Racine-based
Twin Disc Inc. is considering the consolidation of its Racine headquarters into its manufacturing facility about 2.5 miles away on 21
st Street.
The maker of power transmission equipment has been challenged in recent quarters by increasing tariffs, sagging oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, the company announced a series of cost actions, including wage reductions and furloughs, that would save around $4 million annually.
However, the company eliminated those cuts after receiving a more than $8 million loan under the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The program provides companies with loan forgiveness if the money is spent on things like wages, mortgages or rent, and utilities.
Funding for the loan, which allowed the company to bring staff back at its Racine operations, ran out last month.
Twin Disc announced Friday it would reinstate the earlier cuts and take actions to save another $3.2 million annually.
John Batten, chief executive officer of Twin Disc, said that if the company can consolidate its operations it could realize more than $1 million in additional operating expense savings.
“With work from home and a reduction in headcount, we are looking at how we can get all of us into one facility here in Racine and support each other as one team, one facility,” Batten said.
He added that prior to the pandemic there we 40 to 60 people working at the headquarters, located at 1328 Racine St., but now less than eight people work from the facility daily because of remote work.
“We don’t see that changing dramatically in the next six months,” Batten said of remote work.
The challenge would be fitting the corporate staff into the Twin Disc manufacturing facility at 4600 21
st Street.
“It would be a shoehorn right now, but it’s absolutely worth looking at,” Batten said.
Twin Disc headquarters, located at 1328 Racine St.:
