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Governor Scott Walker today announced that Skana Aluminum Company, Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, will receive a $650,000 Blight Elimination and Brownfield Redevelopment (BEBR) grant from the Department of Commerce (Commerce) to help redevelop the former Koenig & Vits manufacturing site.
"Brownfield grants are an excellent tool to help revitalize contaminated properties while creating opportunities for future construction projects and job growth," Governor Walker said. "I am pleased we could assist this new company in its efforts to return a vacant manufacturing site to productive use, creating jobs and new investment in the Manitowoc area."
"It took the cooperation of forward-thinking financial institutions and an enlightened Department of Commerce to work with our entrepreneurial investors to reopen this massive operation in Wisconsin," said Skana Aluminum Company Chairman and CEO Tom Testwuide.
Skana Aluminum Company has initiated aluminum rolling mill production that converts raw material into finished coil products. The finished product will be sold to domestic and international end users and distributors for further manufacturing. The BEBR funds will be used for site clearance, building rehabilitation and environmental remediation. The project is expected to create 110 jobs within five years and represents a total investment of $13.8 million.
Commerce's BEBR Program provides grant funds to municipalities, local development corporations, and the private sector to support assessment, remediation and return of contaminated lands to productive use. Brownfields are abandoned, idle, or underused industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is hindered by soil and/or groundwater contamination.
For more information about the BEBR Program, contact Al Rabin, Commerce, at 608/267-8926.
