Clark Americas Announces Addition of a New Factory

Clark Material Handling Company has announced it is adding capacity to its North American operations with the addition of a new facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. This new facility, scheduled to be completed this month, will play a critical role in Clark’s continued growth and expansion in the Americas. The facility is expected to begin initial production in the first quarter of 2012. Clark Mexico is currently staffed with a mix of manufacturing experts from Clark’s Korean production facility and highly skilled local employees who are engaged in a number of activities preparing the facility for production, including purchasing, facilities management, production planning and clerical work.

 

San Luis Potosi was selected as the site for this new factory after an extensive and detailed search process. A search committee, including representatives from Clark in Lexington, Ky. and Korea joined with Mexican government officials to review sites in Mexico that provided skilled labor, a broad supplier base, modern logistic facilities, an established manufacturing base and a willingness to partner with Clark. With a population of over one million, San Luis Potosi is the 10th largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is a major manufacturing/industrial region. San Luis Potosi lies in the interior between Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. This region is well known for its multinational investors and will give Clark a solid platform to support its continued international growth.

 

Clark Mexico will report to the Clark America Headquarters based in Lexington. Dennis Lawrence, President and CEO of Clark Material handling Company and Clark The Americas will serve as CEO of Clark Mexico as well.

 

“We are extremely pleased to be part of the San Luis Potosi community. Our experience in working with local officials and suppliers has been excellent,” Lawrence said. “The positive long-term impact this facility will have on Clark, its dealers and end users will be significant, including reduced traffic times for finished goods and improved communications and lead times. The fact that this facility is in a similar time zone to Lexington will improve our ability to provide timely responses to our dealers.

 

“We plan to bring this facility on-line in a very deliberate manner. Our sister plants in Korea and China will manufacture product in parallel with the new facility in San Luis Potosi, ensuring customers and dealers alike an un-interrupted stream of Clark forklift trucks. Our teams in Lexington and Mexico will be focused on ensuring the process of bringing this new facility on-line is without any adverse impact to our normal operations.”