Rebel firm plans to leave village but keep backing local charities

Despite moving from Saukville to a larger facility in Milwaukee, Rebel Converting owner Mike Kryshak said he and his company will maintain their commitment to Ozaukee County and Saukville.

“We’re going to miss Saukville, but we’ll still work with Shop With a Cop and the (Summer Thunder Poker Run) for the Saukville Fire Department and other things,” Kryshak said.

The company, which makes sanitizing wipes, recently purchased a 95,000-square-foot building at 11225 W. Heather Ave. in Milwaukee. 

The facility was acquired for $4.77 million, according to a news release.

Kryshak said he will be closing on the new property April 12 but isn’t sure when the company will move due to the increased demand for its products caused by the Covid-19 epidemic.    

“We won’t be moving for a while,” Kryshak said. “We’re running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The company has 50 regular employees but has hired around 20 additional temporary workers to help meet demand, which Kryshak expects to continue.

“We know the wipe business will see a substantial increase” even once the crisis abates,” he said.

“We have stopped production on non-essential wipes” to meet demand for disinfecting wipes.

Kryshak said he has twice expanded the Saukville plant to accommodate his growing company, whose sales have grown 35% per year.

“We were looking at a third addition. We looked at land here, and the municipality was very willing, but the time frame was a little bit of an issue,” he said.

“The building we were able to get is about three times the size (of the current plant) and there is no existing business there.

“Saukville is a great place to have a business, but unfortunately it just didn’t make sense to add any more on to the building.”

Kryshak said he’s unsure what will happen with the Saukville facility at 700 N Progress Dr.

The company has been a major supporter of various charities in Ozaukee County and Milwaukee. Among those efforts have been providing hundreds of bicycles to children through the Shop with a Cop, including 750 last year and about 1,000 in 2018, Kryshak said.

The company also worked with the Feith Family YMCA and Thomas Jefferson Middle School this school year to provide backpacks to children.

The company also is a major supporter of National Night Out, Bob’s Under the Bridge and Just One More Ministry, which helps feed the homeless in Milwaukee.