BizTimes Milwaukee | January 21, 2019

ECONOMIC TRENDS 2019 A preview of the year ahead in manufacturing, technology, human resources, politics, real estate, agriculture and more.

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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 24, Number 19, January 21, 2019 – February 3, 2019. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, July and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2018 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Contents

4 Leading Edge 4 NOW

BY THE NUMBERS 5 REV UP 6 BIZTRACKER GETTING THERE 7 IN FOCUS 8 IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD 9 STYLE 10 BIZ POLL ON MY NIGHTSTAND

11 Biz News 11 MILWAUKEE’S UPTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD SEES REBIRTH. 13 MADE IN MILWAUKEE

14 Real Estate 37 Strategies

16

37 INTERNATIONAL TRADE Joe Galvin 38 LEADERSHIP Aleta Norris 39 TIP SHEET

COVER STORY:

41 Biz Connections

SLOWDOWN AHEAD

Special Report Economic Trends 2019

This comprehensive report includes a macroeconomic outlook, a review of local stock performance, and outlook reports on state politics, manufacturing, commercial real estate, technology, agriculture and human resources.

MEET

41 NONPROFIT 42 PERSONNEL FILE 43 SBA LOANS 44 GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 45 AROUND TOWN 46 5 MINUTES WITH…

BETTER. EVENTS THAT WORK

©2018 FOREST COUNTY POTAWATOMI COMMUNITY, WISCONSIN

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES DAILY – The day’s most significant news → biztimes.com/subscribe

NOW

Foxconn buys former Elks lodge in downtown Racine

By Arthur Thomas, staff writer An affiliate of Foxconn Technology Group has purchased the former Elks lodge in downtown Racine from Johnson Redevelopment Corp. for $1.2 million, according to state records.

FE Lake Street LLC completed the purchase of the three-story building now known as the

BY THE NUMBERS An affiliate of Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. that invests in early-stage companies is raising a

185 MILLION

$

venture capital fund.

4 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

Harborview Professional Center, located at 601 Lake Ave., on Dec. 19. FE Lake Street has the same address as Foxconn’s North American headquarters in Milwaukee, and the company has used similar names to purchase buildings around the state.

The building was assessed at $1.65 million in 2017, according to Racine County records. Building occupants currently include Wells Fargo Advisors and the intellectual property law firm Jansson Munger McKinley & Kirby Ltd. “The property will support Foxconn’s ‘Smart City’ initiatives throughout Racine and the state and will contribute to the company’s efforts to help position Wisconsin as a global hub for high-tech talent and businesses,” Foxconn Technology Group said in a statement. “Further announcements about 601 Lake Ave. will be made in due course.”

The company announced in October it would purchase the One Main Centre building in downtown Racine. That building, located a half-mile to the north of the former Elks lodge building, is to become one of Foxconn’s innovation centers. The company is also planning innovation centers in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Eau Claire. The Racine innovation center will focus on smart city technologies, executives have said.

Foxconn has completed the purchase of its Milwaukee North American headquarters and buildings in Eau Claire and Green Bay. The purchase of One Main Centre has not been completed, but an entity named FE One Main LLC was registered with the state on the same day as FE Lake Street.

The Racine Elks Club Lodge No. 252 was built in 1912 and was designed by prominent Racine architectural firm Guilbert and Funston. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture. A nomination form submitted in 1984 credits the building with spurring the development of downtown Racine, which also includes Memorial Hall, the YMCA, the post office and Hotel Racine.

The nomination form notes that in its heyday, the building was home to “elaborate ceremonies, Christmas parties for poor children, national conventions of other associations, and fancy dress balls that were the talk of the town.”

“Local newspaper articles also speak of the many progressive civic projects that began in informal discussions at the Elks Club,” the submission says, before adding, “The Elks Club lost some of its elite luster in the 1950s and 1960s when it became known primarily as a good place to drink and gamble at the slot machines.” n

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

APPROYO

REV UP

LEADERSHIP: Chris Carter H E A D Q U A R T E R S: 13100 W. Lisbon Road, Suite 500, Brookfield WEBSITE: approyo.com W H AT I T D O E S: SAP software hosting and support F O U N D E D: 2013 E M P L OY E E S: 31; 11 in Brookfield NEX T GOAL: Acquire two to three companies.

FUNDING: Self-funded

Chris Carter, Approyo

Approyo moves to much larger HQ, earns Inc. 5000 spot

By Molly Dill, staff writer

APPROYO LLC founder Chris Carter learned a lot from the failure of his first SAP software company, CCI, in 2012.

After CCI lost a major contract, Carter had to put the Milwaukee-based business into bankruptcy and endure significant strain on his relationships with family and friends, some of whom had worked for the company.

“I learned several things. First of all, don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Carter said.

“Second thing I learned is I never want to go through that again… so I work 10 times harder, 20 times harder every day. The third thing I learned is you’ve got to always be selling.”

In 2013, Carter took those lessons and applied them to the formation of Approyo. And it seems to be working. Approyo recently moved from a 900-square-foot office in Muskego to a 7,800-square-foot space in Brookfield and was named to the 2018 Inc. 5000 list with three-year growth of 557 percent.

“Being named as one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States is a great honor.

I’m proud of my team,” he said.

Like CCI did, Approyo consults with companies on implementing and hosting enterprise resource planning software from German company SAP. ERP software is used to manage and automate business operations and customer

relations.

But unlike CCI, Approyo has spread its client base among 27 companies in various industries across the globe, including French IT services giant Atos. It specializes in a specific type of SAP system called HANA, which is poised for growth as SAP has asked its customers to upgrade by 2025 or face maintenance fee increases.

“Companies like Briggs & Stratton, Miller Brewing Co., Boeing and others, they literally use (SAP HANA) to run their entire business,” Carter said.

In 2018, Approyo’s revenue topped $5 million, and its last three years have been profitable, Carter said. It had grown to 73 employees this year, but recently eliminated its workforce in India to focus on new hires in the U.S. Approyo now has 31 employees, 11 whom work out of the new Brookfield headquarters.

“I don’t take any profits out of the company; I put it straight back into the company to grow it,” Carter said.

His next growth initiative: finding two to three companies to acquire.

“You can’t just be a small player any longer.

You need to think bigger, you need to think aggressive, you need to think forward and not just day-to-day,” Carter said.

Five years down the road, he plans to sell the bigger, better version of Approyo. n biztimes.com / 5

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us

GETTING

The latest area economic data.

52.87

THERE

The Milwaukee-area manufacturing index dipped to

in December. Any number greater than 50 indicates growth, but it was the lowest level for the index since December 2016.

What drew you to this position?

“Since moving to Milwaukee three years ago, I’ve seen the renaissance that the city is going through. So having the opportunity to represent the Wisconsin Center District on a regional, national and even international level is really what caught my attention. Milwaukee is buzzing; people want to know what’s going on in our city.”

What’s next for you?

“The Wisconsin Center District is looking to complete our expansion and on top of it, we’re a contender to host the Democratic National Convention in 2020. Being in my position and having the opportunity to be a part of the economic impact really excites me. The momentum that (president and chief executive officer Marty Brooks) has been able to create in the first year of his role here, to be a part of his team, is unparalleled to any other experience I would have in the city.”

Likes about Milwaukee?

76,125

The downtown Milwaukee streetcar, known as The Hop, provided

“I have fallen in love with the city. One thing I really appreciate is the unique event scene. You truly can have a different experience every night of the week if you wanted to. I live in Bay View and love having the lake be steps away from the house and going on the Oak Leaf Trail and experiencing the outdoors.”

rides during November, its first full month of operation.

What are you reading/watching?

9,900

Wisconsin’s economy added

private-sector jobs in November.

21,517 Wisconsin’s population rose

in 2018, an increase of 0.37%, ranking 26th of the 50 states.

“I’m currently reading ‘Purposeful Hustle’ by a local Milwaukee author, Deanna Singh. TED Talks are also on my YouTube channel nonstop.

I’m always listening to talks on leadership, adapting to change, and marketing yourself or your organization. I’ve also become a hardcore fan of watching the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum and, being from Minnesota and a hockey fan, checking out the Admirals at Panther Arena.”

MEGAN SEPPMANN Vice president of sales WISCONSIN CENTER DISTRICT AGE: 32 HOMETOWN: Mankato, Minnesota

For the first 11 months of 2018, Wisconsin had the sixth-highest average wage growth in the country, at

4.7%.

6 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

EDUCATION: Southwest Minnesota State University, bachelor’s in hotel and restaurant management PREVIOUS POSITION: Area associate director of sales, Marcus Hotels & Resorts

inf cus IN FOCUS

COURTESY CAFE BENELUX

Lux Domes atop Café Benelux A NEW PRIVATE DINING EXPERIENCE in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward has sparked the interest of local restaurant-goers and rooftop lovers who don’t want to wait for summer.

