Charter Manufacturing to spend $17M upgrading two plants in Milwaukee

Charter Manufacturing Co. will spend $17 million on upgrades and capacity expansion at its two plants in the city of Milwaukee — including one new production line — with funding from New Markets Tax Credits.

The main project entails adding a production line at Mequon-based Charter Manufacturing's plant in the Menomonee River valley at 3700 Milwaukee Road, said CEO John W. Mellowes. The company also will upgrade an existing production line at the plant.

Mellowes said Wednesday the new production line will satisfy the needs of the company's existing customers. The plant upgrades will include adding automation and new technology, he said.

Work on the existing production line should be complete by year-end 2023, Mellowes said. The new production line likely will be installed in about 18 months due to lead times for the new equipment, he said.

The company also plans smaller projects at its plant on Milwaukee's northwest side at 7850 N. 81st St., Mellowes said. The plant makes engine components for domestic automotive companies, he said.

As a result of the projects, Charter Manufacturing anticipates hiring up to 16 additional employees once the new line is fully operational, Mellowes said.

The company employs a combined 235 employees at the two Milwaukee plants, he said.

The project will increase production capacity of cold-rolled and forming manufacturing to produce engineered shaped wire, cold-finished bar, and cold-headed and stamped components, according to a document from First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise (FIRE), which is expected to approve $8 million in New Markets Tax Credits for the company.

Charter Manufacturing also is set to receive $9 million in New Markets Tax Credits through First Pathway Partners of Milwaukee for the projects, FIRE said.

The federal New Markets Tax Credit program helps fuel job creation and economic development in low-income urban and rural communities, according to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

Charter Manufacturing is a family-owned steel and iron production and manufacturing company founded in 1936. Charter, which has a total of 2,400 employees, has its corporate office in Mequon and runs a large steel mill in Saukville.

The company provides engineered components and assemblies for the automotive industry; continuous cast iron bar stock; carbon and alloy steel bar, rod and wire products and steel coil processing; cold rolled shaped wire and cold finished bar, and ductile and gray iron casting solutions.

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