Milwaukee has an old-economy habit of keeping records, and the metro still has the companies to show for it. Northwestern Mutual and its insurance neighbors fill the downtown towers. Froedtert, Children's Wisconsin and the Advocate Aurora hospitals run clinics across four counties, and manufacturers such as Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls and Harley-Davidson have engineering and supplier files going back decades. Marquette, the UW campuses and the school districts hold student and personnel records.
Downtown, the Third Ward and the Menomonee Valley run on scheduled consoles. Past the county line in Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties, work shifts to one-time truck visits and bins at office parks along I-94, I-41 and Highway 100. Prices are built from a per-box rate for a purge, a per-bin rate for a route, a charge per visit and a minimum, so a very small job can cost more per box than a large one. On-site shredding, where the truck grinds paper in your lot, costs more than a plant and gives you someone to watch. Get a certificate of destruction either way, and treat hard drives as their own line item.
Winter matters here. Snow and ice can delay a truck, and an unplowed lot is no place for a heavy vehicle, so book spring or fall if your date is flexible. Tax preparers fill up from January, and year-end hits the banks and insurers. Estate cleanouts peak in spring, once the roads are clear. In the form, give your suburb, a box or bin count, the type of records, and whether the pickup is one time or recurring.
