A bronze gear manufacturer owned by Watertown-based
Fisher-Barton Group Inc. is planning a 56,000-square-foot expansion of its Waukesha facility.
The company,
Accurate Specialties, Inc., recently requested a land use plan amendment for the project, a 14.5-acre site at 570 W. Bluemound Road. That land, which is currently home to the company’s longstanding industrial facility as well as a single-family residence, had been zoned for commercial and residential uses, according to a city staff memo.
On Tuesday, the Waukesha Common Council approved rezoning both parcels for industrial use. Aldermen also approved a separate certified survey map for the project site, which is across from the Waukesha County Airport. The company currently owns both parcels.
The company plans to hire an additional 40 employees as part of the expansion, including skilled machinists, programmers, engineers, quality technicians and maintenance personnel. The company will also be purchasing $3 million in new equipment to support the expansion.
In a letter submitted to the city, Bob Rogers, general manager at Accurate Specialties, explains that the company is expanding in an effort to diversify its operations at the site, which currently consists of a 47,160-square-foot manufacturing and office building, by constructing a separate 56,000-square-foot structure immediately to the south. Dubbed the Turning Center of Excellence, the new manufacturing space will serve both internal Fisher-Barton companies, the letter states, but “more importantly, a new base of diversified external customers.”
The space will feature state-of-the-art equipment representing the newest technologies in high precision, high volume machining, Rogers states
“This is a large regional and national market opportunity that will be filled by ASI as we continue to grow and diversify our Waukesha presence and take advantage of Fisher-Barton’s reputation in the many industries it now serves,” Rogers states in the letter.
Expansion efforts are slated to begin sometime this spring, according to Rogers.
Speaking about the expansion on Wednesday, Paul Krejcarek, chief financial officer at Fisher-Barton, said the company is excited to expand its Waukesha facility.
“Waukesha is a great area to get skilled labor,” Krejcarek, said.
