Peoria-based O’Brien Steel Service is planning to expand its Cudahy plant to provide space for additional equipment and production capacity.
The company currently has a 64,773-square-foot large steel specialty fabrication industrial building at 6001 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
Over the years, O’Brien Steel has evolved into a hybrid steel service center, according to document submitted to the city.
O’Brien plans to add 32,000 square feet to the building. O’Brien plans to begin construction in early fall with completion by the end of the year.
The expansion would add 10 people to a staff of about 54.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on imported steel. According to a recent Bloomberg report, of 48 companies mentioning tariffs during the quarterly earnings season seven said they were benefiting from the steel tariffs.
When BizTimes reached out to O’Brien, an employee who did not want to give his name, said expansion plans in Cudahy were in the works before the tariffs were put into place. The employee said O’Brien Steel Service had not yet seen a benefit from the steel tariff.
“The expansion is because we have seen an increase in business in our Milwaukee market,” he said.
Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corporation is the designer and builder for the project.
O’Brien was founded in 1975 in Peoria. Today the company has operations in Peoria, Cudahy, Wausau and Lacon, Illinois.
The Cudahy plan commission will review the proposal Tuesday.
