Caterpillar Acquires Bucyrus: What Does That Mean for South Milwaukee?

Caterpillar is acquiring Bucyrus International in a $7.6 billion deal.

Here is the press press release, and check out coverage from Reuters and the Journal Sentinel.

So, what does this mean for South Milwaukee? I wish I knew. I was as surprised as anyone with this announcement. But this quote from Bucyrus CEO Tim Sullivan is telling:

This is an outstanding and financially compelling transaction for our shareholders. More fundamentally, it is a testament to the tremendous value our talented team of employees has created over the past several years and to the strength of our brand in the global mining machinery marketplace. I am confident that we have found an excellent partner in Caterpillar. Caterpillar is a first-rate global company and it shares our commitment to providing innovative products and exceptional service to customers, creating a collaborative and safe work environment for employees and minimizing the impact on the environment.

We are very pleased that Caterpillar has committed to locate its mining business headquarters in Milwaukee and we are confident that the combined global platform will be extremely well positioned to capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities in this market in the years ahead.

Headquarters in Milwaukee? Not sure what that means. Maybe “Milwaukee area”? After all Bucyrus now has operations in South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Milwaukee after recently acquiring the former Midwest Airlines headquarters building on Howell Avenue.

The Reuters story says: “Caterpillar said it would locate its mining business in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”

I tend to believe that South Milwaukee will continue to play a major role here. With the hundreds of millions of dollars Bucyrus recently put into its local manufacturing operations, I can’t envision much of a change there. The South Milwaukee and Oak Creek office complexes are another story, however, and it remains to be seen what amount of change we’ll see there going forward.

After all, how many white collar workers will Bucyrus need now that it’s part of a global behemoth like Caterpillar?

There is an 11 a.m. CT teleconference that I am sure will yield more details on this. I’ll keep you posted.