Factories in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has 8,479 manufacturing establishments employing 479,846 people (Census County Business Patterns, 2023), 3.9% of US manufacturing jobs and the 8th most of any state. The largest industries by employment are food, fabricated metal products and machinery. We track 20 new plant projects here, 0 under construction.
- Establishments
- 8,479
- Census 2023
- Manufacturing jobs
- 479,846
- Census 2023
- In EPA records
- 2,851
- Active, ECHO
- New plants
- 20
- 0 building
- Sheet
- WI
- Revised
- November 11, 2026
What is made in Wisconsin
| Industry (NAICS subsector) | Establishments | Employees | In EPA records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food 311 | 1,040 | 80,121 | 332 |
| Fabricated metal products 332 | 1,904 | 71,619 | 533 |
| Machinery 333 | 942 | 61,414 | 301 |
| Plastics and rubber 326 | 419 | 33,694 | 176 |
| Vehicles, aircraft and parts 336 | 257 | 31,187 | 134 |
| Paper 322 | 200 | 26,617 | 152 |
| Electrical equipment and appliances 335 | 176 | 25,273 | 89 |
| Chemicals 325 | 362 | 22,331 | 305 |
| Printing 323 | 591 | 22,252 | 149 |
| Wood products 321 | 521 | 20,282 | 125 |
| Computers and electronics 334 | 230 | 17,503 | 79 |
| Furniture 337 | 384 | 17,061 | 79 |
| Primary metals 331 | 135 | 15,035 | 145 |
| Medical devices and other goods 339 | 455 | 13,587 | 82 |
| Glass, cement and stone 327 | 418 | 11,860 | 82 |
| Beverages and tobacco 312 | 243 | 5,793 | 19 |
| Leather goods 316 | 34 | 1,139 | 12 |
| Textile mills 313 | 27 | 1,020 | 10 |
| Textile products 314 | 89 | 817 | 4 |
| Petroleum and coal products 324 | 13 | 776 | 36 |
| Apparel 315 | 39 | 465 | 7 |
Establishments and employees: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, mid-March employment. * Census flags this figure as having high noise. "In EPA records" counts active facilities in EPA's ECHO database, a subset that excludes plants EPA doesn't regulate.
New plants in Wisconsin
| Project | Industry | Status | Announced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dickeyville brass foundry and Kieler plant expansionA.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co., Dickeyville | Steel and metals | Announced | $340M173 jobs |
| Eau Claire fermented yeast products plantABF Ingredients, Eau Claire | Food and beverage | Announced | $68M27 jobs |
| Verona GMP drug manufacturing facility and lab campusArrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Verona | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $220M230 jobs |
| Johnson Creek biofuels plantAztalan Bio LLC, Johnson Creek | Chemicals | Announced | $45Mjobs not stated |
| De Pere packaging plant expansionBelmark Corp., De Pere | Plastics and packaging | Announced | $121M143 jobs |
| Sheboygan Falls meat processing plantCarl Buddig and Company, Sheboygan Falls | Food and beverage | Announced | $125M75 jobs |
| Madison biologics development and manufacturing expansionCatalent, Madison | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $45M200 jobs |
| Milton film plant expansionCharter Next Generation, Milton | Plastics and packaging | Announced | $270M341 jobs |
| Kenosha County injectable medicines manufacturing expansion (former Nexus Pharmaceuticals site)Eli Lilly and Company, Pleasant Prairie | Pharmaceuticals | Announced | $3.0B750 jobs |
| Bristol transformer core plantERMCO Components, Bristol | Electrical equipment | Announced | $32M216 jobs |
| Chippewa Falls high-performance computing manufacturing expansionHewlett Packard Enterprise, Chippewa Falls | Electronics | Announced | $75M75 jobs |
| Oostburg cheese packaging facility expansionMasters Gallery Foods, Oostburg | Food and beverage | Announced | $60M105 jobs |
| Jefferson wet pet food factory expansionNestlé Purina PetCare, Jefferson | Food and beverage | Announced | $195M100 jobs |
| Clay Banks cheese plantRosewood Dairy, Clay Banks | Food and beverage | Announced | $35Mjobs not stated |
| Plymouth and Antigo cheese production expansionSartori Cheese, Plymouth | Food and beverage | Announced | $60Mjobs not stated |
| New Berlin drives manufacturing campusABB, New Berlin | Electrical equipment | Operating | $100M100 jobs |
| Menomonie specialty cheese facilityEllsworth Cooperative Creamery, Menomonie | Food and beverage | Operating | $26M42 jobs |
| Madison iPSC manufacturing facility and headquartersFUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, Madison | Pharmaceuticals | Operating | $200Mjobs not stated |
| Jefferson production facilityKikkoman Foods, Inc., Jefferson | Food and beverage | Operating | $560M83 jobs |
| West Bend hand tool plantMilwaukee Tool, West Bend | Other manufacturing | Operating | $55M150 jobs |
Factory pages in Wisconsin
69 Wisconsin factories have their own page so far: the facilities that report to EPA's Toxics Release Inventory and hold the most detailed federal records. See all 69, grouped by industry.
Questions
What is made in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has 8,479 manufacturing establishments employing 479,846 people (Census County Business Patterns, 2023), 3.9% of US manufacturing jobs and the 8th most of any state. The largest industries by employment are food, fabricated metal products and machinery.
How many manufacturers are in Wisconsin?
8,479 manufacturing establishments (Census, 2023). EPA's ECHO database lists 2,851 active manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin that it regulates, 1,348 of which report to the Toxics Release Inventory.
Are new factories being built in Wisconsin?
We track 20 large plant projects in Wisconsin announced since 2021: 0 under construction, 15 announced, 5 operating.
Can you tour a factory in Wisconsin?
Yes: Alp and Dell Cheese Tour (Emmi Roth plant viewing hall), Arena Cheese Factory Viewing Area, Case IH Racine Plant Tour, Cedar Grove Cheese Factory Tour and 21 more.