Milwaukee’s cluster of 150 water-related technology companies was chosen as a case study in Rethinking Cluster Initiatives, a recently released Brookings Institute report. It found that the practice of clustering high-value industries in one place was a factor in promoting growth in regional economies. With growing global demand for water technology, potential revenues for Milwaukee’s water technology cluster could range from $12 to$20 billion annually.
“Regions grow based on their ability to provide environments where firms want to cluster,” the report concluded. The report also found that clustering is driven by several factors, including the ability to “spur continuous innovation; develop dynamic entrepreneurship systems that replenish economies with good jobs; and engage strong local academic, civic and public institutions that can facilitate these processes.” Clustering allows for higher productivity through sharing facilities, infrastructure and suppliers; enhancing worker matching; and bringing about knowledge exchange and innovation among independent entities.
Milwaukee’s water cluster was chosen as a case study for the report, along with clusters in bioscience technology in central Indiana, agriculture and drone technology in St. Louis and automotive technology in South Carolina. The Milwaukee case study states: “New innovations and products are being developed; startups are being launched; large firms are mentoring and investing in promising young firms; interns and graduates are being placed in local companies; cluster members are growing, collaborating and becoming more competitive; new firms and talent have moved in; growth is occurring around the water district; and Milwaukee has positioned itself as an undisputed global water hub.”
The reality of Milwaukee’s “water cluster” first became known in 2007 when the Water Council first formed as a loose consortium of legacy business and community leaders. A consulting firm “discovered” a cluster of water technology businesses in Milwaukee. Later, a UW-Milwaukee study identified about 120 local firms with water technology expertise and services. In 2013, the Water Council opened the Global Water Center, which became a growing hub for legacy and start-up water technology companies, an incubator for water start-ups, as well as a cutting-edge water research center for UWM and Marquette University. Early on, the Water Council lobbied for the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, which opened in 2014.
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The study notes that, under the umbrella of the Water Council—described as a “sustained and well-resourced organization”—Milwaukee’s water cluster companies can focus their energies on solving “a critical and ongoing world problem” aided by “significant investment and buy-in” by state and local governments and universities.
