Contact: Amy Hasenberg, (608) 266-2839
Gov. Walker joins Foxconn and Gateway Technical College for the iMET Center expansion groundbreaking
STURTEVANT – Governor Scott Walker joined Foxconn officials and Gateway Technical College leadership today in Sturtevant at the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the S.C. Johnson Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology (iMET) Center. The iMET Center is one of the first flexible manufacturing labs dedicated to training manufacturing workers in the region. Employers throughout the region including Foxconn, Rockwell Automation, and S.C. Johnson have partnered with the college because of new training opportunities.
“Foxconn’s ripple effect is growing once again with the expansion of Gateway Technical College’s iMET Center. This center is one more example of Wisconsin’s educational institutions creating more opportunities for their students because of Foxconn’s decision to build in Wisconsin,” said Governor Walker. “With eight straight months of unemployment at or below 3%, it makes worker training all the more important. And, this will provide hands-on opportunities for students that will help them gain the skills to work for one of Wisconsin’s many growing companies.”
This expansion will help nearly double the size of the existing facility to add four new engineering labs, five computer labs, eight new classrooms, and expand existing labs. New equipment, including 3D printers and scanners, will also be added to the new facility.
The State of Wisconsin provided $5 million in grants for advanced manufacturing training to help build the expansion. The iMET Center expansion will add 35,000 square-feet and update 12,000 square-feet of existing space as part of a $6.5 million project. Construction is expected to be complete in September 2018.
Foxconn earlier this month announced the purchase of a three-story building in Racine to serve as a hub for developing “smart city” technologies with academic, government, and community partners. The facility is located near Gateway Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and Carthage College.
Beyond the building of Foxconn’s facility in Mount Pleasant, the company has made substantial investments across Wisconsin including several Foxconn bonuses: a gift of $100 million to University of Wisconsin-Madison to fund research at the College of Engineering, investing in innovation centers in Green Bay, Racine, and Eau Claire, the purchase of a building in downtown Milwaukee to serve as their Wisconsin headquarters, and the partnership with three other Wisconsin companies to create a $100 million Wisconn Valley Venture Fund.
With up to 13,000 jobs and a capital investment up to $10 billion, Foxconn’s investment in Wisconsin is by far the state’s largest economic development project and is the largest corporate attraction project in U.S. history, as measured by jobs.
