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Sprinkman Corp. moves as brewery work grows-The 18th China(Guangzhou)Int'l Stainless Steel Industry Exhibition
11/1/2016 Stainless Steel Exhibition |
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Longtime Milwaukee-area manufacturer W.M. Sprinkman Corp. has seen increasing business from the craft brewing industryover the past several years, with the company making brew houses and other equipment.
Now, Sprinkman Corp. has a new $3.5 million home after moving around 35 miles from Franksville, in northern Racine County, to a larger renovated building in Waukesha.
The company in October set up shop at 404 Pilot Court, with nearly double the production space from its former facility. Sprinkman Corp. is using the new space to continue riding the craft brewing boom, while also making processing equipment for other food and beverage makers.
The craft brewing industry "has been our biggest growth category," said Brian Sprinkman, president.
The brewing industry accounts for slightly less than 50% of the family-owned company''s annual revenue, a figure Sprinkman declined to disclose. At the end of 2012, that industry accounted for around 25% of Sprinkman Corp.''s sales.
During that period, the number of U.S. craft breweries, including brewpubs, increased from 2,401 in 2012 to 4,225 in 2015, according to the Brewers Association.
Along with new players, other craft brewers are expanding. And other brewers are investing in new equipment to better maintain product quality and increase productivity, Sprinkman said.
The company recently helped Lakefront Brewery Inc. make some changes to its brewing process that reduced the time needed to brew a batch of beer from four hours to around three hours and 15 minutes, said owner Russ Klisch.
"It increased the capacity of our brew house," said Klisch, who has long-term plans to expand Lakefront, 1872 N. Commerce St.
Sprinkman Corp. also does business for larger brewers, including MillerCoors LLC''s Milwaukee brewery on W. State St.
Other customers are companies that make dairy products, juices and flavors. They include Kerry Group, which recently expanded its Jackson operation that processes dairy ingredients.
Sprinkman Corp. was founded in 1929 by Brian Sprinkman''s grandfather, Walter Sprinkman. Brian Sprinkman''s father, Robert Sprinkman, later operated the company. Much of its early work was tied to the dairy industry.
The company opened its Franksville facility in 1994, consolidating operations from Waterloo, Iowa, and Kenosha, along with a Chicago office.
But Sprinkman Corp. eventually ran out of production space because of the recent growth in sales, fueled mainly by the craft brewing industry.
The Waukesha building has around 45,000 square feet of production space, compared with 25,000 square feet in Franksville. The building has overhead cranes for lifting heavy equipment ¡ª an unusual feature in newer industrial properties.
"That''s key," Sprinkman said about the cranes.
The new facility also is more centrally located to a large supply of skilled workers, said Sprinkman and Greg Gardetto, the company''s marketing director. The company is talking with Waukesha County Technical College about a possible training program for new workers.
In Franksville, the company found itself in "a little bit of a no man''s land" between Milwaukee and Racine, Gardetto said.
Those factors led Sprinkman Corp. to buy the building this summer from Oberlin Filter Co., which had moved to a nearby 90,000-square-foot building Oberlin developed at 827 Silvernail Road.
The 35-mile distance between Franksville and Waukesha did "give us a lot of pause" while considering whether to buy the property, Sprinkman said.
But many of the company''s newer workers live in Waukesha County, he said.
And Sprinkman Corp. agreed to provide travel allowances for some employees to help reduce the costs of their longer commutes. It also is using flexible work schedules to help employees avoid rush hour congestion centered on the Zoo Interchange reconstruction project.
The company has 61 employees in Waukesha, with three employees declining to make the move from Franksville, Sprinkman said. The company also operates a facility in Elroy, in central Wisconsin, with 57 workers.
Sprinkman Corp. now has more room to accommodate growing demand from breweries as well as other companies.
"We''re not even scratching the surface," Sprinkman said. "There''s such a variety of opportunities."
-The 18th China(Guangzhou)Int''l Stainless Steel Industry Exhibition
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