Leading Edge Businesses


Some of the best-known companies in the world call the Milwaukee Region home, including Briggs & Stratton, Harley-Davidson, Jockey International, Kohl’s Department Stores, Master Lock, Manpower, Miller Brewing Company, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation and SC Johnson.

We’re also home to several international leaders in business-to-business commerce, including A.O. Smith, Brady Corp, Fiserv, GE Healthcare Technologies, Johnson Controls, Joy Global and Modine Manufacturing.

It’s no coincidence that so many leading-edge companies call Milwaukee home. Consider the following:

  • The Milwaukee Region is ranked one of the 25 best places for doing business by Inc. magazine
  • Between 1994 and 2004, the region’s economic improvement ranked among the 10 best regions in the country, according to the Federal Reserve
  • KPMG, the internationally recognized audit, tax and advisory firm, says the region’s cost of doing business is among the best in the United States

The region's internationally recognized, leading-edge industries span the economic spectrum and include:


Fortune 1000

The Milwaukee Region includes

16 of the Fortune 1000

largest publicly traded companies.