Generac unveils its newest, largest manufacturing facility in Wisconsin

Waukesha-based Generac Power Systems unveiled the company’s newest and largest manufacturing facility in Wisconsin on Thursday in Beaver Dam. 

The 345,000-square-foot site has more than 100 employees, including a mix of office and manufacturing workers. The company plans to expand its Beaver Dam workforce to about 320 employees by the end of the year. 

The company held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and gave community members a tour of the new plant on Thursday to celebrate the facility coming online. Generac broke ground on the plant back in 2023. 

The new plant features four main assembly lines with space for a fifth, and it can also host up to 250 workers per shift, according to Generac.

Production began at the Beaver Dam plant in March and has been ramping up over the last several months, said Andrew Martin, vice president of operations for Generac’s industrial business.

“We’re just excited to be able to continue to expand within Wisconsin, bring more jobs into the state and then in the Beaver Dam community, as well,” Martin said. “We’ve got a lot of facilities across Wisconsin and … Beaver Dam seemed like a good fit.”

He said the plant was built to meet customer demand for industrial and commercial generators, shifting some of the company’s production from Mexico to Wisconsin. 

Martin also said the new plant will allow Generac to shift the focus of its plant in Oshkosh to “large megawatt products” and allow its plant in Eagle to “expand fabrication capability” to support all of the company’s sites.

Erik Wilde, president of Generac’s commercial and industrial business, said the company likes making its products in the state because it knows the “work ethic” it’s going to get. He said that’s one of the reasons the company chose Beaver Dam.

“We’re a Wisconsin company, and we’re happy to continue to invest in Wisconsin and continue to grow, build our brand and create great jobs for Wisconsinites,” he said.

Wilde said the company’s plans to move production from Mexico to Beaver Dam were in place before the federal government expanded its use of tariffs this year.

“It’s been a challenging year, actually, with tariffs and whatnot,” he said. “But fortunately, we had planned to open Beaver Dam and move some production here before that even occurred.”

The company says the new plant is “central” to its plans to expand production capacity across its facilities in North America. 

Bobbi Marck, mayor of Beaver Dam, said the city was excited to welcome the company as its “newest corporate citizen,” calling the plant’s opening a “historic milestone.”

“I look forward to the future as Generac and Beaver Dam continue to grow and innovate together,” she said.