May 19, 2023 - The opening of the Komatsu South Harbor Campus Manufacturing Facility last summer marked a significant milestone for the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The $285 million facility will provide high-paying jobs for years to come, employing around 900 people.

The facility produces the major components of large mining machines, including electric rope shovels, hybrid shovels, draglines and blasthole drills. The new location features cutting-edge sustainability technology.

Some highlights include:

• A solar array and wind spires generate power for the campus.
• A water system captures more than a month’s worth of rainwater that is then used to flush toilets in the office building.
• High-efficiency chillers make ice at night using off-peak electricity to create stored energy for use during peak hours.
• The facility aims to reduce energy consumption by 75% and water consumption by 80% compared its legacy Milwaukee facilities.

“The entire project was modeled in 3D very similar to other projects we work on, but the biggest difference is that Hunzinger worked with Komatsu to leverage Komatsu’s new Smart Construction technologies to remotely optimize our processes and control construction planning, management, scheduling and costs in as close to real time as you can get,” said Joan Zepecki, Hunzinger Construction’s diversity and community outreach coordinator.

Hunzinger served as the general contractor on the project.

“Besides building throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Hunzinger had multiple safety directors on site throughout the project and conducted orientations for 2,965 workers,” Zepecki said. “There was not a single lost time accident during the entirety of construction.”