Milwaukee, WI
From Zero to Tool Industry Dominance: Milwaukee Tool’s Innovative Path to Industry Leadership – Daily Commercial News
Uncover how Milwaukee Tool’s relentless pursuit of innovation, including breakthroughs like lithium-ion battery solutions, has catapulted it to the forefront of the power tool industry, shaping its trajectory on a global scale.
How do you transform a 100-year-old brand like Milwaukee Tool, taking it from the back of the pack in market share to the leading maker of professional power tools and equipment?
“You don’t do it by setting goals you know you can achieve,” says Craig Baxter, group president of TTI Canada.
“Very little that’s great has ever been achieved by setting easily achievable goals, I’m a strong believer in audacious goals,” says Baxter. “I love that word. An audacious goal changes everything. It changes the way you think, the way you plan, the way you behave. It changes your entire approach.”
Sixth in a five-horse race
If anyone would know from experience about the power of audacious goal-setting, it’s Baxter.
In 2007, when he first joined Milwaukee Tool, the company’s products were barely on the radar as a job site solution.
“We were sixth in a five-horse race in terms of the market share of professional cordless tools,” Baxter recalls. “My first audacious goal was committing back in 2007 to make Milwaukee the number one brand of professional power tools in Canada by 2017. To achieve that meant we had to grow at least 20 per cent a year for 10 straight years.”
Under Baxter’s leadership, Milwaukee Tool didn’t just achieve that goal — they smashed it. “We’ve compounded at 24 per cent for the last 16 years,” he says.
Leading by inspiration
But while Milwaukee Tool’s continuous innovation is critical, Baxter credits his workforce – and the incredible spirit of teamwork and collaboration he set out to foster – for these incredible results.
Having taken the company from less than 100 employees in 2007 to almost 800 — “we have single-digit turnover” Baxter notes—he’s determined to build the best possible team and the best possible work culture.
“My job is to create an environment where talented, ambitious people can flourish,” he says.
For Baxter, that all hinges upon leadership. “The predominant leadership style today is command and control,” he says. “But that style is never going to lead to extraordinary results over the long term. And that’s because great people simply don’t want to be controlled.”
To Baxter, one of the great ironies in workplaces today is that business acumen and niche skills become less important as people climb through the ranks and take on positions requiring leadership. “Supply chain, inventory, and metrics are all things that need to be managed. The problem is a lot of managers treat people like they’re things. Leaders need to focus on the inspiration piece, not the management piece when it comes to people,” he says.
To that effect, Baxter himself teaches leadership courses, handing down to TTI’s emerging and experienced managers his tenets for inspiring audacious performance–things like strong communication, building trust by sharing the credit and accepting the blame when things don’t go as planned.
“If you don’t understand how to get the best work out of individuals, then extraordinary results will be incredibly difficult to achieve,” he says.
“Great leaders are able to inspire people to become the absolute best version of themselves, and in so doing, they’re able to stretch for audacious goals.”
Powering the job sites of the future
This focus on leadership is a formula Baxter believes can power Milwaukee Tool for the next 100 years.
“Cordless is an arms race,” Baxter acknowledges. “Our vision is a cordless job site — and by that I mean everything from a small renovation to building a tower downtown. Our vision is to have every single application on that job site powered with a lithium-ion solution brought to you by Milwaukee. We want to replace other batteries, replace hydraulics, replace pneumatic air, replace gas and cords. Any source of power on the job, we want to replace it with one of our solutions. In five years, I see us providing solutions that are beyond anybody’s imagination on a job site,” Baxter says.
With such a great team and strong leaders on his side, it’s yet another audacious goal Baxter believes is within reach. “Just look at what we’ve brought to market so far. You can only imagine how many solutions and the type of capabilities we will provide in the future. We are just getting started.”
Drone view of the data center under construction in Port Washington
Check out a drone view of the Vantage Data Center under construction in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Construction on a stretch of Forest Home Avenue in Milwaukee County is set to resume as part of a Wisconsin Department of Transportation resurfacing project, according to WisDOT.
