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Miller to Build 105,000 Sq.-Ft. Facility for Light Industrial Group
- Second Miller expansion project in 2006
- Miller continues commitment to Fox Valley area
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| Miller Electric Mfg. Co. recently broke ground on a $4.7 million facility for its Light Industrial product group. It is Miller’s second major expansion project this year. On hand for the ceremony were (from left) Al Nowak; Sandra Rogers, Rick Rosenfeldt; Jeff Lenzner, general manager, commercial products; Gwenn Loewenhagen; Harold Nienhaus; Steve Moreau; Mark Schwalbe, group controller; Mike Weller, Miller president; Becky Tuchscherer, group controller. |
Greenville, Wis., March 30, 2006 — Miller Electric Mfg. Co. today broke ground on a new 105,000 sq.-ft., $4.7 million facility for its Light Industrial business unit at Mayflower Drive and Highway 96 in Greenville. The new building, scheduled to be completed in early September of 2006, will be the eighth Miller facility in the Fox Valley.
This is the second major 2006 expansion project for Miller, which recently moved its Parts business unit into a 100,000 sq-ft. facility at 5730 Technology Circle, Greenville. It is the third area business expansion for Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW), Miller’s parent company, which recently relocated its Weldcraft business to the Fox Valley from California, bringing 50 jobs to Wisconsin.
“This expansion represents our commitment to the local community, to continuing investment and to growth,” said Mike Weller, Miller president. “In the last three years, Miller has experienced double-digit growth, outpacing the industry. Our expansion isn’t limited to our new facilities. We’ve also added 185 people to our workforce since January 2005, and many of our employees have been working appreciable overtime to meet the demand for our products.”
Room to Grow
The new Light Industrial facility will be 27,000 square feet larger than its present facility at 1919 W. College Avenue in Appleton. Miller’s Light Industrial business unit, which currently employs 125 people, is responsible for the highly successful line of Millermatic welders. Miller will retain the existing location for expansion of other Miller business units.
The new building will include more manufacturing and engineering space, a product demonstration room and six more additional shipping and receiving bays.
“The expansion is necessary because we’ve experienced very positive growth in the last few years,” said Jeff Lenzner, Miller general manager, commercial products, which includes the Millermatic series. “We’re exceeding our capacity for engineering and manufacturing.”
“The new building will allow us to operate more efficiently and add capacity for future growth, which will, in turn, allow us to increase employment,” according to Rick Rosenfeldt, project manager for the facility.
The increased manufacturing and laboratory space will allow Miller to continue engineering new innovations to sustain future growth.
“We believe in our products; we believe in the community; we believe that through our employees’ innovations and by working with the marketplace, we’ll continue to grow and be successful,” Lenzner said.”
Utschig Imperial Building Systems, Inc. of Greenville designed the building. CPI, also of Greenville, is the general contractor. All of the subcontractors installing the electrical, HVAC, plumbing and other systems are also from the Fox Valley.
On hand for the groundbreaking were Weller, Lenzner and Rosenfeldt and several production employees.
With headquarters in Appleton, Wis., Miller Electric Mfg. Co. (www.MillerWelds.com) is a leading worldwide manufacturer of Miller welding equipment and related systems for metalworking, construction, maintenance and other applications. Miller Electric is a wholly owned subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW), Glenview, Ill. ITW is a diversified multinational manufacturer of highly engineered components, assemblies and systems.
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