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Saputo plant in Lena, Wisconsin.

Saputo plans facility with 600 jobs in Franklin

By Alex Zank, staff writer

Canada-based dairy company Saputo Inc. plans to construct an approximately 340,000-squarefoot facility and employ about 600 people in Franklin.

The Saputo plant is to be built southwest of West Oakwood Road and South 27th Street in Franklin’s new business park. Residents had a chance to hear about the plans at a recent neighborhood information session.

The facility would ramp up in phases, Saputo said. When fully operational, the company anticipates having approximately 600 people working at the facility.

“As part of its Saputo Dairy

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ANDREY ARMYAGOV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM USA network, Saputo plans to build a new production facility in Franklin, Wisconsin. The new facility will play an integral part of Saputo’s strategy to optimize its cheese network across North America, laying the groundwork for future growth,” the company said in an emailed statement.

The 73-acre property was sold recently, according to sources. An affiliate of Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate acquired 51.8 acres in early November for $7.3 million from former owner, JAMS-4 LLC. Milwaukee-based The Barry Co. represented the seller in the deal. Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke represented the buyer.

The sale came shortly after JAMS-4 divided the entire 73-acre site into three separate lots. The two lots that HSA Commercial acquired include 34.4 acres right at the southwest corner of 27th Street and Oakwood Road, and another 17.4 acres farther west along Oakwood Road.

Saputo is based in Montreal, Canada, and it produces and distributes dairy products such as cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products and dairy ingredients.

The company already has a presence in Wisconsin. It has a Saputo Cheese facility in Waupun and an office in Wauwatosa.

The new Franklin business park where the Saputo facility is planned is seeing development activity already. Wauwatosa-based Wangard Partners Inc. will build a 235,000-square-foot speculative industrial building there. Other proposed projects include four industrial buildings between 124,000 and 150,000 square feet.

In creating the business park, the city is rebuilding Elm Road and installing new infrastructure. New infrastructure includes a new lift station, underground utilities and a new street called Hickory Street.

Stu Wangard, chief executive officer and board chairman of Wangard Partners, said distributors and certain manufacturers are looking for sites that provide quick freeway access. Franklin’s new business park benefits from a newly built Elm Road freeway interchange. The state installed the interchange as part of the larger I-94 north-south rebuild.

“A location such as Franklin, which is a short distance to a freeway interchange, is a lot more attractive than a typical building in the middle of an industrial park,” Wangard said. “And it’s attractive for both manufacturing and distribution.” n