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Joe Fadness
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[Madison, Wis.] – In case you missed it, a recent expansion announcement by Ashley Furniture in Arcadia show Wisconsin’s economic outlook – which includes an unemployment rate of 3.1 percent, the lowest since 1999 – continues to get brighter under Gov. Scott Walker’s bold conservative leadership.
With more people working than ever before and Wisconsin ranked a top 10 state for business for the first time ever, Gov. Walker continues to fight for bold conservative reform to cut taxes, make historic investments in education, and build our workforce.
You can read the La Crosse Tribune’s coverage here, or find excerpts below:
Ashley Furniture breaks ground on $30 million expansion in Arcadia
Samantha Stetzer
La Crosse Tribune
June 20, 2017
ARCADIA — Ashley Furniture Industries on Monday afternoon reinforced its presence in Arcadia by breaking ground on an approximately $30 million e-commerce fulfillment and distribution center.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker joined local, county and state officials, and Ashley Furniture employees at the official groundbreaking …
The center will be just off of Washington Street by the company’s distribution services in Arcadia and will cover 500,000 square feet, the largest expansion in the Arcadia facility’s 47-year history. The facility is expected to be finished February 2018, according to Wanek.
The expansion answers the demand for more immediate online services. Wanek said Ashley faces competition that can offer customers a one- to two-day delivery. Online commerce accounts for 5 percent of the Ashley sales and will be able to grow with the expansion, Wanek said. …
At the ceremony, Walker credited a partnership between Ashley Furniture and the state with the continuing expansion. The company boasts 700 locations in 36 countries. Continuing to expand in Arcadia, Walker said, will be an extension of a manufacturing tradition in Wisconsin.
“What will be inside this great new structure is really a symbol of the future. It’s not just saying that we’re good at manufacturing,” Walker said. “That we’re so good, that we’re going to make it even better.”
The statewide unemployment level has fallen to just above 3 percent — the second-lowest in state history — and Walker also encouraged more funding and programming for manufacturing and career education and training, starting as early as sixth grade, to encourage more manufacturing careers in Wisconsin.
“All of that is for one reason: workforce,” Walker said to the crowd. “And we understand that student success in and of itself is valuable, but the fundamental reason why we need to do even more of that going forward is we have incredible needs in our workforce.” …