Café Benelux this winter launched a new concept, called Lux Domes, that allows patrons to drink and eat on the restaurant’s outdoor rooftop deck while sitting inside fully enclosed dome structures, each heated with an electric fireplace.

For $200, groups of up to eight people can reserve one of the six domes for 90-minute time slots on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. A reservation includes a complimentary round of seasonal beverages, such as hot toddies, mulled wine or hot cocoa, and souvenir mugs for the whole group.

Food is also available for order, but not from the same menu as the downstairs restaurant.

With minimal seating and table surface inside the 11-feet-in-diameter space, Lux Domes serves shareable platters of finger food, including cheese, charcuterie, oysters and bite-sized pieces of cake.

The domes are available for reservation, according to their website, but open time slots have quickly sold out since the concept launched late last year. Reservations for December first opened on Nov. 27, but completely sold out by Nov. 28, prompting Café Benelux owner Lowlands Group to open a second wave of reservations. n -Maredithe Meyer biztimes.com / 7

Leading Edge IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

SOUTH SIDE TRAINS 3979 S. Howell Ave, Milwaukee NEIGHBORHOOD: Milwaukee’s Garden District FOUNDED: 2007 OWNER: Tom Palmer SERVICE: Model trains

What’s the history of the business?

Palmer: “It started in 1955 as a place called Bay View Hobbies, which was down on Potter Avenue and (South Kinnickinnic Avenue). After that, they moved around here and there. A fellow at Casanova’s Hobbies ended up buying Bay View Hobbies and called it ‘Jerry’s Bay View Hobbies.’ Then I bought it from Jerry in 2007 and about five years after that, we found this place and the price was right so we moved here. I changed the name to South Side Trains when I bought it.”

What do you sell here?

“Model trains. The short answer is: We sell fun.”

Who are your customers?

“They are from all over the world. I would say about 50 percent are local customers or people who moved away and I’ll send them stuff. The other 50 percent is internet-based. We also have a very large consignment business.”

been a tremendous growth in interest, and especially with the younger generation. I attribute that to YouTube and the availability of everyone having a camera in their pocket. Kids want to be able to model things they have seen. And that’s really been refreshing because typically, this has been a 60-andover type hobby.

We’ve been fortunate with the younger business coming in.” n

What do you see in terms of the trends in model railroading?

“I would say in the last five years, there has

WISCONSIN’S BANK FOR BUSINESS ® Here at Town Bank, we’re committed to supporting Wisconsin’s businesses. We’re proud to offer financial services and expertise tailored to this area in particular. Nothing proves that more than our recent investments in Milwaukee’s business community, including our Wintrust Commercial Banking Wisconsin headquarters; partnerships with Marquette University and the Pabst Theater; four new Town Bank branches; and an expansive commercial banking team, allowing us to meet the growing financial needs of local middle market companies. We believe in this area, so we’re proud to be Wisconsin’s Bank for Business®.

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8 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

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JACQUARD MUFFLER $69.50 at Pendleton, Milwaukee This soft, pure virgin wool scarf is temperature-regulated to help keep you warm and comfortable. Made in the United States, this scarf doesn’t just come in Tucson Red, but also in multiple exclusive patterns.

IZZY FRAYED SCARF $58 at Anthropologie, Milwaukee This cream frayed scarf features a subtle grid print and texture for winter. Soft and cozy, this scarf is great to wear for style in a business meeting. It also comes in blue, dark grey and cedar.

STRIPED FRINGE SCARF $38 at Edie Boutique, Milwaukee This striped, acrylic fringe scarf comes in multiple colors. It’s long and thick to help get you to work warm and dry.

JADEN RIBBED FRINGE BLANKET SCARF $48 at Free People, Brookfield This nude ribbed blanket scarf has multiple ways to wear it. It features super soft fringe hems and has an oversized look.

biztimes.com / 9

Leading Edge BIZ POLL

on my nightstand...

A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.

How do you expect your business to perform in 2019?

Better than in 2018:

ERIC WENTZ Chief executive officer Better by Design LLC

‘Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World’

49%

The same as in 2018:

28%

Worse than in 2018:

23%

Share your opinion! Visit biztimes.com/bizpoll to cast your vote in the next Biz Poll.

By Doug Stephens AS THE CEO of Better by Design LLC, a custom automation design and build business based in Delavan, Eric Wentz spends a lot of time working on things from a technical and engineering approach.

He also realizes the world is rapidly changing and makes it a point to read books outside his industry for a fresh perspective, including “Reengineering Retail” by Doug Stephens.

Wentz said the book leaves him with a lot of questions for his business he may not have had otherwise.

“The message in this book is that

the buying experience – big picture, not just retail – is becoming not just an exercise, but an experience,” Wentz said.

Some of those changes are starting to show up in Better by Design’s business-to-business model, Wentz said, adding the company is increasingly working with younger engineers who are accustomed to making a purchase and getting information in different ways than prior generations.

“The net result is we have to be responsive to that,” he said. n

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10 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

BizNews FEATURE TOP: Bittercube’s bar at its Uptown production facility.

MIDDLE: Vennture Brew Co. is located at 5519 W. North Ave. BOTTOM: Vennture’s taproom has both beer and coffee on tap.

Milwaukee’s Uptown neighborhood sees rebirth

By Maredithe Meyer, staff writer CHRISTINE MCROBERTS has called Milwaukee’s Uptown neighborhood home for her entire life.

She grew up in the area and, years later as an adult, purchased a nearby house where she has lived for the past 26 years.

McRoberts is the longtime owner of neighborhood staple McBob’s Pub & Grill, located at 4919 W. North Ave. Her brother first opened the Irish restaurant in 1986, but she took over operations three or four years later, instantly falling in love with the work and her customers, she said.

Located just seven blocks west of the tavern, which is famous for its fish fry, is McRoberts’ brainchild and a new addition to the neighborhood: Tusk. The casual restaurant, which opened in November, serves scratch-made shareable platters, soups and salads, and, she said, attracts a different crowd than her veteran concept.

McBob’s and Tusk both sit on a once-vibrant strip of West North Avenue that, at some point, was weathered by the economic impacts of various citywide issues – segregation, crime, property devaluation – that have long-plagued Milwaukee’s central and west side business communities.

McRoberts said she recalls a time during the late ‘80s to early ‘90s when the neighborhood was “very questionable.”

Uptown is confined east to west by North Sherman Boulevard and North 60th St., to the north

by West Center Street, and to the south by West North Avenue.

North Avenue is home to the majority of Uptown’s commercial properties, some still troubled, vacant or run-down in appearance.

But thanks to the establish-

ment of the Uptown Crossing Business Improvement District 16 in 1995, the neighborhood has gradually made progress, and new businesses, like Tusk, have been moving in.

“The changes in the neighborhood have been amazing,” said McRoberts, who recently stepped down from her position on the Uptown Crossing BID board after more than 20 years.

Tusk occupies a 98-year-old building, located at 5513 W. North Ave., formerly home to Hartter’s Bakery, a family-owned business that shut down in 2004 after 40 years of operation.

The two-story building sat vacant for 10 years before McRoberts started leasing its commercial kitchen, originally for catering and to support operations at McBob’s, she said.

Meanwhile, plans were in the works for another forgotten 1920s-era structure located just next door.

Simon McConico, Robert Gustafson and Jake Rohde spent two years renovating and restoring the ground floor and basement of the building, located at 5519 W. North Ave., now home to Vennture Brew Co. The new brewery and coffee shop opened in July. It produces about seven-and-a-half barrels of beer each week – more than 150 barrels since it opened – tapping a rotating selection of IPAs, sours, saisons and dark brews.

It also roasts its own coffee, offering a line of cold press brew on tap.

Aside from its obvious function as a café and taproom that sometimes doubles as a remote workplace, Vennture is also a venue for biztimes.com / 11

BizNews Tusk and Vennture are located adjacent to each other on West North Avenue.

various gatherings and events.

“We’ve done a bunch of random things, like bringing in food trucks, that allow people to use this space and to create more opportunity for people to get out and do something in their own neighborhood without having to go to Bay View or the East Side or out west,” said McConico. “It’s something that people can walk to or bike to, and a lot of people really like that.”

As locals themselves, the owners are involved in their community: Gustafson is part of its BID and McConico participates in his neighborhood association.

And in turn, McConico said, they have a better understanding of the neighborhood’s needs; a local craft brewery used to be one of them.

“This is one of the most interesting nexuses of ethnic and racial diversity in the city, where everything kind of meets, and that is super important to us, as well,”

he said. “I’m not sure yet how we can create a space that feels comfortable to everyone, that’s still something we have to figure out, but you can’t do that by being in the middle of Brookfield or on the East Side.”

