© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

As Master Lock Grows, Company Remains in Oak Creek

Master Lock

Wisconsin-based company Master Lock attracted national headlines and a presidential visit a few years ago when it announced that it was bringing jobs back from overseas to its Milwaukee manufacturing plant.

But in recent days, the company had a decision to make about where its new headquarters would be located as space was becoming tight in its Oak Creek facility.  This week, the company announced its decision. The new headquarters will be located just down the road in the building formerly occupied by Caterpillar on S. Howell Avenue in familiar Oak Creek. 

Master Lock’s president Mike Bauer says since the company is expanding, the new location is "a great draw for talent... a more open, more inviting, team-based layout, equipped with a lot of current technology."

He noted that there were "convenience factors" for both current and potential employees alike. "It's located 11 miles from downtown Milwaukee, so it's a very easy commute for those who live downtown."

In addition, Bauer says that in their 13 year history in Oak Creek, "our associates have... moved their families and arranged their daycare to the current location, and this allows us to not have much disruption to the current workforce."

Even though many companies face tough decisions when expanding, remaining local was crucial to the company, according to Bauer. "Ultimately, it came down to a desire to stay in the area," he says. "We've been in Wisconsin since 1921, so that's where our heritage is. And we found what we think is really a perfect location for us."