Komatsu opens $285M Milwaukee campus in Harbor District

MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Komatsu CEO from Japan, Hiroyuki Ogawa, attended the opening of Komatsu's $285 million dollar campus that includes a 180,000-square-foot office building and a 430,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Milwaukee’s Harbor District.

This has been a long time in the making, as the plans for the mining company's headquarters were announced back in 2018. 

State and city leaders visited Monday, June 27 to celebrate the grand opening.

Back in 2018, it was hard to picture what development in Milwaukee’s Harbor District would look like. 

"Komatsu has made a tremendous investment in the state of Wisconsin, in the city of Milwaukee, in the Harbor District," said Mayor Johnson.

"We are fortunate to have Komatsu here in Milwaukee, and it impacts the state," said Governor Evers. "As I talked about before, the supply chain that this company has in the state of Wisconsin is huge."

Project leaders said COVID-19 and supply chain issues were a challenge. They still managed to stay on schedule. On Monday, trees were planted to commemorate the official opening.

"Advancement in state-of-the-art facilities, it’ll expand our products, our services, digital and automation capabilities to support our global mining customers," said John Koetz, president, surface mining.

The campus, helping to develop Milwaukee’s Harbor District, features a state-of-the-art facility with elements like LED lighting and solar panels. It supports more than 1,000 family-sustaining jobs, something Mayor Johnson said the city needs.

"When folks have access to true, supporting work, and that’s exactly what they’ll get with jobs with Komatsu, it puts those individuals in a better position to be financially stable," said Johnson.

Johnson said the next step is finishing up the Harbor District Riverwalk behind the facility.  

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