Laser metal cutting company stays local

When Target Laser & Machining decided to start looking for a location to expand, several Wisconsin communities dangled tax incentives to lure the manufacturer away from the small space off North Main Street that it has called home since opening in 1984.

But company President Steve Reiter, whose father, Gary, started the laser cutting and metal fabrication company in an 840-square-foot bay, said Rockford "is part of our identity."

So Target opted to expand in Rockford.

"We were actually looking at going to Wisconsin. There are several manufacturers here in the city that have made it apparent to us that they want us to stay local," Reiter said. "That really was the thrust because we were prepared, and there were incentives being offered for us to move our facility. It generally came down to just a gut feel."

The company has launched a nearly $2 million expansion that will almost triple its operating space, increase manufacturing capability with new equipment and potentially add up to 10 jobs in the next year to keep up with new orders.

Target Laser is expanding from its 18,000-square-foot factory into a 50,000-square-foot building. The move could be complete by late June. Reiter said the company's ability to expand is the result of good customer service, diversification of the company's products and services, and employees' hard work.

Mike Kubera, a company spokesman, said the combination of the building's renovation and a planned purchase of an automatic laser cutting machine that will increase the company's productivity capacity could bring the total cost of the expansion to $2 million. Without the equipment, the expansion would cost about $1.5 million. Roughly 40 percent of the funding was secured through a U.S. Small Business Administration loan program with the help of the Rockford Local Development Corp.

The additional space will give the company more operations capability and translate into new and larger customers, and possibly new employees.