Actuant Corp. recently moved into its new, 81,000-square-foot corporate headquarters office building at N86 W12500 Westbrook Crossing in Menomonee Falls.
The company’s electrical division moved in July of 2010 from Glendale to a 312,000-square-foot facility just across the parking lot from its new headquarters.
The corporate headquarters is a new building that was developed by Wauwatosa-based Irgens Development Partners LLC. The facility for the electrical division was developed by Milwaukee-based Towne Investments, now known as Zilber Property Group, which bought an existing 175,000-square-foot building, remodeled it and added a 137,000-square-foot distribution center to its south side. Actuant leases the electrical division building from Zilber.
In its new corporate headquarters, Actuant has been able to gather many of the leaders of its portfolio companies. By having those leaders in the same space, the company is better able to communicate and share new ideas, said Robert Arzbaecher, chairman and chief executive officer of Actuant.
“This is a very verbal company. We go into each others’ offices and make things happen, and getting back onto one campus where that can happen is going to be an important benefit,” he said.
The company’s new headquarters also has a large training room that can hold up to 120 people. The room can also be split into three sections for smaller events. The new space also includes multiple conference rooms for smaller meetings.
Actuant’s new headquarters also features an onsite fitness center, which is run by Aurora Health Care. The facility includes a variety of cardio and weight equipment, and also offers yoga, spinning and other fitness classes.
The two Actuant buildings also have several green features. The headquarters office building has a small section of green roof on an exposed area of its first floor that employees can see from the second floor. The campus has been planted with grass that is only mowed once a year and needs minimal fertilizer. The facility’s restrooms have dual-flush toilets, and its fitness center has dual modulating water heaters.
The move to a new corporate headquarters and a consolidation of its electrical division has made the company more efficient, said Karen Bauer, the Actuant’s communications and investment relations leader. She also oversaw the development of both buildings and the company’s move.
“The Actuant campus project was critical to our organization’s collaboration and training and development goals,” Bauer said. “Both the move of our electrical businesses last July and the latest move into the new administrative building in April went flawlessly. We have held both an inaugural global training event and our board of directors meeting here in the last month and it is clear that the entire project was successful from both a functional and financial standpoint.”
Actuant’s former headquarters in Butler and the buildings that formerly housed its electrical division in Glendale were buildings leased by the company.
Ascent Battery Supply Inc., doing business as Batteries Plus, recently leased an 113,000-square-foot building at 6200 N. Baker Road, Glendale, from Stan and Jerry Properties LLC. The building was the largest of four that Actuant had occupied for its electrical division. Batteries Plus is using the building for warehousing and distribution, which is the same thing Actuant used it for. Kevin Barry of Cassidy Turley Barry represented Batteries Plus and Kurt Van Dyke and Pete Slezak of Cassidy Turley Barry represented Stan and Jerry Properties in brokering the lease.
“The landlord did not have one day of vacancy between when Actuant vacated the premises to when Ascent Battery Supply began occupancy,” said Kevin Barry.
The other former Actuant buildings in Glendale are more oriented for manufacturing use than warehousing use, said Cassidy Turley Barry president James T. Barry III.
The metro Milwaukee area’s industrial space vacancy rate is at about 8.2 percent, down from 9.2 percent a year ago as manufacturers are gaining strength and absorbing more real estate in the area. The improving industrial market could help fill the other former Actuant buildings in Glendale.
The former Actuant headquarters office building is located at 13000 W. Silver Spring Drive in Butler. The office market in the Milwaukee area is considerably weaker than the industrial market, especially for non-class A office space. In the northwest submarket there is a 31 percent vacancy rate for class B office space, according to the latest office market report from Inland Companies. Therefore, it could be awhile before a new tenant is found for the former Actuant office building in Butler.
“For the right price it could be a good opportunity for someone that needs to be in that area,” James T. Barry III said.
