On July 18, Waupaca Foundry, a Hitachi Metals company, opened operations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The new facility will process iron castings produced at its Waupaca, Wis. plants. The company’s expansion into the city of Ironwood is expected to generate an investment of $4.3 million and create 61 new jobs .
“Not only are we recognizing the opening of Waupaca Foundry, which is creating good-paying jobs for the U.P. workforce and generating a private investment of up to $4.3 million in the Gogebic County region — but we are celebrating the company for choosing to invest in Michigan’s people and build its future here in our state,” said Jeff Mason, CEO of MEDC.
The expansion addresses increasing customer demand and adds iron casting processing capabilities, including cleaning and finishing, in a location where there is enough labor supply and an abundance of iron ore deposits.
“Waupca Foundry produces iron castings for every industry in North America. But we don’t rest there. Waupaca aspires be the best supplier, not just the best iron casting supplier, but the best supplier for its customers. This casting finishing facility located in Ironwood helps to do just that,” said John Wiesbrock, Waupaca Foundry EVP.
“Like many manufacturers, we started to feel the effects of a full labor market and Baby Boomers retiring. So we started a path to explore locations with high quality, available pool of labor and ended up in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan,” said Wiesbrock.
Prior to choosing a new location, Waupaca Foundry leaders conducted exploratory job fairs and identified a strong pool of motivated, highly talented workers in the Gogebic County region. As a result of the company’s decision to invest and create jobs in Ironwood, the Michigan Strategic Fund in December 2018 awarded Waupaca a $1.2 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. This new facility is a step in the right direction for the community and region following the closure of the Ojibway Correctional Facility.
“We bussed the Ironwood team from Gogebic County to Waupaca, Wisconsin weekly, allowing us to both renovate the building, but also to train the team that later returned to the new Ironwood facility. We aimed to complete the building renovation by mid-August, but we’re very pleased to report that the new finishing facility was in production and open for business on July 8. Waupaca is grateful for the partners that helped get us here including Ruotsala Construction, the City of Ironwood, MEDC and the State of Michigan—all helped bring this initiative to fruition,” said Wiesbrock.
For the full announcement, visit here.
