Milwaukee-based
Rebel Converting LLC is growing its presence in Saukville.
The disinfectant wipes manufacturer, which recently
relocated its home base to Milwaukee's far northwest side, has purchased the former Calibre building for $5.75 million, according to state records. The company announced today it intends to use the former Calibre building as a second facility.
The building is located at 655 N. Dekora Woods Blvd., in the same industrial park where Rebel Converting was formerly headquartered.
Rebel Wipes will move one of its high-speed canister wet wipe lines to the building from Milwaukee, along with approximately 70 jobs. That number includes the movement of 50 jobs plus 20 newly created positions.
This brings Rebel Wipes' total headcount to around 150 people.
“As we continue to grow our manufacturing footprint here in southeastern Wisconsin, we were very happy when this facility became available in Saukville,” Mike Kryshak, president of Rebel Converting, said in a statement. “Saukville has been a great community to work with and with the total acreage of our new lot at nearly 15 acres, the new facility will allow us to continue to expand as our business does.”
Rebel Wipes nearly doubled its footprint last year with the purchase of the 95,500-square-foot facility in Milwaukee's Towne Corporate Park of Granville. The 98,732-square-foot Dekora Woods building, plus its old 35,000-square-foot HQ it kept at 700 N. Progress Drive, puts its total footprint at almost 230,000 square feet.
Calibre Inc.
announced the closure of its facilities in Saukville and Grafton in late 2020. Rebel Wipes said it hopes to employ some of the workers who were laid off earlier this year by Calibre.
Rebel Converting has roughly tripled its workforce in about a year's time. When announcing its headquarters relocation in late March 2020, Rebel Converting said it employed about 50 people.
Terry McMahon, Cody Ziegler and Steve Styza from Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke represented Rebel Converting in the purchase of the Saukville building. They also represented the company in the purchase of the Milwaukee building. The seller, Calibre Inc., was represented by Bob Flood and Derek Yentz of Founders 3 Real Estate Services.
"Industrial real estate remains in high demand throughout southeastern Wisconsin, especially for companies experiencing a surge in business from COVID-19," McMahon said in a statement. "Rebel Converting’s expansion is encouraging for industrial real estate momentum, but more importantly, encouraging for the community."
