In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” partners in the new $80 million cargo terminal at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport say the project will bring more airborne economic activity to Wisconsin.
The podcast features an interview with Brian Dranzik, the airport’s director, and Jack Rabenn, managing director of the industrial group for Crow Holdings Development.
Adding the new cargo terminal has been more than five years in the making, Rabenn says, noting it will bring “an amenity to the state that it’s never had before.” The 330,000-square-foot facility includes a new taxiway and space for multiple large aircraft.
“Ideally we’d be taking some [traffic] from O’Hare, but we’re really a complement to it more than anything,” Rabenn said. “There’s plenty to go around in the Midwest … there’s a lot of demand that originates or ends up in southeast Wisconsin or broader Wisconsin.”
Much of the air cargo that moves through the region currently passes through Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Rabenn said.
“It’s just not efficient, there’s a lot of leakage for the state. So that’s the initial goal here, is to provide that service and amenity to the supply chains,” he said, referring to the area’s manufacturing sector.
Construction on the facility’s building frame and land are currently wrapping up construction, while Crow Holdings is continuing work on a 400,000-gallon fuel system. The company is targeting November to finish much of the project.
Dranzik says the new terminal will help address current fueling limitations, noting “it’s a scramble” to get diverted flights refueled on time without the new capacity.
“This facility allows us to handle that, and it provides kind of a variety of potential revenue opportunities for the operator as well,” Dranzik said, adding “the ability to retain that traffic, either coming from the state or the local area here, and provide jobs and provide the growth, it’s just going to be a wonderful benefit for us.”
Talking Trade is hosted by E.M Wasylik Associates Managing Director Ken Wasylik and M.E. Dey & Co. CEO Sandi Siegel and sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Carroll University and Michael Best Strategies.
