Polaris to keep about 50 jobs in Osceola

Wednesday April 20, 2011

MINNEAPOLIS — Polaris Industries Inc. announced on Tuesday that it will keep some of its engine manufacturing operations in Osceola, Wis. This announcement came in response to stronger than projected growth for Polaris in recent months.

"Polaris worked closely with the state of Wisconsin and the Department of Commerce to keep some engine manufacturing in Osceola and preserve approximately 50 assembly jobs at the facility," the company reported.

Polaris said that keeping these manufacturing operations in Osceola allows the company dual-plant production capability for off-road vehicle engines and provides production continuity for motorcycle and snowmobile engines. Polaris will utilize the capabilities and current infrastructure in Osceola to maintain continuity for the foreseeable future.

“Since we announced the strategic realignment last year, our volumes are up significantly in each of our businesses and our U.S. plants are full from a physical footprint standpoint,” Scott Wine, CEO of Polaris, said in a release. “While we have outperformed our original volume projections, the Osceola team has executed flawlessly and continues to produce world-class, quality products. In order to meet escalating demand while maintaining our focus on quality, keeping some engine capability and output in Osceola was an obvious choice.”

The company had announced last May that it planned close Osceola manufacturing operations.

Well that is good news.