Growing the Region

Creating a robust innovation ecosystem is one of the core strategies of the Milwaukee 7 M7 Partnership for regional economic development. It focuses on continuing the economic growth of seven southeastern Wisconsin counties – Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha and Walworth. To date, it has achieved more than 120 project wins, defined as successful efforts to help companies expand or relocate here. These include Milwaukee Tool’s new downtown Milwaukee and Menomonee Falls corporate office buildings; German-based HARIBO’s first production facility in North America, which will be one of the largest confectionery manufacturing plants in the nation; Komatsu Mining Corp.’s new U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility; and Fiserv’s new corporate headquarters in downtown Milwaukee. These represent just some of the dozens of corporate attraction and expansion projects that are revitalizing the region, thanks to M7’s aggressive did you know that? advocacy to improve the business climate and its focused effort to market the region to prospective investors.

Working to grow businesses

Launched in 2005 and co-chaired by the leadership of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the City of Milwaukee, the seven-county regional partnership is funded by more than 100 private- and public-sector investors. The Milwaukee 7 has played a significant role in more than 100 expansion or relocation projects that have resulted in more than 26,000 jobs, $1.6 billion in annual payroll and $3.8 billion in capital investment.

Leveraging Investments

M7 has leveraged millions of dollars in federal funds, state assistance and

What is M7?

Milwaukee 7 is a seven-county regional partnership funded by more than 100 private and public-sector investors.

Thank you to our investors to date for supporting our work in the Milwaukee Region.

A. O. Smith

Alpha Investment Consulting Group

Amazon Corporation

Associated Bank

ATI Forged

BMO Harris Bank

Bucyrus Foundation

Catholic Financial Life

CG Schmidt, Inc.

Charter Manufacturing

Children’s Wisconsin

City of Milwaukee – Dept. of City Development

Deloitte

Direct Supply

Ernst & Young

Foley & Lardner

Frank Beverage/Beer Capitol

Froedtert Health

Gateway Technical College

Gilbane Building Company

Godfrey & Kahn S.C.

GRAEF

Hammes Company

HARIBO of America

Husco Ingeteam, Inc.

Inland Companies dba Colliers International

Johnson Financial

Ted Kellner

Komatsu

KPMG

Leonardo DRS Naval Power Systems

Lubar & Co

ManpowerGroup

Mawicke & Goisman

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

Milwaukee County

Milwaukee Metro Sewerage District

Milwaukee Tool

Molson Coors

National Exchange Bank & Trust

Nexus Pharmaceutical

Northwestern Mutual

Old National Bank Palermo Villa

PAX Holdings

Payne & Dolan

PNC Bank

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

PS Capital Partners

QPS Employment Group

Quarles & Brady

Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren

Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc.

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

Shorewest Realtors

Strang, Inc.

Strattec Security Corp.

Town Bank

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Von Briesen & Roper

Waukesha County

WEC Energy Group

Wells Fargo

Wenthe-Davidson Engineering municipal investments for business projects that make the Milwaukee Region stronger. The M7 staff and their counterparts in the region’s local economic development organizations regularly visit companies to discuss challenges and expansion opportunities. M7 then connects companies to resources, including:

Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

● Talent sourcing ● Financing

● Business incentives ● Market expansion

● Location optimization

Advancing Industry clusters

The Milwaukee Region is a recognized center of innovation and advanced manufacturing. Several industry segments stand out due to their number of firms and the concentration of talent. M7 supports these clusters and their network organizations:

● FaB Wisconsin, a statewide network for food, beverage, ingredient, equipment and packaging makers fabwisconsin.com

● The Water Council, a global hub driving innovation in freshwater technology and advancing water stewardship thewatercouncil.com

● The Next Generation Manufacturing Council, which addresses issues related to workforce, exports, supply chains and productivity

Attracting New Companies

M7 markets the region to companies looking to expand operations or relocate –from across the state line to around the globe. It provides tools and project management to guide companies from their first visit through the opening of their new plant or office. M7 has closed deals and attracted foreign investment from companies in Taiwan, China, India, Great Britain, Spain, Italy and Germany

Building the Talent Pipeline

The M7 Talent Partnership aligns talent resources with high-growth industry clusters to develop a stronger, more agile workforce. It helps companies expanding or relocating to the area navigate the agencies, staffing companies and college connections best suited to their businesses. The Talent Partnership also partners with businesses to share best practices and provides next-level labor market data to inform employer talent strategies.

Supporting Entrepreneurs

M7 connects new and growing companies to the resources they need to take their businesses to the next level, including the M7 Venture Fund, which provides grants, loans and equity to emerging companies and high-growth startups. M7 is a regional partner for the Start in Wisconsin online entrepreneurship platform, developed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to provide a directory of resources, events and programming that powers connections for area entrepreneurs and start-ups. startinwi.com