West Allis-based nonprofit manufacturing organization ibMilwaukee has purchased a 98,000-square-foot building at W141 N9400 Fountain Boulevard in Menomonee Falls for $4.15 million from Burlington-based HG Fountain, LLC, according to state records.
Formerly known as Industries for the Blind Milwaukee, the organization provides job opportunities for blind workers and is a national industrial supplier and distributor of office supplies and furniture, customized kitting, and promotional products.
The organization employs 230 people, about 115 of whom are blind or visually impaired.
The new facility will be used for light manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, said Pat Crain, chief operating officer.
ibMilwaukee plans to employ 20 to 25 new employees at the Menomonee Falls location, and some employees who currently work in West Allis will also move to the new facility, Crain said.
“I’m proud of opening a new facility that will offer quality employment opportunities to the blind community of greater Milwaukee,” CEO and President CJ Lange said.
The Menomonee Falls facility is a change of plans for the organization. In 2013, it purchased a 100,000-square-foot industrial building in Hartland with plans of moving some operations there. But the distance from its West Allis headquarters and lack of public transportation eventually caused the organization to look elsewhere.
“We’re growing our business quite a bit and Hartland is just too far away,” Crain said.
The Menomonee Falls facility, Crain said, is “the perfect location” for the organization.
Crain said the new facility is expected to be up and running by early fall.
“It’s a great mission and we’re very proud of it,” Crain said. “And we hope that this expansion is going to be able to provide even more jobs out there.”
ibMilwaukee currently operates a 100,000-square-foot facility in West Allis and another 4,000-square-foot facility in Janesville.
In 2016, ibMilwaukee opened a 1,600-square-foot primary care clinic for employees attached to its facility in West Allis.
