Milwaukee Tool plans to create 1,000 new jobs in Wisconsin. The Brookfield-based tool manufacturer will invest $206 million at nine locations across the state. Wisconsin will support the company’s expansion with up to $22.5 million in additional performance-based tax credits.
Milwaukee Tool’s newest investment in Wisconsin will help support the expansion of its existing research and development facilities, infrastructure needs, and equipment. Of the 1,000 jobs the company has committed to creating, many will be critical engineering and technical roles needed to support the rapidly advancing technologies harnessed in their products.
“For nearly 100 years, Milwaukee Tool has been making high-quality products to help workers in Wisconsin and around the world get the job done,” said Governor Tony Evers. “Through all that time, Milwaukee Tool has never stopped innovating and has never stopped investing in Wisconsin, seeing remarkable growth even in just the last decade. We’re glad to be continuing our investment in them today to not only create good-paying jobs for Wisconsinites but to ensure that growth continues in the years to come.”
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is supporting the project with an additional $22.5 million in Enterprise Zone tax credits, raising the state’s total investment in the company to $70.5 million. The actual amount of tax credits the company receives will depend on meeting the capital expenditure and job creation goals.
“Milwaukee Tool’s investment in Wisconsin is creating opportunities not only for the company’s workers but for all the suppliers, construction companies, and others who partner with them,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. “The company has deep Wisconsin roots and displays those Badger values in the communities they work in by paying employees fairly and encouraging them to give back through volunteering.”
In 2016, Wisconsin created an Enterprise Zone to support Milwaukee Tool’s expansion in Wisconsin. The latest amendment to the zone will provide up to $70.5 million in state tax credits if the company makes a total capital investment of at least $285 million and creates new full-time jobs in accordance with its Enterprise Zone Tax Credit Agreement requirements by December 31, 2027. At the end of 2021, Milwaukee Tool had invested more than $233 million and created 2,289 new jobs.
“This state has been our company’s home for nearly 100 years, and we’re proud to continue our investments here,” said Ty Staviski, chief financial officer for Milwaukee Tool. “Our people are the key to our success. We look forward to introducing 1,000 more people to the incredible culture we’ve created at our world-class facilities.”
Merz Expands Two Wisconsin Facilities
In another multi-location investment, Merz North America, Inc. is expanding its facilities in Sturtevant and Franksville. The North Carolina-based aesthetics and neurotoxin manufacturer will invest $8 million and create 35 jobs over the next three years.
“Merz has a global presence in its industry and Wisconsin plays a critical role in its operations,” said WEDC’s Hughes. “Its continued presence and job creation in Wisconsin is an effort WEDC can proudly support.”
WEDC is supporting the project by authorizing up to $160,000 in state income tax credits over the next three years. The actual amount of tax credits Merz will receive is contingent upon the number of jobs created.
“The additional funding from WEDC has definitely given us the ability to do some additional project work — we were able to get some equipment ordered sooner because we didn’t have the funding for that,” said Dean Erickson, VP of facilities operations at Merz’s Sturtevant facility. “It ultimately got us making these improvements sooner in the program than was originally expected.”
Merz requires expanded facilities to ramp up production and meet the rapidly growing demand for its bulking agents containing Calcium Hydroxyapatite (CaHa). The company ultimately hopes to triple its current output of a million syringe assemblies per year. Doing so demands improvements to the Sturtevant facility and warehouse, where particle manufacturing, packaging and distribution take place, as well as the Franksville facility, which focuses on final product manufacturing.
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