Midwest Engineering Systems Inc.
N26 W23445 Paul Road, Pewaukee
Industry: Automation systems
Employees: 110
www.mwes.com
Midwest Engineering Systems Inc., an automation systems manufacturer, is in the process of moving into a new 100,000-square-foot facility at W238 N1800 Rockwood Drive in Pewaukee.
The company has outgrown its existing Pewaukee space as demand for automation systems increases.
“Ten years or so ago, we probably did maybe five to 10 robots a year. Now, we’re probably doing 50 to 60 robots a year,” said Dean Stefanac, vice president-engineering and operations.
MWES’ growth over the past 10 years demonstrates the trend. In 2004, it was in an 8,000-square-foot facility in West Allis. Five years ago, it moved to an 18,000-square-foot facility in Pewaukee. And in 2011, it moved into its current 55,000-square-foot space at N26 W23445 Paul Road in Pewaukee.
At the same time, the company has been steadily hiring. It added 61 employees in 2012 and 20 employees in 2013. It has already hired 18 this year.
MWES is leasing the new 100,000-square-foot facility, formerly occupied by Harley-Davidson apparel manufacturer Holoubek Studios Inc., and adding new equipment. The company also plans to hire another five to 10 new employees, Stefanac said. Operations at the old facility will wrap up by the end of the year.
Midwest Engineering also recently opened a 5,000-square-foot engineering office in Beloit and a 31,000-square-foot sales, manufacturing and engineering operation in Longmont, Colo. to be closer to key customers. It expects to hire a total of 16 employees in Beloit and 25 employees in Colorado.
The custom projects that MWES does can take between eight and 26 weeks to complete, Stefanac said. It integrates robotics and automation to deliver a turnkey automation process for manufacturers’ product lines
The company has customers all over North America and also does some exporting. Its customers include major firms like Caterpillar Inc., Harley-Davidson Inc. and CNH Industrial N.V.
Recently, MWES assembled a weld positioning system that will be used to manufacture cement mixer parts at McNeilus Companies, a division of Oshkosh Corp. MWES built a row former at part of the McNeilus system, to precisely bend the steel for its parts, and a robotic assembly that lifts the parts to be joined together.
Midwest Engineering moved into the weld field about a year and a half ago after it saw the demand for heavy deposition welding, Stefanac said.
The company also manufactures smaller systems, like a scalpel buffing and priming system for a customer than molds silicone rings onto medical scalpels. The automated MWES solution buffs and sprays primer on the area where the rings will be molded onto the product.
Midwest Engineering puts together all of its own control panels, Stefanac said. It is UL certified to build them.
“There’s quite a few integrators around the country that will integrate a robot into manufacturing, but there’s few that do all the conveyors and controls,” he said.
Customers often come into MWES’ facility to test the systems and make prototypes before the large parts are shipped to their facilities.
Stefanac expects MWES’ growth to continue at the same pace for the forseeable future, he said.
“We’re seeing more and more demand for fully automated systems,” Stefanac said. “Today’s workforce isn’t as interested in the trades work or working in the factory, so (employers) have to substitute that expertise with robotics.”
