Wauwatosa-based Lemberg Electric Company Inc. plans to move by the end of September to a building that the employee-owned company recently purchased at 4085 N. 128th St. in Brookfield.
The company occupies about 17,000 square feet of space at 730 N. 109th St. in Wauwatosa, but has run out of space there, according to president and chief executive officer David Washebek.
“We’re just packed in here like sardines,” he said. “We’ve expanded here twice, and we’ve outgrown it twice. Now it’s time to move on. We started looking for a building early last year.”
The company recently closed on its purchase of the two-story, 48,000-square-foot building in Brookfield. Lemberg will occupy the 28,000-square-foot first floor and is looking for a tenant to lease the 20,000-square-foot second floor.
Lemberg bought the building from Allen Retzlaff for $1.075 million, Washebek said. Lemberg plans to spend about $1 million on improvements, Washebek said. The structure was built in 1978. It was previously occupied by Milwaukee Electric Tool, which used it as a training center, but it has been vacant for about two years and needs extensive renovations.
“The building needs a lot of work, we know that,” Washebek said. “It needs a (new) roof, parking lot, landscaping. It needs a complete gutting on the inside. It’s like walking into 1978.”
The Brookfield building sits on a 2.5-acre site and has ample parking space. The company’s Wauwatosa location has very little parking space.
“There is plenty of parking for our employees’ cars, our trucks and our trailers,” Washebek said.
The new location for the company is ideal, Washebek said.
“Our location is absolutely perfect for what we do. We have close access to the freeway, Capitol Drive and Lisbon Avenue,” he said. “It’s right in the middle of our biggest customer base. It’s just a win-win proposition for us moving there.”
Lemberg is an electrical contractor that installs electrical systems for commercial buildings. The company’s clients include the Bradley Center, Mayfair Mall and Harley-Davidson Inc. The company’s biggest project right now is the new hospital under construction in Franklin by Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.
The company also has a data communications division and a sign division, which designs, manufactures and installs signs.
The Lemberg family established the company in Milwaukee 1928. In 1992, it became an employee-owned company through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). All non-union employees for the company are part owners.
The company was located at 24th and State streets in Milwaukee from 1928 to 1997, but the neighborhood declined and the building became obsolete, so the company moved to Wauwatosa.
The company has about 100 employees in the field and 27 in the office. Last year, while working on the Bayshore Town Center project, the company expanded its field employee workforce to 182, Washebek said.
Later this year, the company will probably add another 20 to 25 field employees, he said.
The company had $23 million in revenue last year, up about 20 percent from the previous year. This year, the company expects to have about $26 million in revenue, Washebek said.
“About the farthest you can look ahead is one year in our business,” Washebek said. “For 2008, our outlook looks very good.”
Lemberg Electric Company Inc.
Web site: www.lembergelectric.com
Ownership: Employee-owned
Number of employees: 127
President and CEO: David Washebek
