Rockwell Automation Inc.’s proposed 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility will be in New Berlin, CEO and Chairman Blake Moret has announced.
“At our automation fair in November, we announced plans for our new manufacturing facility in southeastern Wisconsin, and I’m pleased to share that this factory of the future will be located in New Berlin,” Moret said, during a Feb. 5 earnings presentation.
Moret didn’t provide information about the project’s location and timing.
The planned site “provides access to regional transportation, infrastructure, and utilities,” said Dawn Matson, Rockwell’s corporate communications director.
“Specific location details will be shared as part of the formal city application and approval process,” Matson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Commercial real estate sources have said a likely location is 100 acres along West Grange Avenue and South Moorland Road.
No development proposals have yet been submitted to the city for Plan Commission and Common Council review, said Gregory Kessler, community development director.
City officials will work closely with Rockwell and other stakeholders “as planning moves forward and project details are finalized,” Kessler said.
“This investment and the opportunity represents continued economic growth, job creation, and partnership within our region,” he said.
Milwaukee-based Rockwell makes industrial automation systems.
The planned New Berlin facility marks the next step in the company’s plans, announced in August, to spend $2 billion over the next five years on its manufacturing plants, talent, and digital infrastructure.
Moret also noted Rockwell’s January purchase of its Mequon facility – which the company had been leasing – for $62.5 million.
Both that purchase and the planned New Berlin investment “underscore our commitment to and confidence in the U.S. market,” Moret said.
Moret’s announcement, first reported by BizTimes.com, came as Rockwell reported first quarter net income of $305 million or $2.69 per share. That compares to $184 million, or $1.61 per share, from the year-earlier period.
That increase was largely due to a higher pre-tax margin and a lower effective tax rate, Rockwell said.
(This article was updated with new information.)
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram,Bluesky, X and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rockwell picks New Berlin for 1M-square-foot manufacturing plant
Reporting by Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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