Wisconsin machinery and equipment appraisals.
Lukes & Lukes appraises machinery and equipment across Wisconsin, from the St. Croix Valley to the Fox Valley and Milwaukee. Our office sits on the Minnesota side of the river, which puts western Wisconsin closer to us than most of our own state. When a Wisconsin lender, attorney or owner needs a defensible equipment value, the appraiser who inspects the assets and signs the report drives there. Independent, USPAP-compliant, and built to withstand lender, SBA, IRS, audit and legal review.
Experience across the institutions that own the assets and finance the deals
Ameriprise
Our principals have performed analysis and consulted for organizations across finance and industry. These marks reflect experience, not endorsement.
Why the river is not a border
Western Wisconsin is our backyard.
Plenty of firms treat the St. Croix as the edge of their map and quote Wisconsin work as out-of-state travel. We do not, because it is not. Our office is in Fridley, on the north side of the Twin Cities, and Hudson is about half an hour away. River Falls, New Richmond, Somerset, Prescott, Menomonie and Eau Claire are a straightforward drive, which means a plant in western Wisconsin gets a real on-site inspection without a travel line on the invoice.
The rest of the state is a day on the road rather than a flight: Madison, La Crosse, Wausau, the Fox Valley and the Milwaukee-Waukesha corridor are all reachable and regularly worked. We tell you honestly which category your site falls into before anything begins.
It also matters that the report reads correctly for the person reviewing it. Jesse Lukes came up inside the bank at BMO, originating loans and reviewing collateral, so the file arrives in the form a credit officer, an examiner or a court actually needs.
What Wisconsin runs on
- Paper, printing and converting: the Fox Valley is one of the densest paper and converting corridors anywhere, and the presses, coaters, slitters, rewinders and finishing lines behind it are specialist assets that a generalist appraiser guesses at.
- Plastics, injection and blow molding: press tonnage, tooling, auxiliaries and material handling, valued on the classes these machines actually trade in rather than a depreciation table.
- Dairy and food processing: cheese plants, creameries, packaged food and beverage lines, including the stainless process equipment and utilities that make them work.
- Fabrication, welding and foundry: the metalworking base around Milwaukee and Waukesha, from job shops to heavy machinery suppliers.
- Dairy and agricultural equipment: parlors, feed and grain handling, and the implement fleets on Wisconsin farms.
- Packaging and bottling: fillers, cappers, labelers and end-of-line automation across food, beverage and consumer goods.
- Healthcare, medical and dental: imaging, surgical, laboratory and dental assets for hospital systems, clinics and practice transitions.
- Automotive: dealership service departments, collision centers, tire and fleet operations statewide.
Where we work
From the St. Croix to Lake Michigan.
We inspect on site throughout Wisconsin. The western counties, Hudson, River Falls, New Richmond, Menomonie and Eau Claire, are a short drive from the office. Madison, La Crosse, Wausau, Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha are worked as scheduled trips. Where an equipment list is complete and well documented, a desktop appraisal can resolve the file without a site visit, and we will say so rather than sell you a visit you do not need. Because the firm works nationwide, a Wisconsin lender holding collateral in several states keeps one appraiser, one standard and one report format across the portfolio.
Which value applies
The right premise for the situation.
The same equipment carries different numbers depending on why you need the appraisal. We determine and defend the premise your situation requires.
Common questions
Answers, up front.
Do you charge Wisconsin clients for travel from Minnesota?
For western Wisconsin, there is nothing to charge for. Our office is in Fridley, Minnesota, and Hudson is about half an hour away, so a St. Croix Valley inspection is a local visit. For sites further out, such as Madison, the Fox Valley or the Milwaukee area, we scope the trip openly before the engagement begins so nothing about the cost is a surprise later.
Do you have an office in Wisconsin?
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. Our office is at 240 Sylvan Ln NE, Fridley, MN 55432. What matters for a Wisconsin file is who physically inspects the equipment and signs the report, and that is us, not a subcontractor and not a remote national desk.
Do you know the equipment Wisconsin actually runs?
Yes. The state's industrial base is paper and converting, plastics and molding, dairy and food processing, fabrication and heavy machinery. Those are specialist markets where value turns on configuration, tooling, line integration and the cost to remove and re-site, not on age alone. We value each class against the market it genuinely trades in.
Do Wisconsin lenders and the SBA accept your reports?
Yes. Reports are USPAP-compliant, prepared by a NEBB-certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser (CMEA), and built to withstand lender, SBA, IRS, audit and legal review. The same report supports a 7(a) or 504 file, a workout, an estate or a matter headed for court.
Can you appraise equipment sitting in both Wisconsin and Minnesota?
Yes, and it is common here. Companies and lenders on either side of the river routinely hold assets on both. One appraiser covering the whole list keeps the premise, the effective date and the report format consistent, which is exactly what a reviewer wants to see.
Working on the other side of the river as well? See Minnesota machinery and equipment appraisals, or the markets we travel to.