History preserved

CG Schmidt gives Bucyrus a reason to stay

By Janine Anderson

Bucyrus International has deep roots in South Milwaukee.

The company has manufactured surface-mining equipment for more than 125 years.

But history and community connections can't keep a company in one place forever, and the long list of manufacturing companies to shut down or leave the Milwaukee area is a testament to that.

That's the situation Bucyrus faced when it needed to expand and improve its manufacturing facility north of Rawson Avenue. But Bucyrus found a way to stay.

"They're in what could only be called a fast-expansion mode," said Craig Coursin, vice president of CG Schmidt, the construction manager for Bucyrus' multiyear expansion project. "They were having to make decisions very quickly. Many times, engineering was just keeping pace with construction and ordering.

"This was a multistage, fast-track project."

It was a project on new property that Bucyrus found to maintain its growth and let it expand and revamp its existing operations.

"They needed expanded weld space really fast," Coursin said.

With the new facility online, CG Schmidt started work on the campus north of Rawson Avenue. The biggest part of that project was a new boring-bar bay.

	Project Name: Bucyrus International Location: South Milwaukee Submitting Company: CG Schmidt Inc., Milwaukee Construction Manager: CG Schmidt Inc. Project Leaders: Dave Albrecht, CG Schmidt's project executive; Craig Coursin, CG Schmidt's vice president and project principal Architect: Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer and Associates Inc., Milwaukee Engineer: Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer and Associates Inc. Owner: Bucyrus International Inc., South Milwaukee Project Cost: Confidential Project Size: 261,100 square feet Start Date: November 2005 Completion Date: November 2006

"They ordered a bar from Italy before we broke ground," Coursin said. "They had a date for it to be delivered. That was the driver on the front end."

With a major delivery on the way, CG Schmidt got to work stripping the site north of Rawson, tearing down walls and breaking up the concrete foundation. As soon as space was cleared and prepped, new steel went up.

The 40-acre property was crisscrossed with railroad spurs that moved the massive equipment Bucyrus builds from one part of the campus to the other.

"On top of everything, they were using a good portion of that 40 acres while we were building," Coursin said.

As the project went along, Bucyrus employees started to take a greater interest in it, Coursin said.

"It was not uncommon to see Bucyrus International workers with their steel-toed boots and goggles giving a tour," Coursin said. "They would bring their families and point out where they would be working."

Difficult as the project might have been, Coursin said, it was worth the effort for CG Schmidt to help preserve a piece of history.

"It was exciting, fast and big," he said. "We had a lot of fun."