FRANKLIN — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), today joined company officials from Yaskawa America Inc. to celebrate the company’s recent decision to invest $180 million to expand its current facility in Franklin and consolidate its Illinois and Wisconsin facilities into one campus, relocating its North American headquarters from Waukegan, Illinois, to Franklin, Wisconsin. The new 800,000-square-foot campus will include a headquarters, training, and lab building, manufacturing and packaging facilities, and robotics and semiconductor production operations.
“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,” said Gov. Evers. “Companies from across the globe are choosing Wisconsin to grow and expand because they know we have the best workers making the best products. Wisconsin is continuing to strengthen our position as a leader in advanced manufacturing, and we’re glad to help support this expansion and Yaskawa’s continued success in our state.”
This expansion marks a significant milestone as Yaskawa Electric Corporation celebrates its 110th anniversary globally, and Yaskawa America Inc. celebrates 58 years of sales, innovation, manufacturing, and service in the United States. Yaskawa America Inc. manufactures industrial robots, motion control products, low- and medium-voltage AC drives, and solar inverters for numerous industries, including semiconductors, solar, machine tools, automotive, HVAC, pumping, oil and gas, and others. With this expansion, the company will also begin manufacturing robots in Franklin that will be shipped directly to customers or integrated into production lines at their Ohio facility.
“The Drives & Motion Division of Yaskawa America Inc. is proud to announce the unification of all its current manufacturing and office locations in Wisconsin and Illinois into a single, consolidated campus in Franklin,” said CEO of Yaskawa America Inc. Mike Knapek. “We take pride in our cutting-edge technology, our commitment to quality, and our world-class manufacturing, and we look forward to a strong future of growth and innovation in Franklin.”
During the event, Gov. Evers announced that the Evers Administration, through WEDC, is supporting the project by authorizing up to $18 million in performance-based Enterprise Zone tax credits. The actual amount of tax credits received is contingent upon the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investment during that period.
“Yaskawa joins the growing roster of innovative global companies that are choosing to grow in Wisconsin,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. “With their emphasis on advanced manufacturing and cutting-edge technology, they are a perfect fit for our state.”
“It has been a pleasure working with the Yaskawa team to develop their incredible corporate vision in the Franklin Business Park,” said city of Franklin Mayor John Nelson. “Yaskawa has been a wonderful community partner, and we are grateful they selected Franklin for this project, which is something we are certainly celebrating.”
Milwaukee 7 (M7), Southeast Wisconsin’s regional economic development organization, also assisted in the company’s expansion efforts.
“We’re delighted that Yaskawa has chosen Southeast Wisconsin for its expansion and for the new location of its North American headquarters,” said Gale Klappa, co-chair of Milwaukee 7 and chairman of the board of WEC Energy Group. “This exciting investment—announced today—is a testament to the region’s strengths in automation and advanced manufacturing.”
An online version of this release is available here.
