Milwaukee Truck Sales Inc. has purchased 17 acres in the Town of Yorkville, where it plans to build a $2.3 million, 30,000-square-foot plant that will include a showroom, a parts division and a service division.
The new plant near Interstate 94 and Highway 20 in Racine County will help the company provide parts and service for Mack, Volvo and Hino trucks.
The company purchased the land from Roland Machinery, which also recently built a facility at the site. Trent Poole of Polacheck and Jim Young of the James T. Barry Co. brokered the sale of the land to Milwaukee Truck. Poole represented the buyer, and Young represented the seller.
The new plant will do business as Racine Truck Sales, Inc.
Roger Kriete, chief executive officer of Milwaukee Truck Sales, said the additional location will create 20 full-time jobs in new and used sales, parts and service.
"We feel one of the nice things (about being next to Roland Machinery) is the complementary businesses," said Lindsey Kriete, business manager for Milwaukee Truck Sales. "We are from a similar industry. People who purchase heavy duty equipment may need a truck, and our customers may also look to Roland."
With the new location, Milwaukee Truck Sales hopes to provide better service to its largest customer, Putzmeister Inc., a concrete pumping company located in nearby Sturtevant.
Although architectural plans are not finalized, Roger Kriete said Milwaukee Truck Sales intends to open its Yorkville facility by the end of the year. Ott Development Inc., New Berlin, will build the facility, which will be designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc., Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Truck Sales had been looking for a second location in the Milwaukee area since the company purchased the franchise rights for Volvo Truck Corp. in October. The site next to Roland Machinery is perfect for the business, the Krietes said.
"We have been primarily a vocational local business with Mack," Lindsey Kriete said. "Volvo is mostly an over-the-road market that depends on highway exposure, and the trucks are used for long hauling."
The Chicago-Milwaukee corridor is one of the 10 busiest in the country for trucking, Roger Kriete said.
"(The corridor) is a rapidly growing area, especially at the corner of Highway 20 and I-94, and it appears to be expanding both north and south," he said. "It seems like the Town of Yorkville is more business-friendly than (communities on) the east side of the expressway, which have more restrictions."
The company also is planning to open a new Green Bay facility to be called Green Bay Truck Sales Inc. by Jan. 1.
The new facilities are being added because of growth within the business, a need to expand and the need to relocate south of Green Bay.
Roger Kriete said such expansions are stressful for his company.
"The hardest part was to do both projects simultaneously," Roger said. "It is difficult to have two projects of this magnitude in two cities and is straining the ability to get everyone together. Slowly but surely, though, it is coming together, and we truly have plans to finish before the end of the year. We have a goal we are shooting for, and we think it can be accomplished."
July 9, 2004, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI
