There are a ton of unique, amazing, useful and fun items made in the southeastern Wisconsin region. Some global brands you may recognize; others might surprise you. Take pride in our state’s manufacturing legacy!
These businesses are consistently hiring and providing jobs for Wisconsinites. We’ve provided a small sampling of positions recently posted as available. For more info on job requirements, be sure to check out the careers page on their websites.
CAT machines & products
Caterpillar offers 20 brands of machines, engines, components and services. Whether you’re building a flower bed or a skyscraper, or just need some comfortable work boots, there’s a Cat product to help get the job done. Primary industries served include construction, mining, power generation, marine, oil and gas, forestry, landscaping, agriculture, paving, waste and quarry. Over more than 90 years, Caterpillar has grown to serve 193 countries and employ 104,000 people worldwide.
Jobs at Caterpillar
Welder – Duties: Hand weld all plain and alloy steel work in all positions. Follow documented procedures, standard work, routings and blueprints to perform safe and defect-free operations.
Crane operator – Duties: Apply knowledge in materials handling, loading and unloading materials from trucks or rail cars and help lift heavy parts. Operate 30 ton or larger overhead crane and jib cranes.
Shipping boxes
Uline Inc., Pleasant Prairie | You’ve got mail! Quite possibly you’ve used a Uline box or envelope to mail or receive a package. Uline is the leading distributor of shipping, industrial and packaging materials to businesses throughout North America. It ships more than 3 million boxes every day! The company has 11 locations, with the corporate headquarters in Wisconsin, where it began in Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein’s basement in 1980. Today, Uline’s catalog has more than 750 pages of products, and Uline employs 6,000 people in North America.
Jobs at Uline
Warehouse associate – Contribute to Uline’s daily inbound warehouse operations. Receive, check in and put away stock quickly and accurately. Replenish picking locations and unload trailers.
Application architect – Duties: Lead the architecture design and support for the enterprise application portfolio, including third-party and custom applications for enterprise-wide capabilities, such as document management and collaboration, as well as finance and HR systems.
Shopping carts
Bemis Manufacturing Co., Sheboygan Falls | Bemis Manufacturing Co. is a fourth-generation family-owned business that traces its roots back to 1901. Headquartered in Sheboygan Falls, it builds its own brands and private-label products. Bemis has more than 250 active and pending design and process patents. It serves consumer, commercial, medical and industrial markets worldwide, with more than 1,600 employees located in six countries around the globe. Bemis is also the largest toilet seat manufacturer in the world.
Jobs at Bemis
Production leader – Duties: Communicate job expectations. Establish and maintain a presence on the shop floor and provide effective communication with staff. Resolve production problems on assigned shift.
Machine operator – Duties: Run machines, work on assembly lines, operate forklifts or various other activities as needed. Utilize established quality methods and tools to ensure product meets quality standards.
Security locks
Master Lock Co. LLC, Oak Creek | Master Lock is well known around the world for its security products. Since 1921, the Oak Creek-based company has grown to become the largest global manufacturer and marketer of padlocks, including high-tech Bluetooth padlocks. Master Lock provides door hardware for home security, such as access software, and commercial products for schools, gyms and government.
Jobs at MASTER LOCK
Tool and die maker – Duties: Perform bench and precision machining operations to develop, construct, alter and repair a variety of tools, dies, fixtures, gauges, etc. Work from complicated drawings and carry out complex mathematical calculations.
Pipefitter – Duties: Perform pipefitting duties on all plating and wastewater systems. Install and repair carbon steel, stainless steel, copper and PVC piping. Requires hydraulic and pneumatic system knowledge.
Cheeseheads
Foamation Inc., Milwaukee | True Wisconsinites know the story: once an insult from our Illinois neighbors, the “Cheesehead” is now a point of pride, exhibited in these fashionable, fun Foamation products. Popular with Packers fans and cheese lovers alike, the Cheesehead hat is an icon of the state and made in Milwaukee. You can book a behind-the-scenes tour full of cheese puns, foam facts and even make your own Cheesehead creation.
Jobs at Foamation
Production worker – Duties: Assure that all products are built to the highest standard of quality. Work with team members to maximize productivity and efficiency.
Tour guide – Duties: Entertain and inform visitors about company history, facility and production. Describe features of interest involving the Cheesehead story.
LED headlights
J.W. Speaker Corp., Germantown | Founded in 1935, J.W. Speaker is focused on developing innovative, high-tech lighting solutions for agriculture, construction, on-road commercial, material handling, mining, motorcycle, recreation and aviation markets around the world. Their powerful LEDS are carefully engineered to provide the best visibility and driving experience possible. This family-owned company designs, manufactures and assembles its products in Germantown with a staff of 400.
Jobs at J.W. Speaker
Human resources generalist – Duties: Administer benefits and educate associates, as well as play a key role in wellness initiatives. Manage onboarding/termination processes, medical leave, etc.
Maintenance/tool room coordinator – Duties: Collaborate closely with factory zone leaders to schedule preventive maintenance. Maintain paper and electronic files, equipment manual library, and parts and supplies inventory.