The project affects Highway 24 — also known as Forest Home Avenue — between Janesville Road in Hales Corners and 45th Street in Milwaukee. The project started in early 2025 and is expected to be completed in mid-2026.
Here’s what to know about the latest construction update.
When will Forest Home Avenue construction resume?
Preparation work for construction along Forest Home Avenue is expected to begin the week of March 16, according to WisDOT.
Active construction work is scheduled to begin the week of March 23, weather permitting.
Where will construction be?
Construction work will take place in two segments along the corridor. The segment between 45th Street and Howard Avenue is already largely complete and will include minor lighting work and restoration.
The segment between Howard Avenue and Janesville Road will include resurfacing, permanent pavement markings, guardrail installation and improvements at several intersections.
What work will be done during construction?
The Highway 24 project will improve about 5 miles of roadway. The work includes resurfacing pavement, replacing traffic signals and lighting at numerous locations, making improvements to the bridge at 76th Street and upgrading sidewalks and curb ramps.
Traffic impacts during Forest Home Avenue construction in Milwaukee County
During construction, Highway 24 will be reduced to one lane in each direction in active work zones. Drivers may also encounter parking lane restrictions, overnight or short-term closures at ramps and intersections, and temporary pedestrian detours.
Access to businesses and residences along the corridor will be maintained during construction.
When will the project be completed?
The project is currently scheduled to be completed in early summer, though WisDOT says the timeline may change depending on weather conditions.
Adrienne Davis is a south suburban reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Got any tips or stories to share? Contact Adrienne at amdavis@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @AdriReportss.
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County leaders are moving forward with a plan to collect unpaid fees owed to the medical examiner’s office by funeral homes.
What we know:
A Milwaukee County committee on Tuesday, March 10, advanced legislation allowing the county attorney to pursue collections from funeral homes with large outstanding debts owed to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Earlier this year, the medical examiner’s office began requiring funeral homes with outstanding balances of $25,000 or more to pay fees up front for services such as death certificates, cremation permits and body transport. Funeral homes collect those fees from families and are expected to pass them along to the county.
What they’re saying:
“What is the overall number we’re waiting on?” asked Milwaukee County Supervisor Sky Capriolo.
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“We do list 18 funeral homes that have a balance, currently, of $25,000 or more,” said Timothy Schabo, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner operations manager.
“Our hope is that, certainly, we’ll be able to avoid any litigation,” said William Davidson, deputy corporation counsel.
“If a family is paying a funeral home for services, and someone at the funeral home is not paying the county, where is that money going? We don’t know?” Capriolo asked.
Officials say it is not uncommon for funeral homes to carry large balances, and some are already aware of their debts, are on payment plans or pay quarterly.
The medical examiner says if families cannot pay and qualify for assistance from the state or county, those fees are waived.
“I understand there is some delay for some families receiving assistance from this program,” Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Dr. Wieslawa Tlomak said. “However, the funeral homes that we are talking about haven’t been paying us for a long period of time.”
Dig deeper:
The medical examiner said the outstanding balances continue to grow.
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Medical examiner records show four Milwaukee funeral homes currently owe a combined $1,324,100, including one funeral home with a balance of more than $512,000.
FOX6 reached out to the funeral homes for comment but has not heard back.
The legislation now heads to the full Milwaukee County Board for consideration.
The Source: FOX6 attended the Milwaukee County committee hearing regarding the funeral home debt.
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a critically missing man, 33-year-old Nicolas Blakely.
Missing man
What we know:
Blakely was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on Monday, March 9 in the area of Teutonia and Good Hope.
Blakely is described as a male, black, 6’1″ tall, 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue puffy jacket over a white hooded sweatshirt, with tan Nike sweatpants.
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Police tips
What you can do:
Anyone with information is asked to call the Milwaukee Police Department District 4 at 414-935-7242.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee Police Department.
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