Summary of FDI in Wisconsin

The Organization for International Investment website provides great information regarding FDI in the United States as a whole. A few statistics that can be found on the site include the following: Insourcing Facts, FDI Trends, Jobs by State, and various publications about FDI. The facts about Wisconsin can be found here and here (PDF). Due to foreign investment, about 90,000 people have jobs in Wisconsin, and nearly half of the jobs from FDI are in the manufacturing sector. Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada are countries that support many jobs. Although the percentage of jobs (3.7%) from FDI in Wisconsin is lower than the national average, government officials in Wisconsin are working hard to attract more foreign investment and get on track with the national average (5.2%).

PTF Incorporated, SE Wisconsin

Growing economic opportunities with FDI doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes it can take years of courting and negotiation to attract industry to the region. The courting of Precision Technology Inc. by the RacineCounty Economic Development Corporation began in 2011, two years before PT Inc. set up a U.S. division in Sturtevant, WI.

Sturtevant is a small but rapidly growing village in southeastern Wisconsin’s Racine County. The company produces precision parts and assemblies for industry, and employs about 50 people. Oliver Zintl, CEO and General Manager of PT Inc., decided that southeastern Wisconsin was the best location to invest in because of its central location, existing customers in the region, and because Gateway Technical College is a great source for highly trained talent to bring into the company.

The decision to open up shop in SE Wisconsin is also expected to provide a jobs multiplier effect by generating interest in the area from other foreign companies looking to invest and expand into the region.

Sketches for New Oak Creek IKEA Revealed

In Sweden, in 1943, a home furnishings company named IKEA was born. Now, 74 years later, IKEA has over 315 stores; 50+ stores are located in North America, and another one is on the way! At the end of February 2017, sketches of a new IKEA store in Oak Creek were released; the sketches included the layout of the store and parking lot. Since IKEA is planning to open the store during the summer of 2018, construction will begin quite soon. Once the store is completed, Wisconsinites can expect 250 new, full-time jobs to be created! In addition to the new IKEA jobs, Steve Scaffidi, former Oak Creek Mayor, mentions how the new store will bring over a million people each year to support local restaurants, hotels, and other brick-and-mortar retail stores. It is excellent to hear how government officials are working hard to bring new business to Wisconsin!

Film, Images, and Cellular Biology

When people think about Fujifilm, they probably aren’t thinking about the manufacturing of fully developed human cells. Instead, the name brings back memories of old cameras that used chemical film to take photographs. For the 150 employees of Cellular Dynamics International, located in Madison, WI, that changed in march of 2015 when Fujifilm of Japan bought the company for $307 million dollars. Along with the acquisition of CDI, Fujifilm also has a distribution deal with the Wauwatosa, Wisconsin medical imaging firm TeraMedica Inc. The purchase of CDI makes the distribution deal permanent, ensuring employment opportunities and further investment potential for years to come. Fujifilm’s strong investments are putting the companies—and Wisconsin—in position to become world leaders in the development of new drugs and regenerative therapy.

Click here to visit CDI’s website and here to find out more about Fujifilm/TeraMedica.