In a game-changing move for ongoing efforts to redevelop Milwaukee’s Harbor District, Komatsu Mining Corp. has announced plans for a new, state-of-the-art headquarters and manufacturing campus in Milwaukee.
The $285 million, 60-acre corporate campus will be built at the former Solvay Coke site along the riverfront and will contain a headquarters facility, alongside new manufacturing and training facilities.
The complex will be known as the South Harbor Campus and is near the location of the company’s original machine shop, which opened more than 100 years ago. The initial jobs tally is reported to be around 1,000, including new hires and 600 current employees. The total employment figure could rise to 1,300 workers over the next decade.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Komatsu Mining Corp. is part of the global Komatsu family of companies. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Komatsu Ltd. is an indispensable partner to the mining, forestry, industrial and construction industries.
Current plans call for the campus to include about 170,000 square feet of office space, a 20,000-square-foot museum and training building, and 410,000 square feet of manufacturing space. It will consolidate two of Komatsu’s current Milwaukee-area facilities into a central location, and current estimates call for the project to be complete in 2020. The Komatsu project is the largest development site for the Harbor District, where efforts are underway to convert vacant lots and underused buildings into an area that combines industrial jobs, housing, retail and other new uses.
WEDC has agreed to provide the company with up to $59.5 million in state income tax credits over 12 years. The final amount of those tax credits will depend on the number of jobs created and retained, the amount of capital investment, and the amount spent on purchasing equipment, goods and services from Wisconsin-based companies.
“We’re delighted that Komatsu is making this significant investment in Milwaukee’s Harbor District,” said Gale Klappa, co-chair of the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development group and chairman and CEO of WEC Energy Group.
“The impact of this project goes well beyond the city of Milwaukee and the region, as Komatsu purchases goods and services from suppliers all over the state,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO Mark R. Hogan. “In 2017 alone, Komatsu purchased more than $150 million in goods and services from Wisconsin companies, which helped support jobs throughout the state.”
