Husco launching $85M expansion
Wisconsin will gain 120 new jobs by 2020
HUSCO International said Friday it is launching an $85 million expansion and modernization plan that will lead to 270 new jobs, 120 of them in Wisconsin, by 2020.
The Waukesha-based company said its home base will receive the “most significant” piece of the overall investment.
“This announcement reflects HUSCO’s incredible success securing new business over the past several years, despite challenging global markets,” Austin Ramirez, chief executive officer of HUSCO International, said in a statement. “The size and scope of these investments are unprecedented in our history and reflect our commitment to being the best employer and partner in the markets in which we compete.”
HUSCO designs and produces hydraulic and electrohydraulic components that function to improve overall efficiency, control, safety and performance of automobiles and off-highway mobile equipment such as earth movers and skid steers.
The markets in which it competes are “extraordinarily competitive,” Ramirez said.
The company has manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, Iowa, England, China and India, in addition to offices in Michigan, Brazil and Germany.
HUSCO said it will invest about $11 million to modernize its corporate offices in Waukesha.
The decision to make that portion of the investment was among the most difficult aspects of the plan, Ramirez said.
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“When you are spending $10 million to upgrade and modernize an office facility, it’s a lot harder,” he said. “You can’t draw a direct return on investment to those dollars.”
But, he said, the facility was built in 1954 and “has been expanded 12 or 14 times” and all that space needed to be reconfigured “to accommodate how we work today.”
Attracting workers is another reason for that portion of the expansion, he said.
“The labor market is tight,” Ramirez said. “This business, like every business, is a human capital business. It’s the people we have that make us successful.”
A company must have facilities that will attract and retain the best and brightest workers, Ramirez said.
“Work environment is a big part of that,” Ramirez said.
The expansion of the company’s Waukesha facilities is a reflection of HUSCO’s desire “to give back to this community that has been so good to us,” Ramirez added.
HUSCO also plans to install about $17 million worth of new advanced assembly and tooling equipment “to provide customers with the highest level of quality and productivity,” according to the company statement.
The company expects to add 270 jobs by 2020 as part of the expansion and modernization. Of those jobs, 160 will be in the United States, with 75% of those, or 120 positions, being added in Wisconsin.
HUSCO is also planning major investments at its facilities in Whitewater; Maquoketa, Iowa; Pune, India; Runcorn, England; and Shanghai, China.
In total, the company plans to add $69 million worth of new manufacturing equipment and tooling across its facilities worldwide and spend $16 million to expand and modernize its facilities around the world.
The company’s capital investment plan is designed to “modernize global facilities in preparation for additional future expansions,” according to the company statement.
The company is not seeking any state aid or tax incentives to help finance the expansion, Ramirez said.
Privately held HUSCO said its revenue for 2017 will top $400 million — more than 10% above 2016.