Company not leaving Saukville after all

Rebel Converting is not leaving Saukville.

Last month, the company reinstalled a sign outside its plant at 700 N Progress Dr. that had been taken down three months earlier after owner Mike Kryshak announced the company was moving to Milwaukee.

The company still plans on opening the Milwaukee facility in December, but Kryshak said this week he is staying in Saukville for good.

“Basically we were busy before Covid, but now we need every inch we have” due to increased demand for its products because of the pandemic, Kryshak said. “We’re maintaining a full crew and we’re hiring more.

“When Covid subsides, we’ll get back to our regular two 10-hour shifts, four days a week. Now we’re pretty much around the clock, except when we have raw-materials issues.”

The company, which makes sanitizing wipes, purchased a 95,000-square-foot building at 11225 W. Heather Ave. in Milwaukee for $4.77 million.

With the Covid-19 outbreak, Rebel geared up by making and giving away more than 3.7 million disposable face masks as part of the Mask Up MKE effort.

The company is launching a new effort called Mask Up to Vote Up, in partnership with Wisconsin Medical College, to promote safe voting practices. 

The company will be delivering 40,000 reusable masks this week, he said.

“It’s just a way of giving back,” he said.

Rebel Converting employs 84 people at its Saukville facility.

The company has been able to maintain social distancing by employing staggered shifts and break times.

“That way we don’t congregate in the lunch room,” Kryshak said. “Everybody’s wearing masks, and we have two people wiping everything down.”

Most of the company’s employees were glad to know the company is staying in Saukville.

“Our employees from Ozaukee County are elated,” Kryshak said. “Our employees who live in Muskego and other places were not so elated.”

When the Milwaukee plant opens, some workers will transfer there and offices will be added to the Saukville facility, Kryshak said.

“I’m glad we’re staying,” he added. “We’ll definitely be a presence here.”