Astronautics Corporation of America, a designer and manufacturer of avionics and connectivity solutions for the aerospace industry, is relocating its manufacturing operations and Federal Aviation Administration Repair Station from Milwaukee into a newly renovated, state-of-the-art, 80,000 square-foot facility in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
Relocation of Astronautics’ manufacturing operation into its new production facility at the company’s corporate headquarters will be complete by mid-March 2022. The transition marks the completion of the company’s second phase of renovation at their Oak Creek property and the first time in the company’s more than 60-year history that production, repairs, quality, engineering, programs, and support services will be collocated within the same campus—one designed specifically to enhance collaboration and innovation.
“The game changer during this relocation was that the Oak Creek warehouse we were turning into our new production facility was a blank slate, enabling us to plan and design our ideal manufacturing workflow, beginning to end, before any construction began,” said Jason Rowell, Astronautics’ director of operations. “We implemented purposeful designs meant to streamline our manufacturing and repair processes, improve production efficiencies, and create a flexible environment that can easily adapt to workflow changes as we build new products and add new people and equipment.”
Astronautics’ new 190,000 square-foot headquarters is located five miles south of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, 17 miles from Milwaukee’s city center, and 80 miles from Chicago. The company’s campus is adjacent to Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square, the city’s newest commercial, retail, civic, and residential development with convenient access to parks, restaurants, shopping, hotel accommodations, and Interstate 94.
“We’re thrilled to consolidate most of our Milwaukee-area facilities into our Oak Creek campus where natural synergies and enhanced communication will emerge from having our teams collated—positively impacting product innovation and production,” commented Mary Loomis, Astronautics’ director of communications. “Additionally, our new facility provides us with room to grow our operations with a talented, high-tech workforce motivated to design and build cutting-edge solutions that make flying safer and more secure.”
Phase one of Astronautics’ design-build project was completed in January 2020 when the company relocated its engineering, programs, and support services into their newly renovated Oak Creek headquarters.