Milwaukee Tool says expansion would create 350 jobs with average salary of $75,000

Milwaukee Tool Co., based in Brookfield, says it’s planning an expansion that will create 350 jobs with an average annual salary of $75,000.

Most of the positions would be in engineering and software development and would come over the next five years, the company says.

Milwaukee Tool, which makes power tools used in the construction industry and for personal use, says the jobs would stem from a proposed expansion that includes construction of a 114,500-square-foot office building on 3.5 acres across the street from its headquarters at 13135 W. Lisbon Road.

The company says it is working with the City of Brookfield, the economic development group Milwaukee 7, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and Waukesha County Center for Growth to plan the office, research-and-development building.

The City of Brookfield has proposed a tax increment financing, or TIF, district which would provide $3.5 million in assistance to the project, which is estimated to cost $32 million.

Milwaukee 7 Vice President Jim Paetsch said the project "would be attractive to any region in the U.S.”

“These jobs are exactly the kind we want in southeastern Wisconsin," he said in a statement.

In 2017, the company completed an expansion that included a 200,000-square-foot office building in Brookfield. The company says its employment in Brookfield has increased from about 300 jobs in 2011 to nearly 1,300 this year.

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“Milwaukee Tool is exploring other options for the needed office space, to facilitate its continued growth, but would prefer to keep all of its product research, design and development within the company’s campus,” the company said in a statement.

Milwaukee Tool moved to Brookfield in 1965 and over the last 10 years, it has redeveloped 190,000 square feet of former manufacturing space to accommodate product development, marketing, sales, employee training and other company operations.

The company, which has been a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries since 2004, manufactures its products in Mississippi, China and Germany, along with its Empire Level division in Mukwonago.