same lousy worker in China for less than 5.


You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. I am not a union worker but I work with them frequently and if you think the union is all bad you are so sorely mistaken that it is not even funny. Bad unions are there, and they are a bad business and bad for business. Unfortunately that is all we hear about. Remember that it takes at least two signatures to make a contract binding.

There are a lot of good unions out there, the IBEW is one that comes to mind. I have worked with these guys a lot. These guys are paid appropriately. I think it was 2005 when an ice storm whipped through ND and I was out there with the IBEW linemen in the ice, wind, and brutal cold. These men climbed an icy tower and reconnected OUR power lines before the co-ops had to start doing rolling blackouts when it is -5 with a wind. There is no price tag or wage that is too much for the type of work these guys are asked to do. Another amazing thing was that there was not one guy complaining about being there.

If a company needs 20 qualified tradesman, from laborers to fitters or welders, the union has them. A vast majority of union workers know what they are doing and do it well. The management of the unions is another story but to slam the workers of a particular union is unfair and uninformed.

Without unions you would see the wages, safety, working conditions, and in a lot of cases productivity that you see in nearly every field in America. The unions have done some bad things lately but in the end they have been good for the country. Crooked politicians, executives, and union leaders are to blame, not the unions themselves.


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## Springerguy (Sep 10, 2003)

Harry2 - nice post, bashing union guys and claiming they are not worth what they are paid. I'm assuming that whatever you do for a living you are paid a fair wage - at least in your opinion. And, by the way, unions have nothing to do with the current economic recession.

Doosan purchased Bobcat from Ingersoll Rand (German owned). The reason they purchased the company was the distribution network that is in place in the US. They wanted the distribution for their products and the bobcat was also a non-competitive product to there current manufactured products. I highly doubt they will close the Gwinner plant. It is the only plant I'm aware of that will manufacture bobcats in the US and they will want to manufacture domestically sold products in the US. - much like Toyota and Honda now manufacture cars in the US.


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