Without an in-house kitchen, Vennture does not serve its own food, but since Tusk opened, people have been able to order a meal there and enjoy it at the brewery.

In return, Vennture supplies Tusk, as well as nearby eatery Wy’east Pizza, with byproducts from the brewing process to make food.

Such partnerships are a defining characteristic of the area’s tight-knit business community, McConico said.

“There’s a collaborative spirit here,” he said. “The more interesting things that we can do to bring people to this side of town, the better it is for all of us.”

That collaborative spirit also provided a landing pad for Milwaukee-based Bittercube last fall

when it moved its operations to a vacant building at 4828 W. Lisbon Ave., becoming the third food and beverage business to open in the Uptown neighborhood in a fivemonth span.

The slow-crafted bitters producer, which first launched in 2009, had operated a production site and tasting room at the Lincoln Warehouse in Bay View since 2014, but as the company grew and production increased, it needed a larger footprint.

For a month during its transition between facilities, Bittercube set up shop in Tusk’s commercial kitchen before the restaurant officially opened. McRoberts had reached out to co-owner Ira Koplowitz months earlier, he said, voicing her support and welcoming the company to the neighborhood.

From an economic standpoint, relocating to a larger facility in Uptown made more sense than remaining in Bay View, where rent is more expensive, Koplowitz said.

The move allowed Bittercube to not only lease a 9,000-squarefoot building, but also have the means to renovate the space and open a bar and storefront there.

“We needed to invest into the infrastructure of a building,” Koplowitz said. “And if we had done that in Bay View or Walker’s Point, we would have a space that would have been the same size as the one we were in before and we wouldn’t have had that capital to invest into the other business extensions.”

Koplowitz believes the comeback of the Uptown neighborhood is still in its infancy, which sometimes makes it challenging to attract customers, but he said he sees great potential for the area and hopes for further development along the busy North Avenue business corridor.

BID 16 is currently working to make that happen, said vice president Chris Hau, a principal at Milwaukee-based Quorum Architects Inc. Smaller scale projects over the past two years, including a new pocket park that now fills a vacant lot at 56th Street and West North Avenue and the nearby installation of Washington Heights’ first Bublr Bikes station, have given way to greater visions and plans for the neighborhood.

After working with the city to identify six sites in need of improvement, the BID partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Community Design Solutions center to go through a design charrette process for those properties.

Hau said the potential project plans will be unveiled in February, and the BID will be seeking both public and private investors and partners to help spur the development.

“Our future goal is to really expand upon the current development that has happened and the new businesses that have invested in the neighborhood,” he said. n

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Waukesha foundry finds new life with Renaissance Manufacturing Group THE NUMBER of foundries in the U.S. has dropped by more than one-third since 2001, and employment in the metal casting industry has dropped by more than 40 percent.

The foundry now operated by Renaissance Manufacturing Group LLC in Waukesha nearly became part of those statistics in 2015, as Illinois-based Navistar Inc. considered shutting the plant down as part of a cost savings program.

Instead, Navistar ultimately sold the facility, which has been in operation for more than 100 years, to Renaissance Manufacturing Group. Today, the plant is turning out parts for markets that include light and heavy duty trucks, construction, agriculture and railroad.

Like many manufacturers, RMG faces the challenges of finding labor in a low unemployment environment. While industry supporters will argue factory jobs are no longer dark, dirty and dangerous, RMG cannot make the same case.

Dealing with metals heated to upwards of 2,800 degrees is inherently dangerous, and the sand used to form molds creates plenty of dust. RMG is trying to do something about the dark part, investing in new LED lighting that is brighter than the yellow tinge of traditional lights.

Phil Knoebel, chief executive officer and co-founder of RMG, said at a recent roundtable that the company does not try to hide from the challenging aspects of the work. Instead, RMG is upfront about the challenges with new

hires, places an emphasis on safety and training, and compensates for the hazards in wages.

“We’re not turn and burn equity guys; we’re here for the long run,” Knoebel said. “Our kids work here and it’s something we’re looking at building.”

RMG was formed out of the experience of Knoebel and his brother Paul Knoebel, who had worked as an independent sales representatives for Grede Foundries. When Grede went public in 2015, the company moved on, leaving the Knoebels high and dry.

When Navistar approached them about representing the company’s foundries, the Knoebels didn’t want to find themselves in a similar position of building a company up, only to have the company move on.

Purchasing the foundry, however, was a different story and since the deal closed, RMG has moved to invest in the facility. A testing lab that personified dark and dirty was cleaned up. An area that had become the site of what Knoebel described as “maintenance sprawl” was repurposed for machining and warehousing work that Navistar had outsourced.

“We have a good core group of experienced foundry people within the organization. We were blessed to acquire that when we did the acquisition,” said Todd Martin, president of RMG and part of the ownership group. “They know the building, they know the machines, they know the process, so that’s helped us really be able to step in and not miss a beat.”

Renaissance Manufacturing Group has invested in the Waukesha foundry since buying it in 2015

RENAISSANCE MANUFACTURING GROUP 1401 Perkins Ave., Waukesha INDUSTRY: Foundry EMPLOYEES: 260

ren-mfg.com

Randy Nasr, general manager of RMG, said having ownership on-site makes a big difference in operations.

“You need something, it happens right away. It doesn’t need to be delayed for months until you get the approval,” Nasr said. “The people see that and they know that we react fast, so that, I think, gave them a lot more confidence that this is a much better run operation than before.”

RMG has brought machining and grinding work back in to the Waukesha facility, using automation to be competitive while also dealing with talent challenges.

“You’re not going to find many people who want to stand on the grinder all day,” Nasr said.

RMG has also invested in other aspects of the business, purchasing a facility in Alabama to add vertical casting capabilities and recently acquiring Wisconsin Precision Machining Co. in Grafton to add to its staff.

“It really was a human resources acquisition as much as it was equipment,” Knoebel said of the WPM deal.

Adding more capabilities beyond the core foundry casting work is also helping RMG better

serve original equipment manufacturers. While some services, like paint or heat treating, would be difficult to bring in-house, Knoebel said customers are looking for more of a partnership.

“In the past if there’s an issue, you might have had the foundry and the machine house pointing fingers at each other,” said Dan Bruins, controller at RMG. “The end customer is just like, ‘I just want this issue resolved.’ Now they can come to us. If there’s a machine issue, foundry issue, you have one contact, one point of reference, so it’s a lot simpler for the customer.” n

ARTHUR THOMAS Reporter

P / 414-336-7123 E / arthur.thomas@biztimes.com T / @arthur8823

biztimes.com / 13

Real Estate

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An aerial view of the Village Green Center site with an outline of the proposed development site.

Pleasant Prairie laying foundation for Village Green Center

WITH THE PURCHASE of 72 acres of largely undeveloped land, the Village of Pleasant Prairie is in position to develop a downtown center that has existed only as a dream for decades.

Village officials for some time have looked at this chunk of land

– covering both sides of Springbrook Road and extending from 39th Avenue to the east to just before 47th Avenue to the west – as the spot to create a proper downtown. They drew up ideas of what should be included in the development, and even brought on a developer to oversee things.

“It’s probably been the mostplanned chunk of property in the village,” said Tom Shircel, assistant village administrator.

Rosemont, Illinois-based Land and Lakes Real Estate Development was originally tapped to oversee the development of the new downtown, referred to as Village Green Center. The company owned the land for about 12 years, but couldn’t get anything started, said Martin Hanley, president of Land and Lakes.

Hanley said when his group acquired the property, the development plans were in place and preliminary zoning was “basically set” for the project, but they didn’t have the financial backing.

“From our standpoint, it’s just hard to get started without incentives from the village,” Hanley said.

“We needed assistance on the

FEATURED DEAL: R I V E R H O U S E A PA R T M E N T B U I L D I N G S S O L D

ADDRESS: 1785 N. Water St., Milwaukee BUYER: Weidner Apartment Homes SELLER: Atlantic Realty Partners PRICE: $58 million 14 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

The River House Apartments were sold in mid-December by Atlanta-based Atlantic Realty Partners to Kirkland, Washington-based Weidner Apartment Homes. The two buildings sit on the site of the former Gallun Tannery.

The buildings and 243 apartment units make up just the first phase of the overall project. The second phase calls for two more buildings with 200 units, which will go up on the remaining vacant land immediately north of the existing buildings.

Richard Aaronson, chief executive officer and co-founder of Atlantic Realty, said his group was looking to recapitalize the project with a new investment partner when it was approached by Weidner about buying the property outright. Aaronson’s company still owns the land for the project’s second phase.

