GORHAM, Maine -- Wood and gas stove manufacturer Jotul has announced that all Jotul brand wood and gas stoves, inserts and fireplaces sold in North America will soon be built in Gorham, Maine, doubling the facility's manufacturing capacity.
Bret Watson, president and CEO of Jotul North America, says the Gorham operation has distributed wood stoves built in Norway while manufacturing gas products, along with some wood products intended for the U.S. market. Now, he says, rather than sending assembled stoves to the U.S., Jotul in Norway will send cast iron parts which will be assembled here.
"They're currently being assembled in Norway, and the labor rate differential is significant enough where it's been determined that the group can benefit, profit-wise, from having the stoves built in our Jotul North America facility, which is in the Gorham Industrial Park," Watson says.
Watson says another benefit is that all of the assembly will now be close to the company's engineering department which will allow for quicker product improvements.
