Racine-based Twin Disc Inc. said Friday that it will move its “corporate team” in early 2023 to an office that it is establishing in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
The company, a manufacturer of power transmission equipment, said it is leasing an 8,100-square-foot space on the fourth floor of the building at 222 E. Erie St. The office will accommodate approximately 25 employees, the company said.
In a news release about the office space, the company did not state if it will be considered its corporate headquarters. A representative for the company could not be reached to comment further on Friday.
In March, the company announced plans to sell its headquarters property at 1328 Racine St. in Racine to Milwaukee-based real estate development firm J. Jeffers & Co. LLC. That deal later fell through, according to SEC filings. However, Twin Disc indicated it was in talks with an alternative buyer for the property.
The company has been planning to move out of its Racine headquarters for at least two years. John Batten, chief executive officer of Twin Disc, said on the company’s most recent earnings call that the process would be complete by December.
“It is our intent to be out of this building by December, with everyone relocated either to our 21st Street facility across town, or our new office in Milwaukee,” Batten said.
While the company had previously discussed consolidating operations at its 4600 21st St. location in Racine, where it also has manufacturing operations, the earnings call was the first time Batten mentioned a Milwaukee office.
On Friday, the company said the lease of an office space in Milwaukee, and tentative sale of its facility at 1328 Racine St. in Racine, is part of its “asset optimization strategy.”
“We continue to find ways to reduce our footprint and provide more value for our shareholders, customers and employees,” said Batten in the news release. “We assessed several locations for the new office space and found that downtown Milwaukee better suits this subset of employees.”
“Having transitioned manufacturing and assembly functions to more modern and efficient facilities in the Racine area, our current space is not being fully utilized,” continued Batten. “We truly believe that the community will be better served if our building on Racine Street is redeveloped into a space that provides more jobs or amenities.”
Twin Disc on Friday said its manufacturing and assembly facilities, located at 4600 21st St. in Racine, will continue to produce industrial products, marine transmissions for the commercial and pleasure craft markets, and land-based transmissions used in off-road applications. The company also said it will continue operations at its North American Aftermarket Distribution Center, located in Sturtevant.
An affiliate of Chicago-based R2 Companies bought the 222 E. Erie St. building in the Third Ward in December 2019 for $9.65 million. A Founders 3 listing for the property puts the building’s gross size at around 85,000 square feet with around 20,000 square feet of leasable space on each of the four floors.
