Manitowoc Crane Group last week announced it has broken ground on a $7.4-million addition to its Port Washington, Wis., facility.
The 23,000-square-foot addition will house a new machining center as well as a 4,000-square-foot painting area. With this new addition the Port Washington facility will be responsible for building the entire lower works of Manitowoc’s Model 16000, among other models.
Central to the new addition is the installation of a new boring bar, which is a large metal cutting tool. The boring bar at the Port Washington facility will machine crawler side frames and car bodies.
Physical construction of the expansion began in early August and will be complete by January 2008. Installation of the boring bar will complete the project in June 2008.
There are currently 106 employees at the Port Washington fabrication facility, and the new addition will create 25 more jobs.
“This new machining center at the Port Washington facility means that Manitowoc Crane Group can add capacity and more advanced capability to our U.S.-based manufacturing operations,” said Larry Weyers, executive vice president for the Americas region. “This not only helps the local economy in terms of job creation, but continues the tradition of the Manitowoc Crane Group being a manufacturing leader in all of the regions that it serves throughout the world.”
The Manitowoc Co. is a provider of lifting equipment for the global construction industry, including lattice-boom cranes, tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, and boom trucks.