Versatile to Manufacture Tillage in Winnipeg

(TSX:BUI)

WINNIPEG, MB, Nov. 27, 2020 /CNW/ - In 2021 the Versatile factory in Winnipeg, which has been building tractors for 55 years, will begin the manufacture and assembly of the company's line of tillage, including tandem and offset discs, vertical tillage and high speed compact discs. The addition of tillage compliments the tractor assembly lines, resuming Versatile's long history of building multiple products at the Winnipeg facility, including swathers, combines, sprayers, cultivators and seeding equipment. The tillage production line will be installed in an area formerly used for component staging and storage, making the overall plant more efficient while allowing the tractor assembly lines to increase production by enabling the company to capitalize on existing resources and economies of scale. Production at the former Ezee-On facility in Vegreville, Alberta, will cease in September 2021.

Demand for the Versatile Fury high speed compact disc has drastically increased in the past three years, largely from markets in the United States. An updated Versatile Viking vertical tillage tool will be introduced in 2021, with much of the market demand also anticipated to be from the United States. Manufacturing products in Winnipeg puts them significantly closer to those key markets, reducing logistics time and costs. Sales of legacy tillage, including tandem and offset discs branded both Versatile and Farm King, will continue and no delays in product delivery are expected during the transition to Winnipeg.

The primary Canadian Versatile parts distribution warehouse, located next to the factory in Winnipeg, will be responsible for distribution of tillage parts, capitalizing on existing infrastructure and improving access to an increased supply of tillage parts. More tillage parts will also be made available through the US distribution centres in Blair, Nebraska and West Memphis, Arkansas. The warehouse in West Memphis, Arkansas will become a primary distribution point for Versatile Service Parts on December 1.

Buhler Industries is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and is a publicly traded Company on the TSX (TSX: BUI). The Company manufactures and distributes its product through several brand names including Versatile and Farm King. The Versatile line of equipment consists of tractors and tillage. Farm King supplies augers, mowers, bale carriers, snowblowers, compact implements, and tillage. The Company has manufacturing facilities and warehouses in both Canada and the United States.

Trading symbol: BUI

SOURCE Buhler Industries Inc.