The facility in Wahpeton, N.D., will house a state-of-the-art expo center.
The newest construction project for Wahpeton, N.D., is underway — a 44,000-square-foot expansion to the U.S. headquarters of Vaderstad, a global company manufacturing tillage, seeding and planting equipment, based in Sweden.
Ben Sander, marketing manager for Vaderstad, says the company is excited to expand its operation. “We’ll be building a new office building and training center on our site between our plant, and research and development shop,” he says. “We need a lot more space in our office. And as we build our staff to support our dealers and customers, we need a facility to house them.”
In May 2021, Vaderstad acquired Agco-Amity JV LLC to form Vaderstad Inc., and create the next addition to the company. “Vaderstad started the North American venture when they purchased Seed Hawk fully in 2013, and they were looking to venture more into the U.S. market and came across the opportunity to acquire AAJV with the Wil-Rich, Wishek and Concord brands,” Sander says. “That’s where our starting-off point came from in creating the third machine factory in the Vaderstad family, and this will be our U.S. headquarters.”
While offices will play a role in the new building, having training and presentation areas are a main focus of the project. “We want to have space to train our dealers and to bring customers in to show them what we’re all about,” Sander says.
Vaderstad is partnering with local companies to complete the project, with Foss Architecture and Interiors based out of Fargo, N.D., and Comstock Construction based out of Wahpeton.
“It will be a world-class working facility with a cafeteria, and plenty of conference rooms and collaboration areas,” Sander says. “There will also be a large theater, where we’ll be able to hold training sessions, clinics and open houses in year-round.”
NEW XL 40: The new expo center will house training and presentation areas, where equipment such as the new North American Carrier XL 40 can be displayed.
A future expansion will include an exposition center on the east end, which is planned to be an additional 11,000 square feet. The expo space will also be used to showcase new products, such as its North American Carrier XL 40.
“We call it the North American Carrier, because although we had created the European-style speed disc in 1999, the European style of equipment doesn’t always fit in the way we do things here in North America,” he says.
The new Carrier XL 40, which will be manufactured in Wahpeton, features a five-plex frame with vertical foldable wings and a floating hitch that allows it to follow ground contours. “No one else has these features on this type of machine, so we’re very excited about that,” Sander says. “This is why we have been showcasing the preproduction models on the summer show circuit.”
The construction is set to be completed by December 2023, he says.
For more information or to see products in the Vaderstad lineup, visit vaderstad.com.