Weidner also recently purchased the nearby Avenir Apartments at 1437 N. Jefferson St. from affiliates of Wangard Partners Inc. for $22.3 million.

“I use a process I developed which shifts the responsibility of creating ideas from the typical project contractor to the actual community,” Streeter said. “So, the planner doesn’t come in first, they come in later.”

Thiel said he hopes to see a formal request for proposals seeking a master developer issued this summer, with construction ideally kicking off in 2020.

Wessling Grosz said multiple developers have already expressed interest in serving as a master developer on the project. And Thiel said others have expressed interest in developing specific pieces.

Since the project is still in the early planning stages, there are no concrete plans of what the Village Green Center will feature. But the general goal is to have multifamily, commercial, recreational, and public and civic developments.

Shircel said another general objective is to create walkable neighborhoods that are busy seven days a week. He also envisions a mix of national chains and locally-owned shops.

Whatever comes of the planning sessions and eventual choice of developers, the time has finally come for this property to be transformed, Shircel said.

“The majority of (residents) want this,” he said. “That’s my feeling.” n

ARCHITECTURE GROUP III

infrastructure going forward.”

After years of inactivity, the village decided to buy back the land and reignite planning efforts.

It hired Nathan Thiel as village administrator in April, in no small part because of his desire to get things moving on the Village Green Center development once again.

Then in December, Pleasant Prairie closed on the purchase of the property from Land and Lakes for $3.7 million.

Thiel said all economic signs point to this being the right time to get things done on the project.

“With the economic uptick and … the expansions the village has seen, we’re feeling that we are in a much better market position and time and space to move this project forward,” he said.

The village has spoken with a number of developers about the ambitious project. Specifically, the Kenosha Area Business Alliance and the Kenosha County Planning and Development department led an initiative last year to introduce municipal leaders to multiple developers at the International Council of Shopping Centers trade show in Las Vegas, said Heather Wessling Grosz, vice president of economic development at KABA. Beyond the village-owned land, more than 120 acres is available for development in the area, noted Wessling Grosz.

Community planning sessions are already underway, with the first meeting held Jan. 17.

Pleasant Prairie recently hired consultant Todd Streeter, principal of Lakeland, Minnesota-based Community Collaboration, to conduct the planning sessions.

Streeter’s firm was chosen for the model it uses that aims to maximize the impact resident input has on projects, Thiel said.

This method brings in residents right away, and creates a series of citizen committees to focus on a number of redevelopment recommendations, such as housing options, recreational amenities and environmentally-friendly solutions.

These concepts would then be used to guide the plans drafted by planning firms the village hires.

GLENDALE HAMPTON INN Odyssey Hotels is proposing a Hampton Inn at the northwest corner of North Port Washington Road and West Green Tree Road in Glendale.

The proposed four-story, 58,000-square-foot hotel would go up on the site of the existing North Shore Event Centre. Directly west on that same block is a Fairfield Inn, which was converted from a Radisson hotel and scheduled to open this spring, and to the south is a Residence Inn by Marriott hotel that opened last year.

At 90 rooms, the Hampton Inn would have a similar number of units as the other two hotels. Rachit Dhingra, chief executive officer of Odyssey Hotels, said each hotel caters to a different type of customer.

OWNER: Odyssey Hotels DEVELOPER: Odyssey Glendale Hotel LLC LOCATION: 7065 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale

What does

success

look like to you?

The Josephs – Park Bank customers since 1993 Bonnie, Leon, Robert and Jake in the lobby of the Overlook on Prospect

Member FDIC

ALEX ZANK

For the Joseph family, success is leaving a legacy for generations to come by reviving iconic developments throughout Milwaukee. Likewise, Park Bank is proud to provide steadfast support to multiple generations of the Joseph Family over the decades. Learn more about their story at ParkBankOnline.com/Success.

Reporter

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STORY COVER

SLOW SLOWDOWN 16 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

AMERICAN WORKERS AND BUSINESSES BENEFITTED FROM A STRONG U.S. ECONOMY IN 2018.

The U.S. gross domestic product grew 4.2 percent during the second quarter, the highest quarterly growth for U.S. GDP since the third quarter of 2014. U.S. economic growth remained healthy during the third quarter at 3.4 percent.

The U.S. unemployment rate was at 3.4 percent in December, after reaching a 49-year low of 3.7 percent in November. The U.S. economy added about 2.6 million jobs in 2018, an increase of 17.9 percent from 2017. The U.S. added 312,000 of those jobs in December, exceeding expectations. Wages rose 3.2 percent in 2018.

The economy clearly seems to have benefitted from the $1.5 trillion tax cut approved by the Republican-led Congress and President Donald Trump in late 2017. Trump has also reduced

numerous regulations in an attempt to boost the economy.

However, some economists are predicting that U.S. economic growth will slow in 2019. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimates that GDP growth slowed to 2.8 percent during the fourth quarter.

Despite the strong U.S. economy in 2018, the stock market had its worst year since 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.6 percent, the S&P 500 dipped 6.2 percent and the Nasdaq was down 4 percent.

Tariffs set by the Trump administration created challenges for some businesses in 2018. Trump remains in a significant trade confrontation with China.

He has said the short-term pain from tariffs will pay off in the long run with

AHEAD ECONOMIC TRENDS 2019

MICHAEL KNETTER

more favorable trade deals, such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Meanwhile, Trump complained that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes in 2018 were hurting economic growth. More rate hikes could be in store for 2019.

For more insight on what lies ahead for the U.S. economy in 2019, BizTimes Milwaukee editor Andrew Weiland conducted his annual macroeconomic interview with Michael Knetter, the president and chief executive officer of the University of Wisconsin Foundation.

Knetter, a former staff economist for presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will once again be a speaker at BizTimes Media’s annual Economic Trends event on Jan. 25 at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee.

BIZTIMES: There seem to be several signs pointing to a possible economic slowdown this year and several economists are predicting that, as well. How do you think the U.S. economy will perform overall in 2019? Do you also anticipate a slowdown? Why or why not?

KNETTER: “There is little doubt in my mind that real economic growth (production and employment growth) will slow down in 2019. The more uncertain issue is whether they will actually contract (i.e., whether the U.S. economy enters a recession). The growth we have enjoyed in 2017 biztimes.com / 17

STORY COVER

and 2018 was due to a continuation of the slow recovery from the Great Recession as companies and households rebuilt their balance sheets and their confidence, augmented more recently by lighter regulation, corporate tax reductions and fiscal expansion. The slowdown in growth that I expect will result from a combination of factors, including the limited amount of spare capacity in the economy (the labor force cannot keep growing as fast now that nearly everyone is employed), higher interest rates (as the Fed seeks to get back to a more normal policy regime and reduce the possibility of a surge in inflation), slower growth in other economies, and greater uncertainty about international markets (which can reduce the incentive to sink capital expenditures because of confusion about where to locate).”

BIZTIMES: There has been tremendous volatility in the stock market in recent months. Why? Do you expect that to continue in 2019? What is the stock market telling us about how the U.S. economy will perform in 2019?

KNETTER: “As I write this, the markets have been chaotic and mostly downcast, while the production and employment side of the economy remains quite healthy, with real GDP growing at a 2 percent annual rate or more and the unemployment rate at an incredibly low 3.9 percent. This dichotomy will not last throughout 2019. Either the stock market will bounce back to some degree, or it will eventually pull the real economy into recession.

Which will it be?

“In my opinion, 2019 is a year when sentiment will tell the tale. Dating back to (John Maynard) Keynes, economists have acknowledged that expectations about the future are important in determining actual behavior of economic decision-making units. In the current environment, the Trump administration, and President Trump himself, will have a disproportionate influence on what happens next. The administration made a number of regulatory and tax choices and judicial appointments that have given the economy a short-term boost. These decisions made people confident about the economic future and confident in decisions to spend and invest. That confidence can be self-fulfilling to some degree.

“More recently, the balance seems to be shifting to decisions that are eroding confidence in the administration and the economic future. Among the particular decisions I would note include: departures of some highly regarded team members, such as (former chief of staff John) Kelly and (former defense secretary Jim) Mattis, who were believed to be top performers with good experience and judgment in key roles; the ongoing trade and geopolitical stress with China and other trading partners; the public harassment of Fed chairman (Jerome) Powell and the reversal of the harassment of Powell; and the Treasury outreach to bank CEOs when markets tanked.

“It is easy to imagine people losing confidence

18 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

in the administration and the economic future given the erratic behavior. In many ways, it is surprising the market was performing so well given the greater degree of uncertainty most people have in the future of fiscal, trade and monetary policy resulting from the administration’s various pronouncements.

