JUNEAU — It was 2008 when a new company here hired Dan Wegener to fix some lights in an old building that had been used to make wooden pallets.
Esmilk Rodriguez installs a tray to catch clumps of used litter in the Litter-Robot. The combination litter box and automated litter cleaning systems have been manufactured in Juneau since 2009 by Whisker and have created more than 430 jobs in the Dodge County community.
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Susan Nelson works on installing wiring harnesses on a Litter-Robot at Whisker's manufacturing facility in Juneau.
The Litter-Robot rotates to separate clean litter from dirty clumps and then deposits them in a waste drawer. The unit senses when a cat enters the globe and when it leaves, then waits a few minutes before it starts turning.
Housings for the Litter-Robot 4 move through the assembly line at Whisker in Juneau. The company has been expanding rapidly, including a 165,000-square-foot addition in 2022. This year, the company purchased a neighboring 5-acre parcel for future expansion.
Mike Lodl, senior director of operations for Whisker in Juneau, in the company's warehouse and distribution center. In 2019, the company had 45 employees but now has more than 430.
Mike Lodl, senior director of operations for Whisker, looks over stacks of Litter-Robots waiting to be shipped out of the company's Juneau facility.
Housing is tight in Juneau, but 30 duplex units for workforce housing were built recently by the Dodge County Housing Authority. The homes are within walking distance of Whisker, the city's largest employer.
Business activity is light in downtown Juneau, but city leaders are hopeful that continued growth at Whisker could help revitalize the city's commercial district.
Photos: Inside the Wisconsin plant that makes self-cleaning, robotic litter boxes
Housings for the Litter-Robot 4 move through the assembly line at Whisker in Juneau. The company has been expanding rapidly, including a 165,000-square-foot addition in 2022. This year, the company purchased a neighboring 5-acre parcel for future expansion.
Susan Nelson works on installing wiring harnesses on a Litter-Robot at Whisker's manufacturing facility in Juneau.
Mike Lodl, senior director of operations for Whisker in Juneau, in the company's warehouse and distribution center. In 2019, the company had 45 employees but now has more than 430.
Whisker not only makes the Litter-Robot but also sells its own line of kitty litter specially formulated for the unit.
Mike Lodl, senior director of operations for Whisker, looks over stacks of Litter-Robots waiting to be shipped out of the company's Juneau facility.
The Litter-Robot rotates to separate clean litter from dirty clumps and then deposits them in a waste drawer. The unit senses when a cat enters the globe and when it leaves, then waits a few minutes before it starts turning.
Brad Baxter, pictured with his cat, Callie, created the Litter-Robot.
Whisker, maker of the Litter-Robot, is the largest employer in the Dodge County city of Juneau and even has its name on the city's entrance sign on the edge of town.
Jean Parish, left, and Cory Lee work on assembling the housings for the Litter-Robot 3 at Whisker in Juneau.
Parts for the Litter-Robot 3 make their way down a slowly-moving conveyor at Whisker in Juneau.
Carlos Rodriguez Martinez works on assembling Litter-Robots at the Whisker manufacturing facility in Juneau.
The Whisker plant in Junea has 430 employees spread out over two shifts that work five days a week.
Pieces of a Litter-Robot 3 slowly move down an assembly line at the Whisker plant in Juneau.
The main housing for a Litter-Robot 3 makes its way through the assembly process at Whisker in Juneau.
Esmilk Rodriguez installs a tray to catch clumps of used litter in the Litter-Robot. The combination litter box and automated litter cleaning systems have been manufactured in Juneau since 2009 by Whisker and have created more than 430 jobs in the Dodge County community.
Litter-Robots are seen through a rack of circular parts at the Whisker plant in Juneau.
Whisker in Juneau.
Housing is tight in Juneau, but 30 duplex units for workforce housing were built recently by the Dodge County Housing Authority. The homes are within walking distance of Whisker, the city's largest employer.
Business activity is light in downtown Juneau, but city leaders are hopeful that continued growth at Whisker could help revitalize the city's commercial district.
