Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corp. plans to open a new advanced battery manufacturing plant in Georgia to meet increased demand for its Vanguard commercial battery system.
Located northeast of Atlanta in Tucker, Georgia, the 78,000-square-foot facility will start with four production lines with capacity to accommodate future growth.
“This facility is in addition to the current production space located in Milwaukee (Wauwatosa), which going forward will serve as a developmental facility to support the influx of interested customers in a wide range of markets, including lawn & garden, military, construction, municipal and golf & leisure,” said Dave Rodgers, senior vice president and president of global engines & power at Briggs & Stratton.
Rick Carpenter, vice president corporate marketing at Briggs, said the company’s Milwaukee battery operations have been used for initial customer product and research and development. The Georgia plant will provide additional capacity.
Carpenter said the company has filled 50 to 60 battery oriented jobs in Milwaukee over the last 18 months and would be adding another 70 in Georgia in the near future.
Briggs launched its 48-volt Vanguard commercial battery system in October as part of business transformation that includes investing in battery technologies and driving growth in commercial markets.
On Thursday, the company said it had entered a strategic supply agreement with a large manufacturer of light electric vehicles to power a new line of lithium-ion vehicles starting in June.
In October, Briggs announced an agreement with Ontario-based Argo to power its extreme terrain electric unmanned ground vehicles.
“Briggs & Stratton continues to collaborate with industry leaders and provide power solutions as a leader in power application. We’re excited to add another premier customer and further expand the applications we power with the new Vanguard Commercial Battery System,” Rodgers said.
