Milwaukee-based Mortara Instrument Inc. is scheduled to break ground later today on a $5 million, 64,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility. Expected to reach full occupancy in March 2016, the expansion is said to allow for the creation of more than 150 jobs over the next five years.
Mortara, a designer, developer and manufacturer of diagnostic cardiology and patient monitoring technologies, is in need of the new building because it has reached capacity at its 64,000-square-foot headquarters facility at 7865 N. 86th St.
Its other building, a 50,000-square-foot facility nearby at 8220 W. Sleske Court used for additional manufacturing and shipping and receiving, is also full.
The new facility, which will be located on 1.5 acres at 8585 W. Bradley Road, near the company’s headquarters, will consolidate and expand the manufacturing and distribution operations that are currently split between the headquarters and the Sleske Court building.
To help facilitate the project, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has authorized Mortara to receive up to $700,000 in state tax credits over a five-year period contingent upon the company meeting specific job creation and wage level requirements.
Mortara chief executive officer Justin Mortara said the company has doubled in size over the past five years in terms of employees and sales, and it is growing on average in excess of 10 percent each year. Since May 2013, it has added 145 jobs, bringing its total global workforce to 400.
“I am proud of our continued growth and our increasing prominence in the market and in our community,” Mortara said. “We’re excited to further invest in our community and truly live out our promise that all Mortara products are – ‘Built with Pride in Milwaukee.’”
According to Mortara, the company’s growth is due in part to cardiovascular disease continuing to be a significant health threat, as well as the No. 1 killer in some countries. Other growth drivers are the aging demographic and the rise in investments in the health care systems outside the United States. In particular, China, Brazil and the Middle East are big growth markets right now for Mortara.
Mortara is the second largest provider of electrocardiogram (ECG) devices in the world.
