Maysteel to close Menomonee Falls plant

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BizTimes.com, Milwaukee, WI
 

As a first step in its North American growth strategy, Maysteel LLC announced today it will shut down its fabrication plant in Menomonee Falls, eliminating about 190 jobs, and will shift production to North Carolina and Racine.

Maysteel is acquiring a 160,000-square-foot metal fabrication plant in Creedmoor, N.C., That plant is owned by CMP in Canada.

Maysteel said the acquisition is an integral part of the company's strategy to move closer to existing customers, and it provides Maysteel with a new regional base that will support growth in the Southeast.

In addition, Maysteel announced it will open a new 40,000-square-foot assembly plant in Racine County, where it will employ about 30 people.

About 25 jobs from the Menomonee Falls plant at Patrita Drive will be shifted to other Maysteel facilities. The net impact in Wisconsin will be a loss of 135 jobs for Maysteel.

The company will continue to employ about 500 people in Wisconsin and is looking for another location for about 25 employees at a new headquarters in Menomonee Falls. The firm also will continue to maintain its technology center and core fabrication plant in Allenton and its Electric Power Product plan in Menomonee Falls.

The decisions to add plants in Creedmoor and Racine creates redundancies in total capacity, the company said.

"We are confident that our investments to expand to the Southeast and to open a Racine assembly plant will strengthen Maysteel," said John Russell, president and chief executive officer of Maysteel. "At the same time, this has been a difficult and emotional decision for all involved, and we regret the impact this will have on our Patrita Drive employees."

The Patrita Drive plant will close and the Racine County assembly plant will open within the next 120 days.  The company will acquire an existing plant in Racine County, although it has not yet selected the site.

Employees affected at the Patrita Drive facility will be eligible for a severance package that includes severance pay and outplacement services.

Maysteel is a precision manufacturer of custom metal enclosures and assemblies.  Since 1965, Maysteel has been privately owned by the U.S.-based Everett Smith Group, Ltd., which has operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina and Hungary.

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