State awards area manufacturers $35.1 million in IRB financing.(Brief Article)

Twelve Milwaukee-area manufacturers have landed a combined $35.1 million in low-interest government financing to help pay for plant expansions.

A state council approved the financing March 2, allowing firms like Milwaukee-based Leader Paper Products Inc. to use tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) to finance capital projects. In all, the council approved $66.6 million in IRB financing for 23 projects in Wisconsin.

Leader, which makes envelopes, stationery and other paper products, obtained $2.5 million in IRBs to help pay for a 50,000-square-foot expansion of its 80,000-square-foot Walker's Point plant, said company president Scott Wilke. Leader, which employs 76 people, expects to add another 23 within three …