Governor Evers, WEDC, and Yaskawa officials announce expansion and relocation of North American headquarters.
Governor Tony Evers, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), and company officials announced that Yaskawa America Inc. plans to invest approximately $180 million and add over 700 jobs in Wisconsin.
Yaskawa America has reported growth in robotics, motion control, AC drives, and solar inverter segments. The company plans to consolidate its Illinois and Wisconsin facilities into one campus in Franklin, Wisconsin, over the next 8-10 years. As part of the project, the North American headquarters and training facility will be relocated from Waukegan, IL.
“I am really excited to be celebrating Yaskawa’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Wisconsin and expand its footprint here in the Badger State, bringing with them millions of dollars in capital investment in Southeastern Wisconsin and hundreds of high-quality, family-supporting jobs,” said Gov. Evers.
The expansion coincides with the 110th anniversary of Yaskawa Electric Corporation and 58 years of Yaskawa America, Inc.’s operations in the United States, including its sales, manufacturing, and service activities. Yaskawa America manufactures industrial robots, motion control products, low and medium voltage AC drives, and solar inverters for industries such as semiconductor, solar, machine tool, automotive, HVAC, pumping, and oil and gas. The company will begin manufacturing robots in Franklin, with units either shipped directly to customers or integrated into production lines at its Ohio facility.
Yaskawa America’s Drives & Motion Division produces automation equipment such as drives, servo motors, and machine controllers, while its Motoman Robotics Division manufactures industrial robots for tasks like welding and material handling. Its products support a range of industries, including automotive, packaging, machine tool, and water treatment.
“The Drives & Motion Division of Yaskawa America, Inc. is proud to announce the unification of all its current manufacturing and office locations in Wisconsin and Illinois into a single, consolidated campus in Franklin,” said Mike Knapek, CEO of Yaskawa America.
Governor Evers announced that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has approved up to $18 million in performance-based tax credits for the project. The final amount will depend on jobs creation and capital investment during the specified period.
The new campus will include a headquarters, training, and lab space, manufacturing and packaging areas, and robotics and semiconductor operations. Spanning over 800,000 square feet, the site is expected to expand manufacturing capacity in Wisconsin.
Yaskawa is the latest company to invest in Franklin.
Milwaukee 7 (M7), the regional economic development group for southeast Wisconsin, supported the company’s expansion project.
Edited by Puja Mitra, WTWH Media, for Control Engineering, from a Yaskawa America news release.
