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More layoffs at Kuhn in Brodhead

BRODHEAD — Kuhn North America has announced a second layoff this year, this time of 40 full-time employees.

On March 6, the company laid off 60 workers.

Planned cuts in sales and production for the remainder of 2009 and 2010 are in response to farmers tightening their budgets and putting equipment purchases on hold, according to a company news release.

Kuhn North America has headquarters in Brodhead and operates sales/distribution centers in New York, Tennessee, Washington, Colorado, Nebraska and the providence of Quebec. The company is North America's largest manufacturer of TMR mixers and manure spreaders, and a leading provider of hay, forage and crop packaging tools.

The company employs about 500 people in North America.

Sloan Implement Co. distributes Kuhn equipment, as well as other brands, with stores in Cuba City, Monfort, Mount Horeb, Bloomington and Monroe.

Monroe store manager Ryan O'Flanagan said equipment sales at their stores depends on location.

"Monroe is up, but our other stores are down a bit," he said.

The Monroe location sells dairy and grain equipment, giving it broader customer base, he said.

With grain prices doing well, "there was some carryover from early in the year to keep those guys going," O'Flanagan said.

Dairy equipment sales, however, are lagging.

"Any time those individuals can patch to make things work or repair, they're doing it," he added.

Parts sales are just slightly down, he said.

Kuhn North America on March 5 was honored with one of Green County Development Corporation's 2008 Outstanding Business of the Year Awards. It had just completed its third expansion in five years, at a cost of $3.8 million.

At that time, product output had more than doubled in the past five years, and the expansion led to an increase of 50 to 100 employees.

The day after receiving the award, Kuhn North America announced it was laying off 60 workers.