Farm machinery & construction equipment
CNH Industrial, Racine | Wisconsin knows tractors. CNH Industrial designs, produces and sells 12 brands of work machines, from tractors and combines to trucks and buses, as well as powertrains for on-road, off-road and marine vehicles. CNH employs more than 64,000 people in 66 plants and 54 research and development centers in 180 countries.
Jobs at CNH Industrial
Customer care call center agent Duties: Answer inquiries and maintain relationships with retail customers. Consult with CNH Industrial subject matter experts, dealers and field service personnel to address the customers’ needs.
Journeyman electrician – Duties: Work from general plans, wiring diagrams, drawings, manufacturer’s specifications, sketches and electric schematics. Prepare terminals and wires to make connections.
Combination ovens
Alto-Shaam Inc., Menomonee Falls | Since 1955, this local manufacturer has expanded its factory floor to a 300,000-square-foot facility. Employees design and build foodservice equipment such as heat-holding cabinets and combination ovens with the ability to steam, braise, bake, roast and oven-fry. Investments in automation, robotic welding, laser cutting and a central fabrication unit keep Alto-Shaam on the edge of technologies.
Jobs at Alto-Shaam
Assembler – Duties: Perform manual labor along a production line by using a variety of hand and power tools, fixtures, work instructions and test equipment. Responsible for quality control.
Maintenance specialist – Duties: Install, repair, rebuild and maintain machinery, small tools, as well as mechanical equipment used in production. Manage equipment files and manuals, maintenance procedures, parts ordering, parts storage and inventory.
Bookmobiles
LDV Inc., Burlington | For more than 40 years, LDV Inc. has been the nation’s largest supplier of tool trucks, command centers, SWAT trucks, bomb response vehicles and mobile medical vehicles. Bookmobiles and educational specialty vehicles were some of the first trucks LDV built; it has been designing, engineering and manufacturing mobile libraries since 1977. LDV has manufactured more than 30,000 custom specialty vehicles in its history and continues to grow.
Jobs at LDV
Woodworker – Duties: Build and finish custom wood products for custom vehicle interiors. Read work orders and/or blueprints. Install and connect hardware, metal edging, carpet, etc. Record material and time usage.
Detailer – Duties: Prepare custom vehicles for delivery. Clean the interiors and exteriors of vehicles, to include vacuuming, washing and wiping down surfaces. Perform final inspection on vehicles, to include alarms, locks, lights and fluids.
Kringles
O&H Danish Bakery Inc., Racine | The official Wisconsin pastry was brought to Racine in the late 1800s by Danish immigrants. This unique treat became a staple from southeastern Wisconsin. Almond is the original time-honored filling, but options abound, including cinnamon roll, turtle and the “Wisconsin” kringle, a blend of cream cheese, Door County cherries and Wisconsin cranberries. With five stores and mail order options, O&H makes it easy to get your kringle fix.
Jobs at O&H
Baker and product finisher – Duties: Work individually and as a team to achieve general production goals and standards and ensure accuracy filling daily orders for all store locations. Requires the ability to comfortably stand, walk, bend and/or lift up to 50 pounds repetitively for extended periods of time.
Sanitation specialist – Duties: Achieve sanitation standards in the baking facility. Create food-safe and sanitary environment in the bakery’s production center, office space and retail locations, with potential to support special sanitation projects.
Electronic flight displays
Astronautics Corp. of America, Milwaukee | Astronautics supplies integrated systems, flat-panel displays and digital avionics equipment for more than 150,000 commercial and military aircraft. Astronautics’ electronic flight bag provides pilots with electronic images of flight manuals, airport maps and approach charts, and helps pilots reduce fuel consumption. The display shows video surveillance of all areas of the aircraft, and collision-avoidance information that reveals the location of other aircraft.
Jobs at Astronautics
Program manageR – Duties: Serve as primary interface among external customers, suppliers/partners and internal teams. Manage the daily execution of programs and proposals within contract requirements to ensure that cost, schedules, technical, financial and performance goals are met.
Contracts intern – Duties: Interpret, check, analyze and respond to inquiries from customers. Assist in administration of commercial and government contracts with domestic and international customers.
T-shirt guns
FX in Motion LLC, New Berlin | If you’ve been to a Milwaukee Bucks game, you have seen the amazing Quad Barrel T-Shirt Gatling Gun, “the world’s largest T-shirt gun.” It shoots 186 shirts in 15 seconds! The product was made by FX in Motion, a local fabricator that builds props in association with production company Exciting Events. FX products and special effects are used on the floors of 28 NBA teams and more than 100 NCAA colleges, by the Harlem Globetrotters, as well as at NHL, MLB and NFL games and in more than 10 countries.
Jobs at FX in Motion
Fabrication shop apprentice – Duties: Welding, painting and working with metals, woods, plastics, etc. Must have a positive work attitude and be a self-motivated person.
Inside sales associate – events – Duties: Build and maintain outstanding relationships with clients by providing expert insights and advice during the planning and event process, with follow-up in a timely and efficient manner.
