Lavelle Industries Inc. is expanding its Wisconsin production facilities in Burlington and Whitewater to support growth in demand for its Korky toilet repair products and custom rubber molded parts.
At its headquarters in Burlington, Lavelle is adding rubber injection and compression molding presses to meet increasing sales demand. The equipment additions will support existing customer growth and new customer requirements. Lavelle will also be hiring to meet the increased production requirements.
Earlier this year, Lavelle purchased land from the Community Development Authority of Whitewater, adjacent to its existing Whitewater plant, to allow building expansion. Construction began in October and will be completed in early summer. The expanded building, additional equipment and added staff will support increasing business with existing Korky and OEM product distribution, new products and new customers.
“I am pleased that Lavelle continues to grow by providing quality, domestically manufactured products to our customers,” said company president and majority owner Rhonda Sullivan. “We continually look for ways to stay competitive in an industry dominated by foreign competition.”
The expansion project is expected to total up to $15 million and create up to 90 new jobs at both locations over the next three years.
To support the project, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is providing Lavelle with up to $991,250 in Economic Development Tax Credits over the next three years. The actual amount of state tax credits issued is contingent upon the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investment the company makes in the two projects.
“WEDC is pleased to assist Lavelle Industries in this project and applauds its continued commitment to growing in Wisconsin,” said Reed Hall, secretary and chief executive officer of WEDC, the state’s lead economic development organization. “Lavelle is among the many Wisconsin companies that have chosen to expand here because of the state’s positive business climate and strong workforce.”
