Foxconn’ Wisconsin factory still sets empty

Foxconn originally promised to turn two buildings in Eau Claire into office space and research facilities. It never purchased one of the buildings and has taken out no substantive building permits for the other… The Green Bay innovation center has also made no progress.

The main Foxconn project — the factory in Mount Pleasant — appears to be moving forward, albeit at a much smaller scale than the massive Generation 10.5 LCD fabrication plant originally promised and specified in the company’s contract with the state.

Earlier this month, the company submitted a project report to the state claiming it now employs more than 550 people, enough to qualify for lucrative subsidies. (Most were hired at the end of last year.) And although no LCD fabrication equipment has been reported as arriving at the factory, Foxconn has announced a giant glass dome that will house a data center, along with deals to make robotic coffee kiosks and alarm system components in what’s been described as a “high-mix, low-to-medium volume” manufacturing strategy. And last week, Foxconn and Medtronic announced plans to build ventilators at the factory within four to six weeks…

The factory is set to open in May. Foxconn has deemed construction “essential,” and work continues even under Wisconsin’s stay-at-home order.

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