Milwaukee 7 Partnership to create jobs

Chris Wodke

http://www.summittrainingpublications.com/

The Milwaukee 7 Partnership is an initiative sponsored by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) to create economic development. Economic development is important to the region to create jobs and long term prosperity. The seven stands for the 7 counties in southeastern Wisconsin.

MMAC is one of the founding partners of the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development initiative, along with the City of Milwaukee and the Greater Milwaukee Committee.  The Milwaukee 7, launched in September 2005, was formed to create a cooperative platform for the seven counties of southeastern Wisconsin: Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Waukesha and Washington.  Its mission is to grow, attract and retain diverse businesses and talent.

MMAC’s public policy work is designated to improve the business climate in southeastern Wisconsin.  The focus is on attracting, expanding and growing business with the partnership with the MMAC in Milwaukee 7.  Other members include the City of Milwaukee, Greater Milwaukee Committee and representatives from throughout the seven counties of Southeastern Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee 7 has participated in 75 corporate projects. Part of the project was selling Milwaukee as a place to do business.  The result was:

·         12 businesses relocated to Milwaukee, bringing 3,200 jobs, $184 million in payroll and $151 million in capitol investment.

·         Leveraged millions of dollars in federal earmarks, state assistance and other municipal investments for business projects that make the Milwaukee Region stronger and a more attractive place to do business.

·         Created a network for water technology firms, leveraged federal funds and gained a U.N designation for the region’ focus on water research.

·         Secured a passage of a state jobs tax credit giving Wisconsin a powerful new incentive to attract and retain jobs.  The credit gives a 10% refundable credit over 10 years for jobs with wages between $20,000 and $100,000.

·         Raised $730,000 for the Milwaukee 7, bringing the total funding to $6.4 million from 64 investors.

·         ChooseMilwaukee.com won an award for a web site that matches real estate with demographic information and showcased the region.

The Milwaukee 7 has 27 projects pending that could result in an additional 6000 jobs.  Great news because jobs bring prosperity for the entire community.  The MMAC they will not land all of these jobs, but we will get none of them if we sit on the sidelines. Plans for 2010-2012 include:

• Continue efforts to attract companies with marketing targeted to specific industries.
• Continue the Regional Call Program to contact local employers and proactively address issues and facilitate expansion plans.
• Increase incentives for the expansion, retention and attraction of new jobs.
• Deliver project wins generating 2000 new or retained jobs.
• Kick off the second round or Milwaukee 7 fundraising with a goal of $7 million.

Part of the project has included interviews with 174 companies around the region. This brings the contact base to 600 companies.  The interviews give the MMAC insight on steps to be taken to create jobs.

The work being done helps to line up resources with companies already in the region.  The Milwaukee 7 has identified growth industries in Automotive & controls manufacturing and food processing as industries that line up well with our resources.

The Milwaukee metro area ranks 4^th highest in Fortune 500 firms per capita among 21 comparable metro areas. We have many assets to recommend our location including our lake, low wastewater treatment costs and low utility costs.  MMAC as part of Milwaukee 7 will continue to work to promote Wisconsin business locally by acting globally.

Here are some examples of some recent wins for our region:

Quad/Graphics will create as many as 1,300 jobs in southeast
Wiscons in as it merges operations following the acquisition of World Color Press Inc. in 2010 for $1.3 billion. “Milwaukee 7
was instrumental in helping us early on in our process of deciding where to put these 1,300 jobs,” said Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics chairman, president and CEO.

Now the second-largest printer in the Western Hemisphere, Sussex-based Quad is receiving $46 million in state assistance through Enterprise Zone tax credits to create the new jobs and retain 5,500 existing jobs in Wisconsin. The merged company has combined sales of $5.1 billion and 30,000 employees, with about 6,000 workers in Wisconsin at five plants.

Bucyrus International is expanding its mining equipment operations and
will create 515 jobs as a result of growing demand and the acquisition of the mining division of Terex Corp. South Milwaukee-based Bucyrus is investing $44 million for the project, including $5 million for worker training and $39 million in capital investment to rehab the former Midwest Airlines headquarters in Oak Creek that will serve as its headquarters. The state is providing $20 million in the form of Enterprise Zone tax credits to support the company’s consolidation and expansion.

Caterpillar, the world's largest construction equipment maker, recently announced it has agreed to buy Bucyrus for $7.6 billion to greatly expand its mining machine manufacturing footprint, adding large shovels and drills to its range of smaller mining machinery. Peoria, Ill.-based Cat will locate its global mining division headquarters at Bucyrus' new headquarters in Oak Creek.

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