Polaris has agreed to sell part of its northwest Wisconsin plant that was scheduled to close in 2012 and its new owner will keep running it. Kapco Incorporated of Grafton says it will buy the metal stamping operation at the Osceola plant by March of this year, and it will lease the facility and hire up to 50 workers.
Polaris said last spring it would shut down the Osceola facility, and move part of the work to Mexico where the labor is cheaper. Recently, Polaris said the 515 employees would start being laid off in March. Kapco says it will lease about 30-percent of the building at Osceola. It will also build parts of Polaris snowmobiles, A.T.V’s, and motorcycles under a three-year supply agreement.
Kapco spokesman Neil Willenson says current Polaris employees are not guaranteed the new jobs but they’re likely to be hired since they have experience running the plant’s metal stamping equipment.
