Beck Aluminum Racine relocating, expanding in Mount Pleasant

Beck Aluminum Racine will relocate and expand to a former manufacturing plant at 7505 Durand Ave. and add 25 new jobs, the building owner has announced.

Beck, 1349 23rd St., executed a long-term lease for the 192,000-square-foot building on Durand which was previously a Bosch Rexroth manufacturing plant. Bosch closed the plant in 2002 with the loss of more than 200 local jobs.

The selection of the building, which is currently called the Mount Pleasant Complex, followed a search across the Midwest for a new plant to replace its current plant, according to Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based commercial real estate firm.

Beck settled on the Durand Avenue location based on several factors, Phoenix said in a news release, including support and financial assistance from Racine County Economic Development Corp. and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and its “seasoned workforce.” Beck now employs about 43 people.

“Beck expects to make significant improvements in capacity and efficiency at the new location,” Phoenix wrote. The company will add an exterior, 40,000-square-foot, covered high-bay scrap receiving area and install new, state-of-the-art furnaces which will be used to melt and recycle aluminum alloys. Beck expects to open its new plant this summer.

Beck Aluminum Racine is part of Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Beck Aluminum Alloys.

According to Bryan Beck, executive vice president of Beck Aluminum, “The expanded capabilities provided by new equipment will allow us to process lower-cost raw material more effectively and improve overall efficiencies.”

Phoenix acquired the building two years ago and had previously leased it to several national tenants, according to David Marks, managing director for Phoenix. “We were delighted to consummate the lease with Beck Aluminum and are pleased that we were able to contribute to keeping this company and its workers in Racine County,” he said.