Comment
What Milwaukee offers that the suburbs don't
The Business Journal of Milwaukee - by On The Central City Jeffrey Clark
When my friends and colleagues saw the news stories several weeks ago announcing Production Stamping Corp.'s plans to move closer to the central city, the response was predictable.
Why should we move further into Milwaukee, some asked, when many more companies are leaving the city for shiny new industrial parks in the suburbs, close to a wide selection of nice restaurants and shopping malls?
Others asked, "Aren't you concerned about crime?" Still others were puzzled about why we would make such a strange business decision.
Why indeed.
The central city is where the labor pool is located and unemployment is high. So during a severe labor shortage that is hurting -- and in some cases severely crippling -- other manufacturers, our move makes great business sense.
After much discussion and research, we broke ground Oct. 20 on a new 116,000-square-foot facility on Vienna Avenue between Richards and Holton streets. The property was once the American Motors Plant and is now part of the Riverworks Industrial Center.
The Riverworks Industrial Center development is a joint venture of the Northeast Milwaukee Industrial Development Corp. (NMIDC) and Wispark Corp.
We're excited about our move, not only because of the new building, but also because of the opportunities the area offers. When people look at me in amazement, I tell them I'm not the only "smart business person" to make this decision.
Our strategy for continued growth requires a pool of talented people. But the labor shortage has forced us to take a hard look at our strategies for attracting and training them. The community surrounding our new facility far exceeds Wisconsin's overall unemployment rate of about 3.5 percent. Many suburbs where those shiny industrial parks are located don't offer that kind of labor pool.
Most of them don't offer public transportation, either, and that would have been a problem.
Between 30 and 40 percent of our more than 50 employees use mass transit. Our Teutonia Avenue facility is not on a major transit line, which causes longer commute times. Our new building, however, will be on two major mass transit lines, which means shorter commute times for most of our current employees. No location outside the city could offer that benefit.
Another key reason for our move to Riverworks was the Northeast Milwaukee Industrial Development Corp. We are developing a new training program with NMIDC that will allow Production Stamping to fulfill its expansion plan with a skilled force of new employees and help provide new skills to our current talent pool.
The training program is based on skill-based programs in the Precision Metalforming Association, our trade organization, and Production Stamping's specific quality and value initiatives. Production Stamping will provide classrooms and access to equipment for the program.
We couldn't make the move without the exceptional support we have received from city, county and state officials.
The city and state have provided training incentives and low-interest loans for equipment, while the county has provided money for brownfield issues encountered during development at the new plant location. Our site was part of the former American Motors/Chrysler plant and had problems that we might not have encountered on an undeveloped site.
Milwaukee County officials recognize developments in urban areas are more difficult because of these brownfield issues and have addressed them with funding sources to help minimize additional costs to the development.
I feel strongly that every business owes a piece of its success to its community.
The city of Milwaukee offers businesses a chance to succeed with its available talent pool. Community-based groups like the NMIDC provide access and training to its members.
Production Stamping has recognized this opportunity and is excited about our continued relationship with our community as we grow with our new facility.
Part of our company's mission statement reads: "We endeavor to meet the complex manufacturing needs and concerns of our customers with creativity, a sense of urgency and a willingness to act."
Our bold decision to move does exactly that.
Jeffrey Clark is president of Production Stamping Corp., Milwaukee.
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