American news
TTA assembly plant in Columbus near completion The construction of the new Terberg Taylor Americas tractor assembly plant in Columbus, Mississippi is progressing rapidly. Nico Overgaag, Managing Director of Terberg Taylor Americas Manufacturing, gave us an update “I joined the company earlier this year. At the moment I’m primarily a Programme manager, coordinating the projects which will lead to the start of tractor assembly operations in January 2024. After that I will act as Plant manager. We will be building YT193 and YT223 yard tractors.
We are on schedule and about to finish construction of the building housing the plant and warehouse. The offices will follow in March, so we are now working in temporary offices close to the site. The total built-up area is 5,000 m², about 54,000 square feet. The warehouse is now receiving stock and should be filled by the end of the year. Our assembly “We use a buddy system, with people from Benschop teaming up with their counterparts here in Columbus.”
line is being installed now and is basically the same as the YT line in Benschop, but in a straight line rather than their U-shape. The people behind the tractors Once everything is up and running in 2024 we will have 58 people working here in the plant and at the office. Recruitment has gone well and we only have a few more positions to fill. We are now busy training people, everyone gets a one-day onboarding session about Terberg Taylor and trainers from the Netherlands visit the plant to give product training. We use a buddy system, with about twenty people from Benschop teaming up with their counterparts here in Columbus so the two plants operate in the same way.
“Both Terberg and Taylor are family businesses, so they have a lot in common.”
Logistics We have been working hard on developing effective logistics. Parts from our European suppliers are consolidated in the port of Rotterdam and then shipped to New Orleans for dispatch to the plant. That takes time so you really have to plan things ahead. The interesting thing is that Benschop is also learning from this and making improvements to their operations. And of course, there are the deliveries from suppliers in the USA. By the way, our warehouse only supplies the factory. Spare parts for tractors in service as dispatched from the TTA warehouse in Miami. Two family businesses Both Terberg and Taylor are family businesses, so they have a lot in common. But of course there are cultural differences. We address those so we understand each other effectively - basically we’re building bridges. Everybody involved in the project is very
committed to it, together we are working towards a successful outcome.”
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TERBERG SPECIAL VEHICLES MAGAZINE 2023/2024
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