Komatsu Mining Breaks Ground for New Milwaukee Harbor District Campus
Building on its 135-year-legacy in Milwaukee, Komatsu Mining Corp. this week officially broke ground for its new state-of-the-art headquarters and manufacturing campus in Milwaukee’s Harbor District on east Greenfield Avenue.
The company recently finalized the acquisition of two parcels of land totaling nearly 57 acres for the project. Partnering with the State of Wisconsin and City of Milwaukee, Komatsu is investing approximately $285 million in its South Harbor Campus, which will include purpose-built, modern manufacturing facilities; advanced technology, robotics, engineering and R&D labs; a large office complex, training facilities, a data solutions center and an experience center.
“Building this state-of-the-art facility with a focus on prioritizing technology, supports our commitment to developing and delivering innovative solutions for our global customers,” said Komatsu Mining Corp. president and CEO Jeff Dawes. “Our goal is to create a remarkable workplace for our employees that provides space to grow, will serve as a global center of excellence for Komatsu and demonstrates a sincere commitment to sustainability and our community.”
Pre-construction work has been under way since the end of 2019 to prepare the site for redevelopment. The company plans to occupy the new campus in 2022.
“We commend We Energies for their leadership in taking on the remediation of this former superfund site,” said John Koetz, president, Surface Mining at Komatsu. “We are excited to see this harbor site transform from an abandoned brownfield to a vibrant, sustainable workplace that provides the community opportunity for family-sustaining jobs for the future.”
With the leadership of project partners, Hunzinger Construction Co, EUA, & GRAEF, full construction is now underway. Contractors Hunzinger, A.W. Oakes & Son Inc. and Cornerstone One are all leveraging Komatsu’s new Smart Construction technologies to remotely optimize their processes and control construction planning, management, scheduling, and costs — all in near real time.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Komatsu Mining Corp. is part of the global Komatsu family of companies. The company’s history in Milwaukee dates back to the origin of the P&H brand in 1884.
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Michael Roth
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Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.