Published: Jan. 28, 2017
Metalcraft to break ground on expansion
ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043
For three straight years, Metalcraft of Mayville Inc., which has
factories in Mayville and West Bend, has enjoyed record-breaking sales.
The company thought it was time to make a change.
“It was finally time to pull the trigger,” President Randy Gloede said.
The company announced Wednesday a multi-million dollar expansion to
the West Bend facility. The expansion will add about 50 employees and
20,000 square feet to the north side of the facility. It is intended to
add manufacturing space primarily for welding robots and other welding
equipment.
It is the building’s first expansion in nearly two decades.
“We’ve done several additions at the Mayville almost every year,”
Gloede said. “(The West Bend) plant has done really well for us. The
customer base is growing significantly and we’re super excited about
it.”
The West Bend
facility has 230,000 square feet. The project will cost an estimated $2
million to $3 million. A groundbreaking event is scheduled for Feb. 6
and the project is slated to be completed by mid-June.
“Overall, it’s been every year for the last three years,” Gloede said about the company’s record-breaking sales trend.
The project will be done by Burkhart Construction out of Butler.
Bryan Macpherson, senior manufacturing engineer, will oversee the project in West Bend.
“Imperative,” he said when asked about the importance of the project.
“With the work that we have coming down the line, if we don’t put this
expansion on, we won’t be able to satisfy our customer’s needs.”
Planning for the project began about three years ago when the company
purchased some land off Progress Drive and turned into employee and
visitor parking.
Currently, the employee and visitor parking lot is where the expansion will go.
Metalcraft of Mayville was
established in 1922 as the Peerless Traveling Goods Company with
luggage as its principle product. In 1958, the name was changed to
Dorst Metalcraft Inc. after the company gradually entered the metal
fabrication market.
In
1973, E.A. Gallun Jr. purchased the company and changed the name to
Metalcraft of Mayville. About 10 years later, the company built the West
Bend plant.
Today, the
company has more than 500 employees among the two plants. It serves the
agriculture, commercial, construction, forestry, industrial, military
and mining industries.
In 1983, Metalcraft of Mayville became the primary builder for SCAG Power Equipment.
The company also builds parts for Caterpillar, John Deere, Oshkosh
Corporation (formerly Oshkosh Truck) and military vehicles, such as
humvees.
Upcoming projects by Caterpillar and John Deere happily forced Metalcraft to view expansion opportunities.
“The Mayville plant does a lot of more of our propriety products,”
Gloede said. “The West Bend plant does quite a bit more of the contract
manufacturing, any industrial or military type customer. We’ve had a lot
of growth on that side of the business.
“West Bend has had some really great commercial relationship.”
The proverbial trigger was pulled on the project in October.
“We put this into high gear,” Macpherson said.
“It’s had its moments, a few bumps in the road,” he said when asked
about any challenges in the short time span in the planning of the
project. “The city of West Bend has been very cordial working with us.
They were helpful with us getting the approval process going quickly.”
The last expansion was about 15 years ago, which is being added to with this project.
“Last year was a record year for us and we’re projecting to do better
than last year this year,” Macpherson said. “With improvements, it’s
going to be another record year for us.”
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