Manufacturing of Donated Milwaukee Streetcar Flooring Viewed by Mayor Barrett, President of Rail Flooring Firm

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Jeff Kober, president and CEO of Milwaukee Composites Inc., toured the company’s facility to watch firsthand as workers put on the finishing touches to flooring the firm is making and donating for the Milwaukee streetcar’s five initial vehicles.

“I’m extremely grateful to Jeff and his employees at Milwaukee Composites for making this top-quality flooring and donating it for Milwaukee’s new streetcar vehicles,” Mayor Barrett said. “The Milwaukee area is fortunate to be home to a growing company such as Milwaukee Composites which employs more than 70 workers and supplies floors and doors for mass transit vehicles around the world.”

Kober, who founded the company 20 years ago, said he and his employees were proud to be able to build and donate the subflooring for all five of the Milwaukee streetcar’s new vehicles.

“We made the decision to donate these floors because it’s important they be built by our people for our city,” Kober said. “We make our composite products here in Milwaukee for vehicles that operate in cities all over the world. It's exciting for our team to be supplying a project we will all use and enjoy on a regular basis in our home city.  Our floors will be part of Milwaukee history.”

The tour included a look at company workers constructing the flooring and at completed flooring.

Kober said the donated flooring is valued at $100,000. The flooring will be shipped to Brookville Equipment Corp., the Pennsylvania-based vehicle manufacturer, to be incorporated into the vehicles. Milwaukee Composite’s subflooring will ultimately be covered with decorative floor covering.

Milwaukee Composites Inc. designs and manufactures patented phenolic composite floors and doors for mass transit vehicles. Founded in 1997, the company has supplied over 8.5 million square feet of floors, ceilings and doors throughout the world.

Clients include Brookville Equipment, Bombardier, Kawasaki, Siemens, London Underground, New York Transit, Chicago Metra and Gillig. It has supplied products to customers in more than 20 U.S. states and across three continents.

The company manufactured and installed the first phenolic composite passenger door in rail service in the world. Products are moisture resistant, fire safe, lightweight, won’t delaminate and do not corrode 

Brookville is expected to deliver the first completed streetcar vehicle to Milwaukee in early 2018. The first phase of the streetcar is scheduled to begin fare service in late 2018. Operation of a connecting lakefront line will follow, with revenue service to coincide with the opening of the 44-story Couture apartment and retail tower.