Drew Porter, right, and Glenn Gingrich, left, look at a Yaskawa America, Inc. printer at the RAPID +TCT event at Huntington Place in Detroit on May 18, 2022. Yaskawa America is relocating its North American headquarters to Franklin bringing with it 700 new jobs and an over $180 million investment into the city.
Yaskawa America is relocating its North American headquarters to Franklin − bringing 700 jobs and a $180 million investment.
The robotics manufacturer is consolidating its Waukegan, Illinois, North American headquarters and its Milwaukee-area industrial operation into one Franklin campus over the next eight to 10 years.
The consolidated operations will be in Franklin Business Park campus, at 2 World Packaging Circle. That’s according to a June 13 announcement from Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and Yaskawa America.
Franklin Mayor John Nelson called Yaskawa America a “wonderful community partner.”
“We are grateful to Milwaukee 7 (M7) and WEDC for working with us over the last 22 month(s) to make this happen,” Nelson wrote on his Mayor John Nelson – Franklin, WI Facebook page. M7 is southeastern Wisconsin’s economic development organization.
The new 800,000-square-foot headquarters will include training, lab building, manufacturing and packaging facilities, along with robotics and semiconductor production operations, according to the company.
As part of the expansion into southeastern Wisconsin, Yaskawa America also plans to begin manufacturing robots in Franklin that will ship to customers or be integrated into production lines at the company’s Ohio facility.
“I am really excited to be celebrating Yaskawa’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Wisconsin and expand its footprint here in the Badger State, bringing with them millions of dollars in capital investment in Southeastern Wisconsin and hundreds of high-quality, family-supporting jobs,” Evers said in a statement.
WEDC plans to provide up to $18 million of Enterprise Zone tax credits. The exact amount is contingent on how many jobs are created and the amount of capital investment.
Missy Hughes, WEDC secretary and CEO, said Yaskawa America is a perfect fit for Wisconsin with the company’s “emphasis on advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge technology.”
Mike Knapek, CEO of Yaskawa America, said the company looks forward “to a strong future of growth and innovation in Franklin.”
Yasakawa makes industrial robots
Yaskawa America manufactures industrial robots, solar inverters, low and medium voltage AC drives, and motion control products, according to its website.
These products are used in such industries as automotive, machine tool, solar, oil and gas and HVAC.
The company is celebrating its 110th anniversary globally with 58 years of sales and manufacturing in the United States.
Contact Erik S. Hanley at erik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on X @Redheadliner.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Yaskawa America bringing headquarters and 700 jobs to this suburb