Rite-Hite Plans Bigger Private Hangar At Airport

Rendering of new Rite-Hite Hangar. VJS Construction.

Rite-Hite, the industrial equipment manufacturer, is expanding its footprint at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

The Milwaukee-based corporation already has a hangar at the airport. It plans to demolish the existing building and construct a new, bigger hangar in its place.

Rite-Hite bought the hangar from M&I Bank, shortly before BMO Harris Bank acquired the bank. Rite-Hite plans to replace the existing hangar with a 32,405-square-foot building containing approximately 23,500 square feet of hangar space. Public plane registration records show the corporation purchased a new plane, a Gulfstream G550, in March 2023.

Along with the hangar, the building will include an office area for pilots, indoor parking and an indoor aircraft maintenance shop. The location is at 1901 E. Layton Ave., on the northeast end of the airport.

The corporation plans to invest up to $10 million in the project, from design through construction, according to a ground lease agreement between Milwaukee County and Rite-Hite effective April 2024. The new ground lease increased the company’s space at the airport from just over 21,000 square feet to more than 100,000 square feet.

VJS Construction Services is serving as general contractor, Primera Engineers is providing civil engineering and Excel Engineering is handling structural engineering for the project.

“We’re essentially building a new one to accommodate our growing business and our commitment to the Milwaukee area,” said Sara Everts, director of corporate marketing and communications for Rite Hite. “This is where our global headquarters is. So we bring customers in almost every day.”

The company opened its new corporate headquarters in Walker’s Point in spring 2023, moving out of its Brown Deer campus and other area offices. Approximately 300 employees work out of the Milwaukee offices.

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