A year after being acquired by the Kuhn company. Kuhn-Krause has announced that it will expand its manufacturing facility here in Hutchinson. Construction ground breaking for a high-bay 70,000 square-foot building expansion is expected to begin next month with the project scheduled for completion by calendar year end.

The expansion will improve manufacturing capacity, efficiency and quality with new, state-of-the-art technology and use of lean manufacturing strategies. Company President Keith Whitaker says the expansion compliments other investments made in the first year since Kuhn took over the company.

The total cost of this construction project, along with related new machinery procurement scheduled for this year will be approximately 5-million dollars.

The new facility will be located just north of the K-and-O Railroad tracks along Monroe St.

Rockford Structures of Rockford, Illinois will be the general contractor for the project.

KUHN-Krause currently has over 300 employees in Hutchinson, hiring 50-new full time employees in 2011.