The Milwaukee Region is a national leader in precision manufacturing and the production of sophisticated industrial controls and medical imaging equipment. Its skilled workforce, engineering support and manufacturing heritage have also made it the nation’s leading producer of mining machinery, hoists, monorails, speed changers, drives and gears.
Sixteen percent of the region’s workforce is employed in manufacturing, ranking second in the nation among the top 50 metros for manufacturing jobs. The region's diverse mix of manufacturing companies produces everything from basic foundry parts to low-emission engines, advanced aviation systems and sophisticated industrial controls. The region is especially noted for engine and equipment manufacturing, automation and advanced manufacturing and medical technology.
Eleven locally based manufacturers are on the Fortune 1000 list – A.O. Smith, Briggs & Stratton, Bucyrus International, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Diversey, Joy Global, Modine Manufacturing, Rexnord, Rockwell Automation and Snap-On. S.C. Johnson is on the Forbes list of America's largest private companies.
The region's technical colleges and universities provide critical training and research support, including applied technology centers that manufacturers can use to test their designs and create prototypes. Technology transfer programs help companies turn ideas into marketable products.
Power, Automation & Controls Industry
Johnson Controls and Rockwell Automation, both Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the region, are major automation and control companies with nearly 6,000 employees total. Other automation and control companies include Eaton, DRS, ABB and Magnetek. Other major employers include Cooper Power and Waukesha Electric in the power transmission and transformers sector, and Astronautics in the navigational instruments sector.
Wisconsin Energy Research Consortium
Power, controls and energy are among
Milwaukee’s
largest manufacturing sectors. The Wisconsin Energy Research Consortium (WERC)
brings together companies such as Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls, Eaton,
Kohler, DRS Technologies, We Energies and American Transmission with
researchers from our university engineering schools and technical colleges to collaborate on basic research
projects.
WERC develops strategies to train workers in the latest technical skills
required by our manufacturers and links member companies to share best
practices and market
intelligence. For more information on WERC, visit www.energywercs.org.
Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership
The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) enhances the success of
In 2008, WMEP conducted a
groundbreaking Next Generation Manufacturing Survey to assess the global
competitiveness of
| COMPANY | EMPLOYEES | PRODUCTS |
| A.O. Smith | 16,800 | Electric
motors; commercial and residential water heating equipment; and
copper-tube boilers |
| Briggs & Stratton | 8,000 | Air-cooled engines |
| Bucyrus International | 7,200 | Mining equipment and services |
| Harley-Davidson | 9,800 | Motorcycles and accessories |
| Johnson Controls | 136,000 | Automotive seating, batteries and industrial controls |
| JohnsonDiversey | 11,500 | Commercial cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions |
| Joy Global | 9,200 | Mining equipment and services |
| Modine Manufacturing | 7,900 | Thermal management technology |
| Rexnord | 7,100 | Industrial equipment and components |
| Rockwell Automation | 20,000 | Industrial controls and software |
| S.C. Johnson | 12,000 | Household products |
| Snap-on | 11,600 | Tool, diagnostic and equipment products |
| CENTER | SPONSOR | SERVICES |
| Applied Technology Center | Milwaukee School of Engineering | Assists design, development and evaluation of products, processes and manufacturing systems |
| Center for Biomolecular Modeling | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 3-D molecular models |
| Center for By-Products Utilization | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Researches technology that can be used to find environmentally and
economically effective uses of industrial byproducts and consumer waste |
| Center for Intelligent Systems, Controls and Signal Processing | Marquette University | Assists in the development of intelligent systems |
| Center for Materials Science and Technology | Marquette University | Research and knowledge transfer
in biomaterials, electronic ceramics, solid state sensors, structural and electrical composites |
| Center for Supply Chain Management | Marquette University | Industry-university collaborative venture for education, research and information sharing of supply chain management strategies |
| Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power | Milwaukee School of Engineering | Applying new technologies such as rapid prototyping, sensors, nanotechnology and tribology plus contamination analysis, to fluid power |
| Fluid Power Institute | Milwaukee School of Engineering | Fluid-power component and system evaluations |
| NanoEngineering Laboratory | Milwaukee School of Engineering | Nano-scale research in the areas of wear reduction and surface enhancement |
| Photonics and Applied Optics Center | Milwaukee School of Engineering | Optical projects and experiments for lasers, LEDs, sensor applications and optical fabrication |
| Rapid Prototyping Center | Milwaukee School of Engineering | Applies proven technologies to compress the production cycle |
| Thermofluid Science and Energy Research Center | Marquette University | Research and development of energy conversion systems and heat/mass exchange equipment |