14-05-2025
Local manufacturer plans to redevelop Journal Sentinel's closed printing plant with 1,000 jobs
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's former printing plant would be converted into a facility for a local manufacturer under a new proposal − bringing up to 1,000 jobs to that site.
Global Power Components wants to buy the building, at 4101 W. Burnham St., West Milwaukee, and construct a large addition for its growing operations.
That's according to information disclosed May 9 by the West Milwaukee Plan Commission. The commission is to consider Global Power's proposal at its May 13 meeting.
Global Power has outgrown its main facility at 2300 S. 51st St., said John Stalewski, village president.
He told the Journal Sentinel the company plans to still maintain that operation on Milwaukee's south side.
Global Power, known formally as BHP Inc., builds fuel tanks, enclosures and other equipment for the power generation industry.
"Apparently, stand-by generators have gotten to be a big business," Stalewski said.
He said Global Power says the West Milwaukee plant would have three production shifts totaling around 1,000 employees.
Global Power currently operates in five Milwaukee-area facilities with more than 1,200 employees, according to the Plan Commission documents.
"We're very excited about this project," Stalewski said. He said the development could include village funding through a possible tax incremental financing district.
The West Milwaukee plant, along with the company's Milwaukee facilities, "will help us serve our customers with industry-leading innovation and design," said Chief Operating Officer Mike Watkinson, in a statement.
The Journal Sentinel's 476,316-square-foot former production facility is listed for leasing, and for sale, by Colliers, a commercial real estate services provider. The listed sale price is $27.5 million.
Global Power wants to build a 230,000-square-foot addition to provide more manufacturing space, according to the Plan Commission documents.
The news organization's corporate parent, Gannett Co., closed the production facility in 2022 as a cost-savings move − eliminating 180 jobs. The Journal Sentinel is now printed at a Gannett plant in Peoria, Illinois.
The $112 million West Milwaukee printing plant opened in 2003.
The property was sold in 2022 for $26 million to 4101 W. Burnham St. Milwaukee WI LLC.
That's an affiliate of New York-based Alden Global Capital LLC − an investment firm that owns newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune.
But Alden Global's apparent plans to print the Chicago Tribune in West Milwaukee never materialized.
Global Power's plans were disclosed around one year after the maker of Palermo's frozen pizzas announced plans to expand through a new West Milwaukee production facility with 50 jobs.
Palermo Villa Inc.'s new operation is being developed at 3900 W. Lincoln Ave. That was the longtime site of Froedtert Malt Corp.'s complex before it was demolished in 2023.
(This story was updated to provide new information).
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@ and followed on Instagram, Bluesky, X and article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Global Power to bring 1,000 jobs to former Journal Sentinel facility
