KMC Stampings plans to expand Port plant

KMC Stampings in Port Washington is preparing for a new era by planning for a significant expansion of its plant on Mineral Springs Drive.

The company received approval from the city’s Plan Commission last month for an 18,000-square-foot addition to the building.

“We’ve just run out of space,” KMC’s CEO and President Gerry Schwarz said. “We’re excited to get shovel to the ground.”

That should occur in the next month or so, he said, with the addition completed in December or January.

The space will be dedicated to manufacturing, Schwarz said, specifically fabrication and welding. As part of the expansion, the company is adding more equipment and employees to work in the space.

“We’re going to fill most of it right away,” he said. “It’s a good expansion. We’re excited about where business is, the momentum we have. We’re very proud to be in Port.”

Mayor Ted Neitzke, chairman of the Plan Commission, said, “I’m just really excited KMC is expanding in Port Washington.”

That feeling was echoed by commission member Mike Ehrlich, who thanked the company for investing in Port.

“I hope you’re successful for a very, very long time,” he said.

KMC Stampings has been a mainstay of Port Washington’s industrial community for decades, and it has grown steadily through the years, with more new business coming down the pipeline, Schwarz said.

The company makes fabricated or stamped metal parts for a variety of businesses, including construction equipment, automotive, on-highway trucking, power generation, data center, agricultural equipment and recreational vehicle industries.

While KMC works with businesses throughout the world, Schwarz said, its customer base is in North America, due in large part to the size and weight of the pieces they create and the need to transport them.

According to its website, KMC ships to 130 sites each year, sending more than 100 million parts and products to those sites.

The company is celebrating its 118th year. It was started in 1908 by Edward A. Kickhaefer as a small metal stamping and die-making shop on Milwaukee’s south side, serving a number of the best-known equipment manufacturers in the world.

In 1964, when the company needed more space, it moved to Grafton, where it built a 30,000-square-foot plant. The company moved to Park Street in Port Washington in 1977, in 2000 acquired a plant in Fredonia to add in-house tool design and build capabilities and in 2012 opened the Mineral Springs plant in Port to support expanding laser and fabrication requirements.

KMC Stampings has about 325 employees across its plants, and Schwarz said it plans to add 15 to 20 more workers in the next six months both in skilled trades and entry-level positions.

He said one key to the company’s success is its employees, saying the firm creates a family-like atmosphere to sustain its workforce.

“We have people who have been here for a lot of years,” Schwarz said.

Dave Hampson, vice president of operations, said the company has 18 open positions right now.

“It’s a great company,” he said. “The people are awesome here.”