InSinkErator, a business unit of Emerson, is celebrating 80 years in southeast Wisconsin with the grand opening of its new 87,000-square-foot headquarters in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. The environmentally efficient building will house 175 engineers and professional staff.

“The new headquarters and labs will ensure InSinkErator continues its industry leadership in food waste disposers,” InSinkErator President Chad Severson said. “This building is not only a modern, pleasant work space — it is also a world-class technology center with on-site prototyping, advanced sound-engineering facilities and unprecedented lab facilities for our experts to create the future of InSinkErator.”

Higher expectations for Racine County

In tandem with the grand opening, InSinkErator also announced its commitment of $200,000 over five years to Higher Expectations for Racine County, a collaborative initiative that engages community partners, aligns efforts, and maximizes resources to promote excellence and equity in education and employment outcomes in Racine County. Emerson Chairman and CEO David Farr and Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions Executive President Bob Sharp joined Severson to present the donation to Higher Expectations at the InSinkErator headquarters grand opening.

“Our state-of-the-art facility needs workers to fill high-tech jobs,” Severson said. “Our pledge to Higher Expectations isn’t a gift — it’s an investment in Racine County to ensure there are qualified workers right here in our hometown.”

Innovation and research for food waste disposers

The new headquarters and lab building are designed to qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification as well as to optimize productivity and collaboration. The building features:

• An advanced work environment to help attract and retain employees;
• Easy access to InSinkErator facilities in Racine, Kenosha and Sturtevant, Wisconsin;
• Convenient location near I-94 in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor; and
• A nearly 2-acre campus with walking paths and outdoor seating for employee enjoyment.

In addition to a modern layout and abundant natural light, building designers incorporated enhanced research capabilities to demonstrate the company’s role as an industry leader, including:

• Hemi-Anechoic chamber sound lab — A sound-testing chamber that eliminates noise contamination to test the sound pressure, intensity and power of food waste disposers.
• 3D printing and innovation area — Rapid prototyping from the 3D printing center enables the innovation team to quickly move new products from ideas to consumer homes. This high-tech capability cuts weeks or even months off product development times, helping InSinkErator continue its leadership in the category.
• Commercial solutions and Grind2Energy lab — The commercial group researches innovative, sustainable products to handle food waste where people live, shop and dine, and turn it into renewable energy.
• Grind test lab and kitchen — New testing labs and kitchens will help engineers determine how to make disposers capable of grinding even the toughest food waste that is part of diets around the globe.

Emerson is also investing $29 million to make improvements to the 21^st Street facility in Racine, the previous headquarters for InSinkErator. The upgrades will help InSinkErator stay ahead of increased customer demand for its food waste disposers for home and commercial use. These improvements are the latest of a $150 million investment Emerson is making in southeast Wisconsin over the 2015-2019 time frame. The investment also includes the Kenosha facility occupied in 2015.