September 10, 2007 • Manitowoc Crane Group, Manitowoc, Wis., has broken ground on a $7.4-million addition to its Port Washington, Wis., facility. The 23,000-square-foot addition will house a new machining center as well as a 4,000-square-foot painting area. With this new addition, the Port Washington facility will be responsible for building the entire lower works of Manitowoc's Model 16000, among other models.
Central to the addition is the installation of a new boring bar, a large metal cutting tool. The boring bar at the Port Washington facility will machine crawler side frames and carbodies.
Physical construction of the expansion began in early August and will be complete by January 2008. Installation of the boring bar will complete the project in June 2008.
There are currently 106 employees at the Port Washington fabrication facility. The new addition will create 25 more jobs at the facility.
Larry Weyers, executive vice president for the Americas region, said the facility addition is an example of how Manitowoc Crane Group is responding to customers. “This new machining center at the Port Washington facility means that Manitowoc Crane Group can add capacity and more advanced capability to our U.S.-based manufacturing operations,” he said. “This not only helps the local economy in terms of job creation, but continues the tradition of the Manitowoc Crane Group being a manufacturing leader in all of the regions that it serves throughout the world.”
Preliminary plans for additions to two of Manitowoc Crane Group's buildings in Shady Grove, Pa., have also been approved recently, according to The Herald-Mail Online. That project is also scheduled for completion in January 2008.
