Bobcat Co. said it has broken ground on a $20 million testing and technology center in Bismarck, N.D.
The Acceleration Center project includes expansion of an existing building to include a two-story office building and provide a total of 160,000 square feet of open workspace, construction of a 35,000-square-foot indoor testing arena and development of a 22-acre outdoor testing and track area. Completion is scheduled for summer 2014.
Initially, 135 employees will be employed at the Acceleration Center, where they will work on innovating and advancing designs, testing, prototype engineering and the computer simulation of ideas and concepts.The facility will serve as a center for excellence and a learning institute for employees. Its open space and high-tech design will encourage collaboration and discussion among workers. Bobcat dealers and customers will be brought to the complex for training and hands-on experience operating the company’s latest products.
“The newest designs, the latest technologies and the best ways to apply product features important to our customers will be part of the daily life inside the Acceleration Center,” said company President Rich Goldsbury. “We take great pride in our North Dakota roots. Today, we have set the foundation for the future in North Dakota.”
Comstock Construction Inc., Wahpeton, N.D., is the contractor for the project. When complete, the entire project will mark a $35 million investment by Bobcat.