“All that said, my guess today is that the markets have overreacted to noise and that we will see a partial recovery in equities early in 2019, and that recovery will be enough to keep the entire economy from slipping into recession. I think the administration cares deeply about preserving economic growth and that the instinct to do that will eventually guide them to better decisions in the conduct of fiscal, trade and monetary policy. And as market participants see those better decisions, equities will recover a bit and the momentum the economy has will carry through the balance of 2019, albeit with growth slowing over the course of the year.”

BIZTIMES: Trade and tariffs were a big topic in 2018. President Trump announced trade deals with the European Union, Canada and Mexico and expressed confidence a new deal will be worked out with China. What impact have the tariffs instituted

by Trump had on the economy? What impact will the new deals have on U.S. trade?

KNETTER: “My view on trade in a nutshell is that free and open trade is good for both parties for the age old reason of the efficiency that results from specialization and division of labor. Of course, trade was not completely free. So there is an opportunity to improve the trade regime. I think we have made some improvements over the past year and we also have some setbacks remaining with China as we attempt to get to a better place.

“Tariffs and other barriers to trade, and especially changes to the trade regime, are very disruptive in the short term. There is little ability to quickly adjust supply chains, and so we mostly get higher prices on everything affected. Nobody immediately adjusts production to a ‘trade war’ because they cannot know how long the war will last. This hurts investment spending. Firms don’t know where to locate until the dust settles on the trade war. The short-term effect is negative, but has been overshadowed by other things that have been pro-growth (e.g., other regulatory relief and tax cuts).”

BIZTIMES: Trump has been critical of the Fed for raising interest rates. What moves do you expect the Fed to make in 2019 and how will it impact the economy? Will rising interest rates hurt home and car sales?

KNETTER: “The Fed will follow the data, which has gotten much more interesting with the market decline. If the decline accelerates or persists, the Fed may be done raising rates already. I suspect the market will bounce back a bit and I look for another 25 basis point increase in rates during 2019. I do not think the Fed will get very far in reducing its balance sheet, either. The market does

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STORY COVER not seem able to absorb that reduction in Fed participation very easily and I expect the Fed to back off on that plan in the weaker economic environment I believe we will see in 2019.”

BIZTIMES: General Motors recently announced plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs. Is that a bad sign for the broader economy, or just an indication of problems with GM itself?

KNETTER: “I think that is a sign of problems with GM and labor costs in the U.S.” BIZTIMES: Wisconsin has a new governor in 2019.

Gov. Scott Walker and his agenda were popular with much of the state’s business community. With Democrat Tony Evers coming in to replace him, and the Leg-

islature still in Republican control, how will the changing political dynamics in Madison affect the state’s economy?

KNETTER: “I do not expect the change in the governor’s office to have a huge effect on the state economy as I believe Gov. Evers is getting good counsel and will have a healthy balance in his policy agenda (and as you note, will in any case face a Republican-controlled Legislature).”

BIZTIMES: Meanwhile, in Washington the Democrats have taken control of the House. Divided government in Washington resulted in a partial shutdown. Is gridlock a good thing or a bad thing for the economy?

KNETTER: “Gridlock at present is probably a good thing. As noted earlier, some pro-growth decisions have been made and implemented. A period of time without change might be good for

BIZTIMES: This has been a long-running, if sometimes slow, expansion for the U.S. economy. Is that expansion finally nearing an end? Is a recession around the corner?

KNETTER: “This recovery is indeed long in the tooth, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to end. Expect 2019 to be a year of slower growth, but not a recession, as the administration tries to stabilize itself and convert a few more modest wins to calm economic actors. As growth slows and people begin to shift attention to the fiscal imbalance we have created, which will become even more apparent as we roll over debt with higher interest rates, look for the sentiment on the U.S. economy to begin to sour and our vulnerability to recession to rise accordingly. My guess is we get through this year without a recession, but the likelihood of getting through 2020 without one is much lower.” n

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Special Report ECONOMIC TRENDS

AI has potential to transform southeastern Wisconsin industries

By Lauren Anderson, staff writer SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN’S key industries are primed for transformation thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence and deep learning.

While global tech giants have been on the forefront of pushing the field of AI, many legacy Milwaukee-area companies are poised to reap the benefits of the now-established tools of AI-powered analytics in 2019, said Dwight Diercks, a senior vice president at California-based NVIDIA and Milwaukee School of Engineering alumnus.

“AI is going to be huge for the medtech industry, the business analytics industry, the agriculture tech industry and industrial automation/manu-

To keep up with the competition, businesses in southeastern Wisconsin – including those that have not historically fit the traditional definition of a “tech company” – will need to embrace one of their most valuable assets: the vast amounts of data on their businesses, Diercks said.

If harnessed properly, retailers can use AI to reduce waste. Manufacturers can mitigate manpower shortages through robotics. Medtech companies can push new medical advancements. Farmers can use robotic pickers to expedite their harvesting.

“AI for industry, it comes right at the heart of Milwaukee,” Diercks said. “It’s all about getting Mil-

Diercks and his wife, Dian, gave $34 million to build a new MSOE facility focused on artificial intelligence. The building, which is currently under construction, is expected to open in the fall.

facturing,” Diercks said. “The first wave of AI took over and was used by Amazon, Google and Facebook. That’s really paved the way for what’s going to be quite exciting for the Milwaukee ecosystem, as industries all start to embrace AI and hopefully get to a point where they can roll it out in their daily use.”

Diercks will provide a forecast for the region’s technology industry for 2019 at BizTimes Media’s annual Economic Trends breakfast on Jan. 25 at the Italian Conference Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

22 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

waukee ready for the transition. It will take time, but the advantage that all of these incumbent businesses in Milwaukee have is the innovation is no longer AI. That’s just the tool. The innovation is all of the data that these companies own. So if they can use data to transform their businesses, they will ride the wave going forward. That’s the opportunity and the challenge.”

Diercks and his wife, Dian, gave $34 million in 2017 to build a new MSOE facility focused on artificial intelligence. The building, which is currently under construction and expected to open

DWIGHT DIERCKS in the fall, will house the school’s new computer science degree program. It will be outfitted with a GPU-accelerated supercomputer that will be used by students and companies, as well as designated office spaces for corporate partnerships.

Diercks said the new building is aimed at producing more computer scientists and data scientists prepared to enter industry.

“The school will help create data scientists and AI knowledge within the region,” Diercks said.

“Then, what it’s going to take from businesses is those folks need to take their people who know their business and now their data, and re-skill them to be able to utilize the skills of AI to transform their industry.”

The need for data science talent continues to grow as companies across industries recognize the advantage of having in-house expertise regarding data science – or the extraction of useful information from large data sets – to make decisions, solve problems and create new products. Other universities in the region have also recently launched initiatives related to data science. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University are partnering with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. to establish a $40 million data science institute, which will focus on bolstering data science education and research at the universities to prepare students for the growing career field.

Carroll University in Waukesha has also launched its new Analytics and Business Intelligence Consortium, a membership-based organization spearheaded by the university’s School of Business that is aimed at helping companies and organizations engage with and manage big data.

The risk for well-established companies that don’t embrace the transformative potential of AI, Diercks said, is getting left behind.

“If you don’t adapt, you’re subject to, at some point, become obsolete,” he said. “So the question is, how do you make it easy for them to adapt? That’s a reason for what we’re doing with MSOE.” n

State’s enduring skills gap calls for shift in recruitment tactics

By Maredithe Meyer, staff writer THE TALENT SHORTAGE remains a constant concern across all industry sectors, as Wisconsin’s unemployment rate reached record lows last year and currently sits at 3 percent. But that has not slowed employers’ hiring plans for the first quarter.

According to Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup’s Q1 2019 Employment Outlook Survey, 28 percent of the state’s employers intend to hire more workers from January through March. That is a 3 percent increase over the first quarter of 2018, and a 4 percent increase over last quarter.

A low unemployment rate and the increasing demand for skilled workers are not new trends

ally working. The national participation rate currently sits at about 63 percent, Stull said, while it usually hovers around 67 or 68 percent.

Considering the 3.9 percent national unemployment rate only accounts for people actively looking for a job, there are “a lot of people on the sidelines,” Stull said.

“The job market that we have today isn’t really functioning in a way that adapts or adopts very quickly, and that’s where you start seeing this low participation rate, because people don’t have the skills and they don’t have the opportunity to get the skills,” he said.

The ManpowerGroup headquarters in Milwaukee.

for the state’s economy. However, the job market in 2019 is paved by some underlying themes that differentiate it from years past, said Michael Stull, senior vice president of Manpower North America. Stull will be a panelist at BizTimes Media’s 2019 Economic Trends breakfast on Jan. 25 at the Italian Conference Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

One of those differences is a low labor force participation rate, or the percentage of people actu-

Today’s employers are also faced with global competition, and as a result, tend to consume labor rather than investing in and developing the current workforce, Stull said.

