Beloit-based Lean Design Werks, a manufacturer specializing in automation and robotics, hopes to renovate an abandoned St. Francis building and turn it into a new company headquarters.
Lean Design Werks offers custom machine design, robotic integration services, palletizing and gantry product systems, according to a proposal submitted to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.
A vacant building at 4021 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. could become the new headquarters for Lean Design Werks pending formal approval. The site was previously home to Badger Metal Finishing, a chrome polishing business, from 2000 to 2017. At that time, Badger Metal was sold. The building has been vacant since then. The owner of the property has retired and relocated to Florida.
The expansion could create 10 to 15 new jobs, according to the submitted plans.
“The company is located in Beloit because we couldn’t find a suitable light manufacturing space with specific amenities nearby,” reads the proposal. “These location constraints have made it difficult for us to implement our hiring and growth plans.”
Plans for the renovated building include office space, warehousing space, a small assembly area and a space dedicated to robotic outreach.
Lean Design Werks was founded by Renata and Dale Bunger, Milwaukee County residents, in 2015. The pair hopes to move their business closer to home. They’ve applied for a Brownfield Site Assessment (SAG) Grant of up to $150,000 to assist with site remediation.
“The building has been vacant since 2020 and the site and building have various contaminants that need to be remediated prior to any use,” according to submitted documents. “At a minimum, environmental remediation of ground contaminants at the site and a dust collection system are needed, as well as extensive renovations to the building.”
