Milwaukee-based manufacturer Sellars Absorbent Materials has invested $15 million to open a new production facility at 5400 W. Good Hope Road on the city’s north side.
Sellars is leasing the 100,000-square-foot facility, which is the company’s fifth location in Milwaukee. The building will house two machines. Sellars anticipates hiring 20 people to work at the new plant.
Sellars makes shop towels, wet wipes, disposable wipers and sorbents made with recycled fibers. The company’s products are made with a paper processing machine that was created using proprietary technology.
“Our goal with this new facility is to grow our business and build on the proprietary technology we have developed,” said Tom Sellars, CEO of Sellars. “We’re one of the only manufacturers in the world who can make high-quality DRC wipers from recycled input.”
Over the past several years, Sellars has spent time designing and building another mid-sized paper processing machine.
However, there was not enough room at the company’s existing headquarters for the new machine, leading to a need for additional space. Sellars’ headquarters building is located at 6565 N. 60th St.
The company also leases two warehouse buildings in Milwaukee, one along West Hope Avenue and the other along West Calumet Road. Sellars also owns a second manufacturing plant along Industrial Road in Milwaukee, in addition to two distribution centers in Reno, Nevada and Atlanta.
The new facility is currently running one shift and will ramp up production as needed. The company's newest machine is producing double re-crepe (DRC) material, which is used to manufacture a variety of materials for customers in the nonwovens industry. Installation of the DRC machine began in fall 2024 and Sellars has been conducting test runs and finetuning it the past few months.
DRC technology is a process that enhances the strength, bulk, absorbency, softness and appearance of paper-based wipers. DRC wipers are made using a mixture of virgin and recycled fibers. Sellars holds 20 U.S. and 33 international patents for its DRC technology
