The company announced Friday they've signed an agreement with the Wahpeton Community Development Corporation (WCDC) to lease building No. 20 on the former Imation Corp. campus for a period of five years.
Bobcat Public Relations Manager Laura Ness Owens said the 120,000 square feet of space will be used to manufacture valves and cylinders, components key in powering Bobcat's payloaders and excavators. Bobcat will pay $416,000 annually to the Wahpeton community development group with an option to buy at $2.5 million.
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Bobcat announced in September it was closing its Bismarck plant and by the end of the year would be moving approximately 390 to its Gwinner plant.
Ness Owens indicated 60 of those jobs will now be in Wahpeton.
"Our role was to advertise available manufacturing space, like we've done since Imation made their announcement," said Economic Development Director Jane Priebe. "We're happy Bobcat is coming to our region and we welcome them to our community. They bring quality jobs to the area."
Bobcat began expressing interest in the clean room space in Wahpeton to the WCDC in the middle of September. And although they'll begin correspondence with Job Service of North Dakota to find employees mid-October, the company won't move in to the facility until December.
"Ultimately, this is continuing realignment of our business. We have certainly valued our relationship with the Bismarck community, it was a difficult decision to leave," Ness Owens said.
The Bismarck closing was due to a weak economy and disproportionate sales.
The 60 jobs expected to be in Wahpeton are part of the 390 Bobcat indicated would stay in North Dakota following the consolidation of their factories.
"It keeps the jobs in North Dakota, which is certainly something we wanted to do," Ness Owens said.
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