In order to bridge this gap, talent recruitment needs to focus more on skills and less on experience, he said.

“For example, somebody that is a shipping clerk typically has great problem-solving skills, and those problem-solving skills can be very

MICHAEL STULL powerful in a lot of different jobs,” Stull said. “So, if you can take somebody that has good problem-solving skills and turn them into other roles, that’s really important.”

Soft skills, such as problem-solving or communication, are more in demand than ever before as technology advances and repetitive tasks are replaced by AI and robotics, he said.

Stull upholds “employability and learnability” as the two most important soft skills employees should possess during this time of digital transformation.

“Every employer should be really working hard at finding those people, attracting those people and keeping those people because when they have them, they can build them into the type of workers they need,” he said Employers also need to think more about the desired outcome of building talent instead of focusing on the often costly investment in the process, he said.

From a broader perspective, building a skilled workforce will allow Wisconsin’s economy to continue to compete on a global scale – even amidst economic slowdown.

However, in a state with a shrinking talent pool, building skills may mean bringing more people into the workforce. Stull said companies should look to populations such as senior citizens, veterans and the disabled for potential talent.

Out-of-state recruitment efforts will continue to be a strategy to address Wisconsin’s talent shortage, but becoming a place of choice doesn’t happen overnight, Stull said. Cities such as Portland and Austin followed long-term plans to build the brands that have attracted their current workforce.

“We all have to get aligned behind the community that we want to be in, that we think will be attractive not only to the people that are here, but to the people who want to come. And we need to make sure we align all of our institutions and all of our messaging behind that,” Stull said. n biztimes.com / 23

Special Report ECONOMIC TRENDS

Manufacturers need extra vigilance in volatile 2019 environment

By Arthur Thomas, staff writer TAKE A GLANCE at the end markets served by HellermannTyton Corp. and the outlook for 2019 is pretty positive.

The heavy truck market has a significant backlog, as does the commercial aerospace industry.

Solar energy continues to grow, as does the heavy equipment market, particularly in construction.

The light vehicle market could be flat to slightly up, but with more than 17 million vehicles to be produced in North America, the industry will still be a major driver for HellermannTyton.

“As we get into 2019, indications so far are that really all of those markets should still be growing,”

the wires in place.

But behind the optimistic outlook for HellermannTyton’s end markets is some uncertainty created by rising commodity costs and increased volatility.

“We always conduct our business with eyes wide open, but now I would say they are extra wide open, because it is a volatile macroeconomic world that we are living in,” said Tuttle, one of four speakers at the 18th annual BizTimes Economic Trends event scheduled for Jan. 25 at the Italian Conference Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

Tuttle said most companies in the markets HellermannTyton serves are dealing with the

HellermannTyton makes components for cable and wire management. Inset: HellermannTyton’s production facility along Good Hope Road, one of three locations in Milwaukee.

said Terry Tuttle, president of HellermannTyton North America, based in Milwaukee.

Longer-term trends in the industry, like electric vehicles and autonomous driving, also bode well for the cable management manufacturer.

HellermannTyton does not make the actual cables and wires that go in cars. The company specializes in plastic injection and extrusion molding to make the products used to bundle and secure wires and cables across a number of industries. More wires to make cars more connected means more demand for the products that keep 24 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

challenges of rising commodity costs. In some cases, like steel, those increasing costs are brought on by tariffs implemented by the Trump administration. The plastics industry, while not directly hit by the tariffs, has also seen increasing nylon prices and scarcity.

“Every industry needs to manage their cost structure and their price to market in order to continue in a healthy way,” Tuttle said.

She said the level of volatility is higher than almost any time she can remember in the business.

Part of the challenge is dealing with the uncer-

TERRY TUTTLE tainty while also preparing to take advantage of opportunities.

Managing through the current environment requires a focus on the company’s long-term strategy, even when ups and downs in markets might make it tempting to change course.

“We’re not here to shift our strategy every year,” Tuttle said. “We are here to build upon it and grow it.”

In a low unemployment rate environment, Tuttle is confident in HellermannTyton’s investments to make its business a place people want to work. Those include offices renovated to promote collaboration and a strategy focused on customers and innovation. On the manufacturing side, the company has developed strong training programs and implemented gain sharing to allow production employees to benefit from what they can control.

The challenge, however, is making sure new employees understand the full value of the benefits HellermannTyton offers, Tuttle said.

“We don’t want to see entry level people that are good leaving for 50 cents more per hour or a dollar more per hour when their overall value is less,” she added.

Part of the company’s culture also focuses on finding a balance between defining processes to improve efficiency while also allowing for creative and innovative approaches.

“We want that creative spirit to reign,” Tuttle said. “We want enough process so it’s sufficient but enough runway so innovation can emerge.”

Technology like automation and integrated systems throughout the business also help with efficiency and quality. With developments in artificial intelligence or augmented reality getting plenty of attention globally, Tuttle said it’s important for technology investments to be made with a practical approach.

“We are not here to bring in technology just because it’s cool; we bring it in because it helps our business,” she said. n

Marcus Corp. beats the market Most local stocks sustained losses in 2018

By Andrew Weiland, staff writer 2018 WAS THE WORST YEAR for the U.S. stock market since 2008, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 5.6 percent, the Nasdaq down 4 percent and the S&P 500 down 6.2 percent.

Stock prices for southeastern Wisconsin’s publicly-traded firms also took a bath in 2018. Of the 36 local stocks followed by BizTimes Milwaukee, only six posted gains in 2018.

Milwaukee-based The Marcus Corp. was a major exception, with its stock price posting the largest gain of any local stock last year. Shares of Marcus Corp. stock rose 44 percent during 2018 to close the year at $39.50.

In its most recent earnings report, Marcus Corp. reported record revenues, operating income and earnings for the first three quarters of 2018.

Its revenues for that period were up 9 percent, to more than $532 million, operating income was up 15.2 percent, to $68.5 million, and net earnings at-

Marcus Majestic Cinema in Brookfield.

tributable to Marcus Corp. were up 46.2 percent, to $44.7 million.

Marcus Corp.’s Hotels & Resorts and Theatres

divisions both contributed to the company’s record performance, said president and chief executive officer Greg Marcus.

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Special Report ECONOMIC TRENDS During the third quarter, group business increased significantly for Marcus Hotels & Resorts.

Baseball fans staying at hotels to attend the Major League Baseball playoffs provided a boost to some of Marcus’ markets, including in Milwaukee, with the Brewers almost making it to the World Series.

However, fans following the baseball playoff chase appeared to result in lower attendance for the Marcus Theatres division in some markets, Marcus said. Still, the division’s revenues were up 5.2 percent in the third quarter.

The second-best-performing local stock in 2018 was that of Kohl’s Corp. The Menomonee Falls-based retailer saw its stock price rise 22 percent in 2018, to $66.34 a share.

Many retailers are struggling to adapt as more consumers shift to online shopping, but Kohl’s posted strong results in 2018. The company reported that its net income was up 35.3 percent, to $529 million, and its total revenue rose 2.9 percent, to $13.4 billion, during the first three quarters of 2018.

“We experienced strength across our entire apparel business, and our focus on speed-to-market and inventory management are driving relevancy with our customers, resulting in sales growth, margin expansion and clean inventory levels,” said Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass. “We are executing extremely well in our stores and our digital channels.”

Despite those bright spots, the vast majority of southeastern Wisconsin’s publicly-held firms suffered significant declines in their stock prices.

The biggest local stock price loser was Milwaukee-based REV Group Inc., which saw its stock price fall 77 percent in 2018 to finish at $7.51.

“Quite frankly, anything that could go wrong, did go wrong and then some,” said Tim Sullivan, REV Group CEO. “It was particularly frustrating since many of the issues were out of our control.”

A fire at a supplier delayed shipments earlier in the year and then tariffs increased costs and lead times, making it difficult for the company to meet customer demand. REV Group said on average, three- to six-week lead times had increased to 10 to 15 weeks by the end of the year.

“You can’t build what you don’t have and you can’t ship what you can’t build,” Sullivan said.

REV Group’s sales increased 5 percent for the year, to $2.38 billion, but net income dropped from $31.4 million to $13 million.

REV Group went public in 2017. Several law firms filed class action suits against the company in 2018 related to its financial statements ahead of the initial public offering. The firm has made several acquisitions since 2016 and one of the law firms that filed a class action suit said REV Group’s acquisitions made its operational structure inefficient and did not allow it to control costs.

In June, the company announced a $1.9 million restructuring effort. n 26 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

Milwaukee-area stock performance Ticker

Company name

12/31/2017 12/31/2018 Price Price

% Change

MCS

Marcus Corp.

27.35

39.50

44%

KSS

Kohl’s Corp.

