Four years after attempting to expand, Strauss Brands is now closing its Franklin facility
Strauss Brands is leaving Franklin about two years after expansion efforts were halted.
Strauss announced its plans on June 4 to close its Franklin facility at 9775 South 60th St. and relocate production of its grass-fed beef product line to Ruprecht, an Illinois-based division of Kilcoy Global Foods.
“The reduction will impact approximately 70 employees in the state of Wisconsin, most of whom work in the Franklin, Wisconsin facility,” the official layoff notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development said, adding the layoffs will begin Aug. 5.
Strauss Brands CEO Dave Wiggins said the company is committed to support and assist all affected employees, promising a “seamless transition for our valued team members.”
The reason given for the closure was so Strauss can “leverage Ruprecht’s state-of-the-art processing facility in Mundelein, Illinois, which continues to be upgraded with the latest advancements in technology and food safety,” according to a release on Strauss’ website.
Wiggins called the move a “necessary step in growing our grass-fed beef product line.”
“The decision to relocate production to Ruprecht was made after a meticulous evaluation of various options, with a paramount focus on ensuring continued quality and seamless customer service,” he said.
Fights with Franklin officials and resident protests
This move comes a year and a half after then Strauss CEO Randy Strauss told Franklin’s common council “it makes me not want to stay in Franklin, I can tell you that” after the city denied a request which would have helped the company to sell the land it had originally planned to use for expansion of a new 152,035-square-foot meatpacking plant on the southwest corner of West Loomis Road and Monarch Drive.
That project received a lot of resident backlash, including a lawsuit against Franklin in December 2020 from nonprofit citizen group Franklin Community Advocates after the city approved a special use permit for the proposal. The lawsuit settled after 2½ years for $25,000 paid to FCA by the City of Franklin.
In February 2022, Strauss Brands announced it no longer intended to build its new facility and planned to sell the land.
The company did manage to sell the 30-acre parcel to Cellco Partnership, an affiliate of Verizon Wireless, for $2.79 million in December 2022, according to Wisconsin Department of Revenue records.
Prior to the Franklin issues, Strauss had attempted to build in the Century City Business Park in the City of Milwaukee, but neighbors protested those efforts, forcing the company to drop the plans in late 2019.
Last fall, Strauss divested from its veal and lamb products with Catelli Brothers Family Foods taking those over. That decision affected 195 employees of Strauss Brands in Wisconsin, with most working in Franklin, according to a letter to the Wisconsin DWD from Strauss Brands President Jack Prince. The company said at the time it needed to make up to 127 of those cuts permanent.
Strauss also recently also partnered with Texas-based Eddy Foods to expand its grass-fed product lines.
Contact Erik S. Hanley at erik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on X @Redheadliner.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Strauss Brands to close Franklin facility, affecting 70 employees
