The Milwaukee Post

6 • Milwaukee County Post • May 25, 2018 Huge project creates 'tremendous opportunities' McDonald's plans to hire 5,500 Wisconsin workers this summer By CARA SPOTO Conley News Service BROOKFIELD — As site preparation begins on the $10 billion Foxconn manu- facturing complex in Mount Pleasant, companies across southeastern Wisconsin are wondering how the sprawl- ing display-screen factory might impact their indus- tries. On Tuesday the Waukesha County Business Alliance strove to answer that question with a panel discussion featuring busi- ness leaders already work- ing on the project. During the roughly one- hour discussion at Embassy Suites, two messages emerged. The first was that the project — the single largest foreign investment in United State history — is changing the way business is being done across the state. The second was there are plenty of opportunities for local companies interest- ed in doing business with Foxconn or having a role in the construction of the 22- million-square-foot manu- facturing complex. "Foxconn is anticipated to have a $1.4 billion annual spend in Wisconsin. That is not the total spend. That is what we anticipate will hap- pen in Wisconsin," said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. "There is going to be tremendous opportunities on the construction side, and we are just beginning to talk about the plant opera- tions." Becoming a supplier As a first step, Sheehy urged area companies eager to work with Foxconn to get on a state-managed list of interested suppliers by reg- istering at Wisupplychainmarketplace. com. As the project progresses, he also suggested that busi- nessmen and -women reach out to contacts who may already be doing business with the Taiwan-based tech- nology giant. "Foxconn does not have a supply base in the United States. Their supply base is in China and Taiwan. They are going to bring a big chunk of those suppliers here, but they are going to start to learn that there are companies in southeastern Wisconsin that are some- where in their supply chain," Sheehy said. "Don't get discouraged. Their business model is changing. Their industry is changing." For those interested in being part of the plant con- struction, the opportunities already abound, he added. "Someone told me the other day that there are 1,000 trucks a day deliver- ing gravel to that site. So if you've got a truck with four wheels you are in the game," he said. Tim Casey, director of economic development for the Waukesha County Center for Growth, was the moderator for the discus- sion. Mark Hogan, secre- tary & CEO for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, also spoke, as did Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow and Suzanne Kelley, president & CEO of the Waukesha County Business Alliance. Impact Speaking to the Foxconn project's impact, Sarah Justus, director of con- struction for American Transmission Co., which is constructing an electrical substation for the plant, said the speed at which the project is progressing has resulted in ATC having to take what would normally be a four-to-seven-year time frame for such a project and cut it in half. "(We have) been doing things concurrently that we are used to sequential- ly," Justus said of the Pewaukee-based ATC. "That is the only way that we are able to do this. Not only are we working week- ends, but we are working Taiwan-time." Todd Taves, senior municipal adviser with Ehlers & Associates in Waukesha, talked about his work helping to establish the 6.5-square-mile tax increment finance district that will help pay the debt on the project. "Everything about this project, as you can imagine, is big," Taves said. "Something changes on this project literally every day, sometimes every cou- ple of hours, and I think for a professional services firm the biggest challenge is that you really have to have a team of people that you can allocate, and make this their focus and priority." Bill Mielke, CEO of Waukesha-based Ruekert & Mielke, which has been contracted by the Racine Water Utility to plan, design and manage the con- struction of the $130 mil- lion in water mains needed to supply the plant with Lake Michigan water, said his firm has been focusing on breaking the job up into smaller projects so that it can be bid out to area com- panies. "It is going to keep the underground contractors very, very busy for the next five years," Mielke said. Companies seeking more information on the Foxconn project can visit w i s c o n n v a l l e y. w i . g o v, where they can also sign up to get updates. Post Staff MILWAUKEE — Hamburger chain McDonald's is anticipating hiring about 5,500 restau- rant employees this sum- mer for its busy season. The company also recently announced that it has allocated $150 million during the next five years to the Archways to Opportunity education program. McDonald's has also lowered the eligibility for Archways to Opportunity from nine months to 90 days of employment and dropped weekly shift minimums from 20 hours to 15 hours, making new summer restaurant employees eligi- ble by the end of the sea- son. As a result, McDonald's investment in the program will provide almost 400,000 U.S. restaurant employees with an opportunity to earn a high school diplo- ma, receive upfront tuition assistance for college courses, access academic advising courses and learn English as a second lan- guage. Additionally, eligible crew members will have access to $2,500 per year in tuition assistance, up from $700 per year and eligible managers will have access to $3,000 per year, up from $1,050. "Building a better McDonald's means recog- nizing we can help employ- ees ear n and lear n. I'm proud that my employees are participating in the Archways to Opportunity program, which helps them achieve their goals at McDonald's and beyond," said Steve Kilian, Jr., Wisconsin McDonald's owner/operator, in a state- ment. BUSINESS Courtesy of the Waukesha County Business Alliance Area business leaders working on Foxconn discuss the project Tuesday during a panel discussion held by the Waukesha County Business Alliance at the Embassy Suites hotel in Brookfield. Speakers, from left, are Todd Taves, senior municipal adviser with Ehlers & Associates; Sarah Justus, director of construction for American Transmission Co.; Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and Bill Mielke, CEO of Waukesha-based Ruekert & Mielke. Business leaders talk Foxconn at panel discussion "Someone told me the other day that there are 1,000 trucks a day delivering gravel to that site. So if you've got a truck with four wheels you are in the game." — Tim Sheehy Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce president

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