A news items came across our desk this week that got our attention. It seems that Milwaukee Tool Corp. is set to receive a grant to help finance an $18 million expansion of its saw blade plant in Mississippi. The Mississippi Development Authority is giving the company a $900,000 grant for the Milwaukee saw blade plant expansion, which is expected to create 32 new jobs. The city of Greenwood and Leflore County will also provide a 10% match of the grant. We’re not sure about the math here or return on investment, but that’s not our primary concern. What we’re wondering is what this will mean for future saw blade products and technology. Is Milwaukee putting yet more R&D into its accessories division? We’ll have to see. Milwaukee Tool produces several types of saw blades in Greenwood. It also has an operation in Jackson and a warehouse and distribution center in Olive Branch. Since we’ll be at their media event in July (just weeks away as of this posting) perhaps we can follow up and see what they might have in store for us.
Milwaukee Saw Blade Plant Tax Credits
Milwaukee Tool also received about $1.5 million in tax credits in 2011 from Wisconsin. Those funds were allocated to help the company expand their research and development division located in Brookfield, Wisconsin (Milwaukee Tool’s headquarters). That last expansion created around 100 new jobs.
Check out our other news piece on Sharp Electronics and Makita power tools.
