Harley Davidson to Build a Motorcycle Plant in Kansas City, MO

05/08/96

Reuters reported that Harley Davidson Inc. will build a new motorcycle manufacturing plant in Kansas City, Missouri. The facility will begin operations in 1998 and is slated to manufacture and assemble Harley's Sportster motorcycles. Harley Davidson is the nation's last publicly traded motorcycle maker. The company will also make some Buell sport/performance motorcycles at the facility. Harley owns 49% of Buell Motorcycle Co.

Harley will build the new facility as part of its expansion plan, which calls for investing in and near the company's already existing facilities (Milwaukee and Tomahawk, Wisconsin; York, Pennsylvania). The plan should help Harley reach their production goal of more than 200,000 motorcycles per year by 2003--the company's 100th anniversary. The plan calls for the company to invest between $460 million and $520 million over the next three years. The money to pay for the plan will come from internally generated funds.

Harley also announced that it will pay all of its shareholders a 5 cent per share cash dividend, provided that they were shareholders of record as of June 14. Harley has 77.9 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel