Charter Wire, which is building a new, 160,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley, has started moving some equipment to its new facility and expects to have all production moved there by the end of the year.

Crews from MSI General, the general contractor on the project, are still finishing the facility, said John W. Mellowes, general manager of Charter Wire.

“The building is up and they are working on all of the mechanical (systems) inside now,” he said. “They will be done by mid third quarter. Our process will take quite a bit of time. Our goal is to be under one roof by end of the year.”

Between one-fourth and one-third of the equipment in Charter Wire’s new facility will be new. The company’s total investment in the new plant, between machinery, real estate and construction, will be about $20 million, Mellowes said.

The existing Charter Wire facility at 114 N. Jackson St. in the Historic Third Ward is 175,000 square feet. Although the new facility will be 15,000 square feet smaller than the current building, the company will have a much more functional layout for manufacturing.

“The 160,000 (square feet) feels a lot larger than the 175,000 here (in our current facility),” Mellowes said. “We’ve been on this site for 70 years, and the walls don’t move, but the manufacturing process has to. This is a great opportunity to get quite a bit more efficient with our processes.”

In its current facilities, Charter’s employees, on average, touch a product eight to nine times during the manufacturing process. In the new facility, employees will touch products about five times on average.

The new facility in the Menomonee Valley will also give Charter Wire fewer transportation headaches.

“In a normal year, and 2009 is not a normal year, we’ll have between 2,500 and 3,000 trucks in and out of this plant,” Mellowes said. “The Third Ward, especially in the festival season, it is not an easy time for semi drivers to get to our location.”

Charter Wire has 97 employees. Although its orders have been slow, it has not laid any workers off, Mellowes said.

While the company is building the new facility to better position itself for future growth, it will not immediately hire new employees when it moves.

“The real emphasis is to grow the business,” Mellowes said. “We have this opportunity to relocate the business and we are taking the opportunity to leverage that chance to grow. We’re going to have a few different capabilities in the business, and our new layout will allow us to do some slightly different things.”

Charter Wire has a significant amount of business in the automotive sector, which is expected to remain relatively slow for the rest of 2009. However, the broad reduction in inventory across a wide range of industries through the first six months of the year holds some promise for increases during the rest of the year, Mellowes said.

“We service many industries and one thing that is consistent is that everybody has run their inventories really low,” he said. “The steel service center industry, which is a bit of a barometer for us, their inventories are at recent record lows. That means that any sort of uptick in business will lead to an over-correction when it comes to inventory.”

Kimberly-Clark to cut 1,600 jobs

Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark, which has substantial Wisconsin operations, announced last week that it plans to eliminate 1,600 jobs.

The company said the job cuts will help it save about $150 million annually.

The company did not provide any details about where those jobs are located. However it did say that the workforce reductions will come from all regions and business segments of the company's global operations and will primarily affect salaried and non-production jobs. The company said it does not plan to close any of its manufacturing facilities as part of these actions.

"These actions, while difficult, are necessary to help us emerge from this demanding economic environment as a stronger company," said Tom Falk, Kimberly-Clark chairman and CEO. "Through these changes we will be a more effective organization, with faster decision-making helping to drive efficiency throughout all aspects of our operations. In addition, by increasing our cash generation, we will be in a better position to take advantage of future growth and innovation opportunities."

Badger Meter joins S&P SmallCap 600

Badger Meter Inc., a Milwaukee-based manufacturer and marketer of liquid flow measurement and control products and technologies, has been selected for inclusion in the S&P SmallCap 600 in the industrial machinery sub-industry index. The company joined the index at the close of the market Tuesday.

"Badger Meter is pleased to be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 index," said Richard Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter. "We believe our inclusion recognizes Badger's strong performance record and future growth potential."

Badger Meter, with a market cap of approximately $640 million, is one of 600 domestic companies included in the S&P SmallCap 600. Introduced by Standard & Poor's in 1994, the index is designed to highlight U.S.-based companies with market caps in the range of $200 million to $1 billion. In addition to meeting size criteria, stocks are selected for the index based on financial viability, public float, adequate liquidity, stock price, sector representation and company type. Inclusion in the listing provides small-cap companies with increased visibility, wider coverage by securities analysts and increased stock trading.

When you read or watch the local or national news, you see one perspective. What you miss is how people in other places view the world around them.

Jim Luedtke has been named project manager at Milwaukee-based The Price Erecting Co. He specializes in managing machinery moving, installing new machinery and robotic systems, rigging applications and machinery alignment.

Michigan company acquires Sheboygan-based Nemschoff

Zeeland, Mich.-based Herman Miller Inc. announced that it has acquired Sheboygan-based Nemschoff Inc. through a combination of $32 million in cash and 2,041,666 shares of Herman Miller stock.

Nemschoff designs and manufactures health care furnishings. Many of its products are also used in the commercial office and education markets

Herman Miller designs and manufactures of office furniture for corporate, government, home office, leisure, and health care markets.

"The acquisition of Nemschoff is a significant step in Herman Miller's growth strategy and further evidence of our commitment to the health care market, where Herman Miller has been a leader for more than 40 years," said Brian Walker, Herman Miller CEO. "In bringing Nemschoff into the Herman Miller health care business we immediately expand our product breadth and depth and accelerate our health care strategy. We also believe Nemschoff will benefit as we introduce its products into our health care distribution channel, and that cost synergies exist in the combination of Herman Miller and Nemschoff."

Mark Nemschoff, chief executive officer of Nemschoff and Paul Nemschoff, chief operating officer of the company, will have roles with Herman Miller. Mark Nemschoff will join the Herman Miller board of directors and Paul Nemschoff will retain an executive role at Nemschoff and also join Herman Miller's health care leadership team.

"Nemschoff is proud to offer our reputation, capabilities and product line to support Herman Miller's health care strategy," Mark Nemschoff said. "We feel the combination of these companies will bolster each entity and we look forward to future success."

Actuant offers more stock shares for sale

Actuant Corp has commenced an underwritten public offering of 9 million shares of its class A common stock for sale to the public.

The Butler-based company intends to use the proceeds from the offering to reduce indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.

The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ATU.

In connection with the new public offering, Actuant intends to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1.35 million shares to cover over-allotments, if any. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. are acting as the joint book-running managers for the offering.

Actuant is a diversified industrial company with operations in more than 30 countries. The Actuant businesses produce branded hydraulic and electrical tools and supplies, umbilical, rope and cable solutions as well as highly engineered position and motion control systems.

BizTimes Milwaukee will present its “Technology Forum: Productivity & Profits Through Better Technology” on Tuesday, June 30 from 7:30 to 11 a.m. at the Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee. Panelists at the event include:

Mark Ernst of Milwaukee-based Engberg Anderson Design Partnership Inc., who will discuss efficiencies realized in a green work environment.

Stephan Achs, president and chief technology officer at KabelSchlepp America Inc., who will discuss employing cost effective process automation to measure and control costs, eliminate waste and maximize profits.

Charles Wickens, consultant, who will give an overview of economic stresses on business and technology initiatives.

Erik Brenn, CFO of Menasha-based McClone Insurance Group, who will discuss lowering costs through implementing better telecommunication strategies.

For more information, or to register, visit www.biztimes.com/techforum.