German automotive manufacturer Huf Group announced plans to sell its Milwaukee operations to the Italian zinc die casting firm Bruschi S.pA.
“The sale of our North American die cast activities to Bruschi enables us to outsource the supply of die cast parts to a strong partner with high expertise, who is able to generate economies of scale due to a broader customer base. Thus, our customers will profit from high quality at improved cost,” said Tom Graf, chief executive officer of Huf Group.
The facility, located at 9020 W. Dean Road on Milwaukee’s far northwest side, currently supplies die cast parts for Huf’s North American operations. Bruschi will take over the operation and its 73 employees, merging it into its own U.S. operations and continuing to supply Huf sites in Tennessee, Mexico and Brazil.
“The acquisition of Huf North America Die Cast perfectly fits into our strategy to expand our global footprint and strengthen our position as experts for Zinc die casting in key markets,” said Paolo Rastelli, CEO of Bruschi. “The site has an excellent track record as a manufacturer of high-quality Zamak parts for the automotive industry. This ideally complements our customer base in electronics, household appliances, textile and other industries.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Dean Road facility has an assessed value of $3.5 million.
Bruschi announced plans in February 2018 to establish a production facility in the U.S. In March of this year, the company acquired two parcels at the corner of North Granville Woods and West Bradley roads, just east of North 76th Street, for $1.1 million.
In a press release announcing the Huf deal, Bruschi said it had worked to turn the facility from an abandoned warehouse to a modern, efficient production facility.
“Our company firmly believes in the United States, both in technological and market terms: this is why we have invested and we will keep investing,” Rastelli said.
