Zorn Compressor expanding Northeast Wisconsin footprint

Chris Rugowski

Contributor

December 30, 2024

LAWRENCE – Coming soon to 2851 American Blvd. in the Town of Lawrence is Zorn Compressor & Equipment with construction underway on its new building.

The 12,500-square-foot facility – which has a summer 2025 completion planned – will feature both office and warehouse space, as well as a “very welcomed addition” – a loading dock.

“This opens new doors and market potentials,” CEO and President Matt Zorn said.

A bit of history

According to its website (zornair.com), Zorn Compressor & Equipment was founded in Wisconsin in 1965 as Cochrane Compressor Co, Inc.

In the 1970s, John Zorn joined Cochrane as a sales representative, before transitioning to sales manager, then to vice president, then general manager and eventually to president.

He purchased the company in 2001 and renamed it Zorn-Cochrane Compressor & Equipment, establishing a new identity.

In 2006, the company became known as Zorn Compressor & Equipment, Inc. and now has five Wisconsin branches (Green Bay, Pewaukee, Madison, Wausau and Eau Claire), as well as two Illinois branches in Gurnee and Woodridge.

Matt now serves as president/CEO, while his father, John, serves as executive chairman.

What does Zorn do?

Zorn Compressor & Equipment is a family owned company based in Pewaukee, Wisconsin with multiple branches located throughout the Upper Midwest.

At its core, Matt said, Zorn is a compressed air and vacuum solutions provider that sells and services:

• Air compressors
• Vacuum pumps
• Air treatment
• Fluid coolers and chillers
• Air management 
• Nitrogen generators 
• Used equipment

The company, he said, distributes a wide variety of compressed air equipment, parts, emergency service and rentals, offers installation and plant piping services and provides air, energy and system audits.

Matt said Zorn has a diverse customer range – anything from large manufacturers, pharmaceuticals and food and beverage companies, to auto repair shops and hospitals – “really anything that uses compressed air and related equipment.”

Matt said he describes compressed air as the fourth utility in a facility.

When the supply goes down, he said, it’s an urgent fix.

Whether it’s the company’s expertise in the design and installation of systems, its comprehensive maintenance programs or its robust inventory of parts and lubricants, Matt said Zorn is committed to providing top-quality support in any market.

At Zorn, Matt said they work exclusively with brands, manufacturers and suppliers whose products the company believes in and are known to be top-tier – including Quincy Compressor, Gardner Denver, Aerzen and AIRpipe.
Zorn, he said, is the largest Quincy dealer in the state.

The new building

The soon-to-be-former address at 733 Mike McCarthy Way, Matt said, has been a staple in the area for nearly 60 years.

The company’s steady growth and increasing space limitations, he said, prompted the need for a new location.

“We’ve operated all 57 years here without a loading dock,” he said. “When you’re starting to unload larger equipment, crates, and you don’t have much space to move the stuff, it becomes logistically challenging.”

As the company continued to grow, specifically in recent years, Matt said it became obvious a new home for Zorn Compressor & Equipment was needed.

Though a new building had been a topic of discussion for several years, Matt said there was nothing in the area that fit the company’s needs, without major rehab.

So, he said, building new was the best option.

When the property in the industrial park became available in the Town of Lawrence, Matt said he started seeing the potential it had in its close proximity to Interstate 41 from American Boulevard – both from a worker standpoint and a delivery truck standpoint.

“Easy access to major thoroughfares for our service techs, combined with a good comfortable place to work for our employees in the office is key,” he said.

At 12,500 square feet, Matt said the new building is almost double the square footage of the current facility and the lot size is four-and-a-half acres, up from its current one acre – both of which make potential expansion in the future much easier to do.

“We can build out a wall and increase the size of the building (if we need/want to),” he said.

Matt said working with the Town of Lawrence has been great, and “they’ve been very accommodating throughout the entire process.”

“The price on the property was reasonable and affordable and we liked the area and community,” he said. “We see a lot of potential for growth in that community, especially in the new industrial park. There are already a couple of new buildings, and another one going up across the street from us. It just felt very comfortable.”

Building with Bayland

After securing the lot, Matt said Zorn did a bit of rough design on the building and contacted a couple of different builders, before settling on Bayland Buildings.

“I can’t say enough good about them,” he said. “They’ve been wonderful. From the quoting process, design, kickoff meeting to breaking ground it couldn’t have been any smoother.”

Matt said Bayland has worked to make the Zorn Compressor & Equipment facility more comfortable, with better parking and most of all better logistics for trucks coming in and out. 

He said he thinks the design will provide a much more inviting work environment for the company’s day-to-day employees, and hopefully provide an opportunity to attract some new employees.

“Who doesn’t want to go to a brand-new facility every day even if you’re just picking up your parts?” he said. “We’ll have a nice break room, a nice lunch room, employees will have a nice locker (area) and there are comfortable areas to get your paperwork done.”

Zorn Compressor & Equipment broke ground on the project earlier this month and is looking to be open by summer 2025.

New opportunities, future plans

With construction on the new facility well underway, Matt said Zorn remains as committed as ever to the Green Bay and upper Wisconsin markets with the new building bringing a new opportunity to provide better service to its customers, because more space means more inventory. 

Now rather than a customer waiting a couple of days for a part to transfer from corporate, Matt said Zorn will be able to keep things in stock at the new Lawrence location.

“Our service techs work 24/7, and we can usually respond within a matter of hours,” he said. “However, providing same-day fixes on service instead of 24-48 hour service only works if you have the parts to fix the machine. This opens up a wide array of potential all around.”

Though there have been some dips in the economy as of late, Matt said Zorn sees the entire Upper Midwest, Wisconsin in particular, as a very strong and relatively stable market.

Matt said the company forecasts future staffing growth with the addition of a few more service techs and another coordinator in the office planned.

He said the company may also use the overflow for additional warehouses for the corporate office in Pewaukee, because it’s only two hours away.

Matt said he sees this as an advantage to the markets in Wausau, Eau Claire and farther north.

For more details on Zorn Compressor & Equipment, visit zornair.com.