Manufacturing

The final shipment of steel for 2014 arrived today in the Port of Milwaukee, bringing the year's total volume of steel shipments to 179,000 metric tons, the second highest annual steel tonnage since 1970, according to port spokesman Jeff Fleming.

Paul Jones, retired chairman, chief executive officer and president of Milwaukee-based A.O. Smith Corp., joined Milwaukee-based Rexnord Corp.'s board of directors on Dec. 10. Jones will also serve on the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board.

From the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium to the Wisconsin Heart Hospital and from the Indianapolis Zoo’s Dolphin Adventure Gallery to the Cheesecake Factory at Mayfair Mall, Milwaukee-based Max Weiss Company LLC has played a role in numerous major national and local construction projects by providing curved structural steel and formed metal products.

Grafton-based Microbrush International has acquired the Dry Tips product line from Swedish surgical and wound product manufacturer Molnlycke Health Care.

The OEM Industries Division of FNA Group Inc., which manufactures pressure washers for home and industrial markets, is establishing a new manufacturing, distribution and research and development facility in Pleasant Prairie.

Milwaukee-based Pflow Industries Inc. has purchased a 26,000-square-foot building across the street to make room for growth.

Glendale-based global manufacturer Johnson Controls Inc. recently held a fiscal 2015 forecast and mid-term financial outlook in which it predicted record profits in fiscal 2015.

Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc. plans to close its direct marketing plant in Atlanta, Ga., in early 2015.

Sheboygan Falls-based sausage manufacturer Johnsonville Sausage has opened its first retail store, in Naples, Fla.

Racine-based outdoor recreation equipment manufacturer Johnson Outdoors Inc. reported a fiscal fourth quarter net loss of $786,000, compared with a net loss of $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.