Governor Bentley Welcomes Polaris Industries to Alabama

HUNTSVILLE— Governor Robert Bentley on Friday joined state and local leaders in Huntsville to announce Polaris Industries has chosen Alabama to produce off-road vehicles and create up to 2,000 new jobs for North Alabama.

“I am honored to welcome Polaris Industries to Alabama,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “The Alabama workforce, our business climate and our quality of life continue to make Alabama extremely attractive to companies. I am confident that Polaris will soon experience the success that other companies in Alabama have already experienced. Alabama’s success in advanced manufacturing is a result of the state’s successful Accelerate Alabama plan, and Polaris’ off-road vehicle production strategy fits perfectly within our manufacturing goals. I look forward to the completion of this state-of-the-art facility next year, and a continued partnership with Polaris.”

The new 600,000 square-foot facility will be located southwest of Huntsville City Center. The 453-acre Huntsville site offers Polaris close proximity to its key customer base in the Southeast U.S. and strong logistics network. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, the plant will support several core processes including, vehicle assembly, chassis and body painting, welding, fabrication and injection molding.

Alabama’s success in advanced manufacturing is a result of the state’s Accelerate Alabama plan, and Polaris’ off-road vehicle production strategy fits perfectly within the state’s manufacturing goals. Manufacturing is Alabama’s largest employment sector and accounts for more than 16 percent of all jobs in the state.

“At Polaris, making great products is more than just a job – it’s a creed the company lives by,” Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said. “That’s what we do in Alabama as well. Our workers assemble and engineer great products from automobiles to ships and rockets to aircraft. Polaris and Alabama are a perfect fit.”

Polaris will break ground on the Huntsville facility in the first quarter of 2015 with completion slated for early in the second quarter of 2016. Production will begin shortly thereafter.