Menomonee Falls-based Bradley Corp. announced that it plans to build a 177,000-square-foot plant, which could be expanded in the future to 290,000 square feet.
The company said it is considering three locations in the “metro-Milwaukee and Washington County corridor.” One possible site is a property owned by the company in the Germantown Business Park. The company said it has received approval from the Germantown and Menomonee Falls village boards to build a plant on that site.
Bradley Corp. manufactures plumbing fixtures, restroom accessories and emergency equipment.
The operations for the new plant will be moved from a 150,000-square-foot space currently leased by the company at 7020 W. Parkland Ct. in the city of Milwaukee. All of the 100 jobs at that site will be moved to the new plant and the company said it plans to add more jobs at the new location. The company makes its commercial washroom accessory products in the Milwaukee facility and the new plant may expand those capabilities, said Jon Dommisse, the company’s director of marketing and product development.
Bradley Corp. plans to select a site in January and hopes to begin construction of the new plant in the spring.
“We want all of the decisions to be made in the first quarter – we’re hoping to break ground in the first quarter,” Dommisse said. “We want to get the ball rolling. We have immediate needs.”
The company also said that it is borrowing $8 million through the village of Menomonee Falls in industrial revenue bonds to renovate the company’s Menomonee Falls headquarters at W142 N9101 Fountain Blvd., and to build the new facility if the Germantown site is selected.
“Bradley has continued to expand in this recession while our industry has contracted this year,” said owner and chairman Donald Mullett. “These expansion plans are another testament to the long-standing strength of our company and continued support for American manufacturing.”
Bradley’s sales are tied to the commercial, industrial and institutional real estate development and remodeling markets. That industry has been hard hit in recent years, but Bradley has managed to stay profitable and continue growth, Dommisse said.
“We’ve stayed in the black while the industry has been down approximately 17 to 20 percent annually for the last two to three years,” he said. “We’ve continued to grow the business in that time and we see that continuing. A lot of our competitors have moved things overseas. We’ve weathered the economic storm because we’re committed to made in America manufacturing.”
