HATTIESBURG, MS—Kohler Power is making a significant capital expansion to assemble more home standby generator products at its manufacturing site here. The company has had a presence in Hattiesburg since 1998, where it produces air-cooled engines for a variety of applications, including KOHLER home standby generators.

“This expansion allows us to get closer to our customers and responding with quicker delivery,” says Kyle Brandemuhl, general manager of residential and power products at Kohler, adding that a high concentration of Kohler’s home generator business are customers in the southeast and gulf coast.  “Over these last couple years, we have seen demand for residential products skyrocket due to a number of factors, including a record hurricane season in 2020, the Texas winter storms, increasing wild fires in the western U.S., along with the pandemic sending a high number of people home for work and school.  An increasing number of consumers are speaking with their wallets. Prolonged power outages are no longer acceptable due to severe weather events and an aging power grid.”

“With this expansion, we will more than triple our current capacity for residential standby generators and take further advantage of our world-class engine manufacturing facility that we more than doubled in the last two years," says Brian Melka, group president at Kohler Power. "We are committed to supporting our valued dealer network and delighting the end customers that we serve.”

With the company having already ramped up production in the current manufacturing sites in Saukville and Mosel, WI, Kohler expects Hattiesburg to come online in the third quarter to better match the spiking demand and reduce lead times with innovative power solutions.

“Hurricane season starts June 1, and is a stark reminder that our lives are significantly disrupted when power is lost; it is that essential,” says Brandemuhl. “An automatic home standby generator is your best defense against a power outage to help ensure safety and peace of mind."

In early March, Kohler Power initiated a 155,000 square-foot expansion to its existing manufacturing facility in Mosel. The project will include a state-of-the-art production and testing space of large generators above 2,000 kilowatts and increased warehousing, as well as a world-class customer experience center.