54.23

66.34

22%

BRC

Brady Corp.

37.90

43.46

15%

FISV

Fiserv Inc.

65.57

73.49

12%

WEC

WEC Energy Group Inc.

66.43

69.26

4%

BMI

Badger Meter Inc.

47.80

49.21

3%

GNRC

Generac Holdings Inc.

49.52

49.70

0%

WSBF

Waterstone Financial Inc.

17.05

16.76

-2%

WEYS

Weyco Group Inc.

29.72

29.17

-2%

PLOW

Douglas Dynamics Inc.

37.80

35.89

-5%

JOUT

Johnson Outdoors Inc.

62.09

58.74

-5%

DOC

Physicians Realty Trust

17.99

16.03

-11%

WBB

Westbury Bancorp Inc.

23.00

20.40

-11%

RXN

Rexnord Corp.

26.02

22.95

-12%

SNA

Snap-on Inc.

174.30

145.29

-17%

ATU

Actuant Corp.

25.30

20.99

-17%

ASB

Associated Banc-Corp

25.40

19.79

-22%

JCI

Johnson Controls International plc

38.11

29.65

-22%

ROK

Rockwell Automation Inc.

196.35

150.48

-23%

SXT

Sensient Technologies Corp.

73.15

55.85

-24%

MTG

MGIC Investment Corp.

14.11

10.46

-26%

AOS

A. O. Smith Corp.

61.28

42.70

-30%

HOG

Harley-Davidson Inc.

50.88

34.12

-33%

STRT

Strattec Security Corp.

43.55

28.80

-34%

KOSS

Koss Corp.

3.09

1.91

-38%

Gardner Denver Holdings Inc.

33.93

20.45

-40%

JASN

Jason Industries Inc.

2.37

1.37

-42%

APAM

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc.

39.50

22.11

-44%

TWIN

Twin Disc Inc.

26.57

14.75

-44%

QUAD

Quad/Graphics Inc.

22.60

12.32

-45%

MOD

Modine Manufacturing Co.

20.20

10.81

-46%

BGG

Briggs & Stratton Corp.

25.37

13.08

-48%

MAN

ManpowerGroup Inc.

126.11

64.80

-49%

ESNC

EnSync Inc.

0.40

0.18

-54%

MTW

Manitowoc Co. Inc.

39.34

14.77

-62%

REVG

REV Group Inc.

32.53

7.51

-77%

GDI

All data gathered by Robert W. Baird & Co. from Factset Research Systems. This information has been obtained from sources we consider to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy.

Evers lays out his economic development plans

By Molly Dill, staff writer NEWLY INSTALLED Gov. Tony Evers campaigned on making changes to state government, including some moves that could impact business owners.

BizTimes Milwaukee checked in with Evers on the eve of his inauguration to get updates on his plans for everything from Foxconn Technology Group’s massive Mount Pleasant development to the minimum wage.

While Evers campaigned on disbanding and replacing the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., he has had to shift those plans. Lame-duck legislation passed just before he took office gave lawmakers control of WEDC until September.

“During the lame-duck session, the Legislature and the governor changed, frankly, my ability to do much of anything in that area, so there will be no immediate changes around that,” Evers said.

“If economic development is going to be best-inclass, then it needs to be run as an arm of whoever is governor,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

MMAC did push for the expansion of the number of enterprise zones WEDC can use for certain economic development projects.

One change Evers would like to see in the WEDC is more transparency. And Evers said economic development needs to be inclusive of all 72

sure with the taxpayer cost of the “$4.5 billion Foxconn giveaway” that he described as a “broken political deal.”

Foxconn is eligible

EVERS “(We) have established ongoing communications directly with Foxconn leadership and that’s been productive.”

— Gov. Tony Evers

counties in Wisconsin, particularly in supporting entrepreneurs and new businesses.

The largest deal WEDC struck during former Gov. Scott Walker’s term was with Foxconn.

During the campaign, Evers expressed his displea-

for $3 billion in state tax incentives for building its $10 billion manufacturing campus in Wisconsin and creating 13,000 jobs. Local incentives for the project and planned infrastructure improvements total another $1.5 billion.

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Special Report ECONOMIC TRENDS “(We) have established ongoing communications directly with Foxconn leadership and that’s been productive,” Evers said. “We look forward to working with them in the future and making sure they live up to their agreements. I understand business owners have to make decisions about what’s best for them. With this high level of taxpayer involvement, we just have to have more transparency.”

Foxconn released a statement following Evers’ election, but did not make a representative available to comment for this article. The statement read, in part: “We are eager to join with (Evers) and all our local partners to ensure this effort to significantly grow the Wisconsin economy and bring an advanced, next generation, high-tech ecosystem to the state is successful. We have already made significant progress and continue to actively move forward on our commitment to create high-value jobs in Wisconsin as part of our major investment in the state. ” “I think the more (Evers) and his team understand what’s in the package and what Foxconn is accountable for and what the state is accountable

for, the more understanding there will be that this is a transparent, well-crafted partnership,” Sheehy said. “At the end of the Evers administration, we would like to have the statement read: ‘Gov. Walker landed the project; Gov. Evers got it done.’”

Evers, the former state superintendent of public instruction, plans to ask for $1.4 billion more in his K-12 education budget, including more for special education and mental health care services.

“The most important economic development criteria for the State of Wisconsin is a good education system and we have been starving that, and we’re going to provide adequate resources so that everybody can succeed,” Evers said.

“Whether $1.4 billion is the right amount or not, we were clearly lobbying (Evers) for additional funding that we felt would impact high-poverty markets like Milwaukee,” Sheehy said.

There are a few issues Evers plans to address later, including raising the state’s minimum wage to $15, and addressing the Act 10 and Right-toWork legislation that went into effect during Walker’s administration, which he opposed.

“To me, that’s an issue there’s no point in re-legislating,” Sheehy said of Act 10 and Right-to-Work.

“That’s trying to close the door after the horses are out of the barn.”

But infrastructure, particularly funding road repairs statewide, is an issue both Evers and Sheehy are confident can be solved in a bipartisan manner.

“We have been supportive of his push for a longer-term solution to funding our transportation needs,” Sheehy said. “Clearly, the gas tax has been a declining revenue source. As cars get more efficient, it becomes a less viable source of funding some of the infrastructure needs we have.”

Asked how he would fund infrastructure improvements, Evers said: “There’s only two ways.

Either use the resources that are available in the budget, or find new revenue streams or cut costs.

What I do know is we can’t borrow any more.”

In order to balance the budget, the governor and Legislature will need to work together to find compromise, Sheehy said.

“We have made significant gains and I would hate to lose those gains because we have a never-ending tussle between the Legislature and the governor,” he said. “That’s not good for business; it’s not good for anybody.” n

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By Alex Zank, staff writer THE COMPLETION of the BMO Tower in downtown Milwaukee and the beginning of major development projects in the city’s Harbor District will be some of the area’s biggest commercial real estate highlights of 2019.

The Harbor District caught the spotlight in August after Brownsville-based infrastructure contractor Michels Corp. announced a $100 million mixed-use project along the Kinnickinnic River. The first phase of the project, which includes an eight-story building to be occupied by Michels Corp., is expected to be completed by next summer.

Then Komatsu Mining Corp. announced in late September its plans for a new $285 million corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility at

ZIMMERMAN ARCHITECTURAL STUDIOS

BMO Tower completion, Harbor District projects to highlight 2019 A rendering of the planned Komatsu Mining Corp. headquarters in Milwaukee’s Harbor District.

the former Solvay Coke site, also in the Harbor District. Company officials say they plan to have contractors selected by the end of the first quarter, with construction starting later in the year.

Rocky Marcoux, commissioner of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development, praised the projects. He said they have the potential to ignite even further development in the Harbor District – in particular the Komatsu headquarters, since it removes the single largest environmentally challenged property in the city.

“Without that domino falling, it would have been very difficult to build a cohesive plan (for the district),” he said.

OFFICE Work on the 25-story BMO Tower is expected to wrap up by December. The 380,800-square-foot office building is going up next to the bank’s current downtown Milwaukee office building at 770 N. Water St. The bank will move roughly 875 employees to the new building. Downtown Milwaukee law firm Michael Best & Friedrich’s 235 employees will also occupy three floors of the building.

An 11-story mixed-use building being developed

by J. Jeffers & Co. at the corner of North Broadway and East Clybourn Street is expected to break ground this year. The project grabbed headlines in December after law firm Husch Blackwell LLP an-

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Special Report ECONOMIC TRENDS nounced it would occupy the top three stories.

INDUSTRIAL The area’s industrial market is poised for another strong year, said Jim Barry III, president of Milwaukee-based The Barry Co. He pointed to historically low vacancy rates of 4 percent market-wide, steadily increasing rental rates, and the amount of speculative projects.

