Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. will continue its rapid expansion in the Milwaukee area with a new vertically integrated manufacturing plant in West Bend. The Brookfield-based tool maker plans to break ground in April on the nearly $26 million manufacturing facility, and expects to begin production there in early 2021. The facility will be used to manufacture new-to-market hand tools for professional electricians and utility linemen. Several trade publications reported on the company's plans on Friday, citing information from a news release. "With a focus on core users in the electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades, our strategy for Hand Tools from the beginning has been to disrupt the market with superior performance, quality, and user-driven feature sets," Tim Albrecht, president of hand tools at Milwaukee Tool, said in a statement. "As we continue with that strategy, we are thrilled to invest in state-of-the art technology and equipment, and a skilled labor force — right in the heart of Wisconsin — to deliver the next wave of hand tool innovation to the industry." Milwaukee Tool is in major growth mode, both in southeastern Wisconsin and elsewhere in the state. Since 2016, the company has added more than 334,000 square feet of office space to its Brookfield headquarters campus along West Lisbon Road, just west of North 125th Street. In December, the company unveiled plans for a
$100 million multi-purpose campus in Menomonee Falls, which could eventually reach up to 2.5 million square feet on 65 acres. Additionally, it is planning a $7.5 expansion at its Imperial Blades subsidiary in Sun Prairie. The company's statewide expansion is supported in part by $20 million in tax incentives from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and the Menomonee Falls campus in particular is
receiving tax incremental financing incentives from the village. Milwaukee Tool's expansions in Brookfield were also supported by up to $26 million in state incentives. Owned by Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., Milwaukee Tool has grown from just a few hundred employees in Brookfield in the mid-2000s to more than 1,400.
