It was 2003. Plans were announced to rebuild the Zoo Interchange. Tom Anderson co-founded MySpace. And the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opened a state-of-the-art printing plant in West Milwaukee to replace the antiquated presses in the basement of its Downtown office.
If, in hindsight, you think 2003 seems a bit late to be investing $100 million-plus in print media, you’re right. The facility printed the JS and other papers for less than 20 years; parent company Gannett Co. moved production to Peoria, Illinois – 220 miles and 3½ hours away – in 2022.
But the massive plant will soon find new life: Global Power Components, a sneaky-big Milwaukee company that makes enclosures, trailers and other accessories for electrical generators, is not just buying but expanding the factory. It expects as many as 1,000 employees to work there. Think any of them get the paper?
