MILWAUKEE — After more than a century, a company founded in Wisconsin will no longer have a presence in the Badger State.

What You Need To Know

  • Master Lock announced it will close its Oak Creek headquarters and move operations to Deerfield, Illinois

  • In 2024, Master Lock closed its production facility on Milwaukee's north side

  • Neighborhood business leaders say they continue to feel the impact of the factory closure

Last week, the parent company of Master Lock, Fortune Brands Innovations, announced its plans to close Master Lock’s Oak Creek headquarters. It will move operations to the Chicago suburbs as part of a brand consolidation.

In the announcement, Fortune Brands wrote that consolidating “to one campus headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois will best position the company and its brands for long-term growth.”

It said Master Lock employees in Oak Creek are being given the chance to stay with the company and work in Deerfield, about an hour drive south of the current headquarters building.

While attention is now on the headquarters closure, residents on Milwaukee’s north side are still focused on the closure of their production facility in 2024.

The sprawling campus near 32nd and Center Street now sits empty after production ceased in March 2024. In addition to job losses, nearby residents and business owners say the impact of having a vacant facility is still being felt.

Philip Blake owns Philip’s Apparel, a tailor shop and clothing store just a few blocks from the old Master Lock campus. Blake said he has noticed an impact on his business since the closure.

“People who worked at Master Lock used to come buy men’s suits from me. Since they moved out, I don’t get that business anymore,” said Blake.

Jennifer Potts is the executive director of the Center Street Business Improvement District, which works to promote business growth in the area. Potts also owns a nail technology training academy nearby. 

Potts said with fewer people commuting to work in the neighborhood, she, and local businesses, continue to feel the impact.

“It is like a ghost town in that part of Center Street. Traffic counts are down, vacancy rates are up,” said Potts.

While the location, and types of jobs being lost in Oak Creek are different from what happened along Center Street, Potts said she feels for the Oak Creek employees and for the city itself. She said the loss of the headquarters building will have an impact.

“They will feel that loss because of the vacancy. That vacancy is going to be felt with the economy,” said Potts.    

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