GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Engines Division of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. is consolidating all aspects of its management and product development processes in a single facility in Grand Rapids., Mich. The company is launching a significant renovation of its existing facilities to accommodate the move of the research and development engineering group, along with related functions, from Maryville, Mo. to Grand Rapids.

Maryville, the site of the Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A. engine production facility, has been home to the R&D division since 1995. The move to Grand Rapids “will create a more cohesive and dynamic unit that will allow daily face-to-face interaction between the company’s R&D group, sales, marketing, product management, operational functions, and most importantly our customers,” said Rodger Howe, vice president of the Engines Division.

Howe continued,  “This consolidation of all these key resources will greatly enhance our abilities to both anticipate and respond to changes in the marketplace  because we’ll be able to interact with, and benefit from the proximity to each element of the company’s internal and development operations.”

The renovated facility will be designed and constructed to optimize the various functions.  It will include an R&D center that, according to Howe, will be “absolutely state of the art.”

The building is expected to be ready for total occupancy by the divisions sometime in early to mid-2016.

Kawasaki currently markets more than 40 general purpose engines, most of which are produced by Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp., U.S.A., in its Maryville, Mo. facility which has turned out in excess of eight million units.

Kawasaki Engines, a division of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., distributes gasoline engines for landscape, industrial, and consumer markets. The division is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich. It sells to and services customers through a network of more than 40 OEMs, 15 distributors, and more than 7,700 independent dealers throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, select countries in Central and South America, and the U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific, including Guam.