Wisconsin Oven expanding, plans to add jobs

A Walworth County manufacturer says it’s adding about 85 technical jobs as the result of an expansion.

Wisconsin Oven Corp., based in East Troy, said Wednesday the hiring will take place over about the next 18 months.

The manufacturer of industrial ovens said the expansion includes the purchase of a vacant building in East Troy, for $1.7 million, plus $1.5 million in renovation and equipment costs.

“Over the next year, we will be doing some extensive renovation, and we plan on hiring 80 to 90 employees between 2017 and 2019,” said Dave Strand, president of parent company Thermal Product Solutions.

Under a contract with Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., Wisconsin Oven can earn up to $375,000 over the next three years in job creation tax credits, if the company creates at least 85 jobs.

The company also is eligible for up to $125,000 in capital investment tax credits. The actual amount of credits received will be contingent upon the amount of capital expenditures made by the company over the next three years.

Wisconsin Oven has 137 employees.

Pennsylvania-based Thermal Product Solutions said it chose to expand in East Troy after considering other sites throughout the country. The maker of industrial ovens and other equipment has manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Michigan, California and Wisconsin.

The renovation in East Troy has already begun, and operations at the facility are expected to begin by the end of the year, Wisconsin Oven said.

Wisconsin Oven, founded in 1973, serves a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, energy and composites. In 2015, it was acquired by Thermal Product Solutions.

“Wisconsin Oven is a homegrown organization that has developed into a world-class company,” Derek D’Auria, executive director of the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, said in a statement.