Meet Sadhna. A spokesperson for Rockwell Automation, she explains that the company’s purpose is “to connect the imagination of people with the potential of technology.” The company’s promise is to “expand human possibility,” and Rockwell does this by providing technical and automation control solutions to a variety of industries across the planet.

Originally founded in 1903 as the Allen-Bradley Corporation, today Rockwell counts over 23,500 employees spanning over a hundred countries. But the headquarters for this global firm (46% of sales are international) remains right here in Milwaukee’s clocktower building in Walker’s Point and the Harbor District.

Rockwell has also taken the lead in supporting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education in order to inspire, educate, and train the next generation of engineers. Rockwell supports STEM programs in Milwaukee, including the popular FIRST Robotics team challenges and competitions. In addition to its focus on youth, Rockwell also works with Manpower to retrain veterans for good-paying, high-tech jobs.

Many people may wonder just who and what are inside Rockwell’s historic clocktower building. “Inside, our building is filled with innovators, problem solvers, builders, and makers,” Sadhna says. “They all have a passion for technology and innovation and believe our world can work better.” Today, the iconic clocktower building is mostly an office building, though there is still a high-tech, light industrial assembly line dubbed the Milwaukee Line, where Rockwell leverages some of the most advanced tools in automation to create products and showcase use for clients.

Did you know? From 1962 until 2010 Milwaukee boasted the Allen-Bradley clocktower—bigger than London’s Big Ben and known affectionately as the “Polish Moon” for its association with the historically Polish character of the Walker’s Point neighborhood—as the largest four-faced clock in the world. Its claim was displaced by a larger clock in Saudia Arabia that year.

Allen-Bradley, the Milwaukee company whose technical components powered everything from the Apollo mission to the Moon and NASA’s Space Shuttle, was acquired by Rockwell International in 1985, later officially changing its name to Rockwell Automation in 2001.

Milwaukeeans may be surprised to discover that Rockwell technology is hidden in plain sight behind some cherished local landmarks. Sadhna explains that Rockwell technology and tools power the “wings” of the Santiago Calatrava Brise Soleil of the Milwaukee Art Museum, move the movable roof panels at Milwaukee’s Major League Baseball stadium, and even control the temperature of the ice rink at the Pettit National Ice Center.