ABB relocated manufacturing operations from its long-standing New Berlin, Wisconsin facility as part of Project Magnolia, a broader transition into a new, purpose-built production environment. The new facility was designed to consolidate multiple operations under one roof — increasing collaboration, supporting innovation, and creating a platform for business growth. While development of the new facility remained the company’s primary focus, ABB also faced the significant challenge of decommissioning a highly complex manufacturing operation that had remained active for nearly 40 years. Because the business was relocating rather than closing, the project required ABB to keep production running throughout the phased move while managing aggressive budget targets, asset disposition, environmental closure requirements, and restoration obligations tied to both lease agreements and the facility sale process.
Stream’s Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, and Distribution team led the decommissioning and relocation strategy, coordinating phased move plans across multiple business units. The project required extensive planning and sequencing to support equipment relocation, utility disconnects, infrastructure coordination, and the operational testing requirements tied to customer and government contracts — with each business group brought online and fully validated before the next phase began. Stream also worked closely with ABB’s real estate and legal teams to align decommissioning scope with purchase sale agreement language and negotiate restoration requirements, helping ABB avoid unnecessary building upgrades and reduce overall project costs. Additional coordination included environmental permit closures, asset liquidation efforts, scrap recovery, and management of multiple specialty contractors supporting equipment removal and rigging operations.
Spanning more than two years, the project successfully relocated critical manufacturing operations without interrupting ABB’s ability to fulfill customer and contract commitments. Through strategic planning, phased execution, and integrated negotiation, Stream helped ABB achieve approximately $1.6 million in project savings while positioning the consolidated operation for stronger collaboration, innovation, and long-term growth.