“There are a number of projects that are speculative or semi-speculative that shows confidence in the market,” Barry said. “That’s going to continue through the next year.”

Leonardo DRS Inc. made a splash in late 2018, announcing it will build a new $56 million manufacturing facility and offices in Menomonee Falls.

To the south, Amazon will build a 2.5 millionsquare-foot, four-story warehouse and distribution facility in the Ryan Business Park in Oak Creek. Construction of the building could be complete in 2020.

Construction will continue on the massive, $10 billion Foxconn LCD manufacturing complex in Mount Pleasant.

There continue to be numerous industrial

developments in Kenosha County, as well, such as the 94 Logistics Park project in Kenosha. The first phase includes 750,000-square-foot and 288,000-square-foot buildings, and is set to finish in mid-2019.

MULTIFAMILY Milwaukee’s skyline could be transformed once again if construction activity begins this year on new apartment tower projects.

Perhaps the most anticipated is The Couture, a 44-story, 322-unit luxury apartment building that has been years in the making. In November, project developer Barrett Lo Visionary Development announced the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development asked that it submit additional information for its loan guarantee application, signaling that needed financing would soon be secured. Construction could start this spring.

Meanwhile, Wangard Partners Inc. recently detailed its plans to build up to 250 condo units at the corner of East Brady and North Water streets on the city’s East Side. The development, known as Brady & Water, is to be built in three phases, with the first including up to 70 units. Construction is

slated to begin this summer.

To the south, developer Scott Lurie has plans to build new apartments and retail space along Kinnickinnic Avenue, with development plans calling for about 200 units. The project is being criticized by some neighbors in the Bay View neighborhood, who claim it is too dense for the area.

HOTELS The new year started off with Odyssey Glendale Hotel LLC introducing plans to build a new 90-room Hampton Inn hotel near the corner of North Port Washington Road and West Green Tree Road in Glendale. This would be the third hotel on that block.

The conversion of an office building into a 196room Renaissance Hotel by Marriott on Wauwatosa’s Mayfair Mall campus is expected to be finished

by April 2020.

In downtown Milwaukee, a four-story, 132room Cambria Hotel and a 200-room Drury Hotel are scheduled to open this summer. Construction is expected to begin this year for a dual brand Home2Suites by Hilton and Tru by Hilton hotel and a Holiday Inn Express hotel along Jefferson Street between Michigan and Clybourn streets. n

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Wisconsin’s agriculture industry expected to follow downward trend in 2019

By Madison Goldbeck, staff writer WISCONSIN’S AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY had a rough go of it in 2018 after losing 638 dairy farms in just one year. According to the latest data from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, that’s a more than 7 percent decline and the biggest drop since 2004.

Wisconsin’s agriculture predicament was improved in December once Congress approved an $867 billion farm bill after some farmers suffered from President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. However, the boost was brief due to the federal government’s shutdown. Farmers’ applications are on hold for a $12 billion emergency aid package.

Steven Deller, a professor in the department

of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said 2019’s outlook is expected to remain weak due to the uncertainty over international trade policies.

“Farms will continue the trend toward bifurcation, which means that there will be growth in smaller and large farms, with middle-sized farms getting squeezed,” Deller said. “Most of it has to do with cost of production. The issue with the larger

farms is that they tend to carry a lot more debt load and if commodity prices stay low, servicing that debt becomes harder. Smaller farms tend to have less debt to service.”

According to Deller, the best way to grow the industry is through exports, since the growth of domestic demand is limited. Most of the growth in smaller scale farming and specialty crops and products came from increasing demand for local

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Special Report ECONOMIC TRENDS foods. While many of the surviving dairy operations are larger, even they are struggling to survive, he said.

As of November 2018, Wisconsin had about 8,000 dairy farms, more than any other state, and 1.28 million cows, according to the DATCP. The dairy industry contributes $43.4 billion to Wisconsin’s economy annually.

“We remain the nation’s leading producer of cheese, 27 percent share, and the overwhelming leader in the production of specialty cheese with a 47 percent share,” said Patrick Geoghegan, senior vice president, marketing and industry relations of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “Mailbox prices, the amount paid to farmers, is not expected to improve for the next six months as we still have a glut of milk around the nation.”

According to Geoghegan, this is the fourth year in a row of low milk prices paid to farmers.

However, cheese consumption continues to rise, at 36 pounds per capita, and per capita butter consumption is at a 47-year high.

However, farm numbers have been dropping since 1928. And the decline over the past four years has been more drastic.

“Even in good years, farm numbers fall,” Geoghegan said.

Wisconsin is America’s Dairyland, but there is more than just milk and cheese being produced and processed. Wisconsin ranks first in the nation for snap beans for processing, cheese, cranberries, ginseng, mink pelts, dry whey for humans, milk goats and corn silage, according to the DATCP. “Wisconsin agriculture is surprisingly diverse,” Deller said. “It is still dominated by dairy and cheese production, as most Wisconsin-produced milk goes into cheese, but compared to places like Illinois or Indiana, Wisconsin has lots of fruit and vegetable production.”

Wisconsin produces 64 percent of the nation’s cranberry crop. In 2017, cranberry production for Wisconsin totaled 5.37 million barrels and growers harvested 20,600 acres. Yet there was an oversupply of cranberries in 2018, and about 25 percent of the crop was destroyed.

Wisconsin soybean farmers also struggled in 2018. Soybean sales between the U.S. and China were immensely affected due to the tariff war.

Though there are renewed sales with China, it is only the first step in fixing the market.

Wausau-area ginseng farmers made strides after the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin and Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises Inc. signed an agreement with Foxconn Technology Group in September to help them get their product to the markets in Asia and the Pacific. The agreement is expected to help both Wisconsin’s ginseng industry and Foxconn’s brand of the root. Foxconn also partnered with the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center to promote research into ginseng in cancer prevention and treatment. Wisconsin leads the nation in the export of ginseng roots.

The final agriculture production numbers for 2018 are not yet available. The 2017 Census of Agriculture is scheduled to be released in February, but with the federal shutdown that could be longer. The census will showcase what is happening to the local foods data and non-census data will suggest the growth in that market has slowed down, Deller said.

“It is the export markets for things like cheese, dried and condensed milk, products with shelf life so it can be shipped, [is] where the growth potential is and right now, that market is up in the air,” he said. n

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EACH DAY, STUDENTS EVERYWHERE ARE UNABLE TO understand one out of every four words in a classroom due to inadequate ceiling acoustics. Excessive noise in corridors and chaotic treatment rooms negatively affects hospital patients ability to heal, and limits doctor-patient privacy. Additionally, study after study shows excessive noise in offices reduces worker efficiencies, raises stress levels and lowers employee’s satisfaction.

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Creative Business Interiors

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WE LIVE IN A HIGHLY VISUAL WORLD. AN ORGANIZATION’S brand is their personality. Every organization needs to get customers (and employees) to identify with their brand and ultimately form an emotional connection.

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It can be used for way-finding or to elicit behavior.

Messaging can be conveyed through the use of signage, graphics, banners, and clusters of words or phrases.

Infographics are an informative way to show an important process. Other impactful messaging vehicles include custom graphic wall coverings, pre-printed marker boards, and graffiti art.

Develop a workspace-branding plan. To brand your workplace, engage the services of a qualified interior design consultant; one who’s well versed in trends, the application and performance of materials, and construction methods. The designer will need to consider all aspects of the physical environment and assess the impact of scale, color, lighting and acoustics for the design, among other things.

Branding your workspace is an important marketing strategy that breathes new life into your workplace, inspires employees, and makes an impression on customers.

To learn more visit www.creativebusinessinteriors. com and request an introductory meeting with one of our consultants.

biztimes.com / 35

SPONSORED CONTENT

INSIDE THE INDUSTRY

SPONSORED CONTENT

FINANCIAL PLANNING

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Myklebust, Horne, & Fies Financial Group

Front Row (Left to Right): Angela Kjorlien, Katie Ryan Pluer, Donna Siegworth, Maria Roloff, Kelly Rushman Middle Row (Left to Right): Mary Jo Otto, Heather Gorichanaz, David Horne, Matt Totsky, Kim Kaschak Back Row (Left to Right): Ryan Augustine, Hans Myklebust, Barry Fies, Christie Horne

AS A PREMIER WEALTH MANAGEMENT PRACTICE, Myklebust, Horne, & Fies Financial Group goes beyond just helping you manage your investments. Through their comprehensive planning, these advisors serve as guides for their clients as they begin to unwind their hard-earned retirement savings. They have found over the years that most advisors are good at growing funds for their clients. However, when it comes to the time in

their clients’ lives where they are utilizing those funds in lieu of a paycheck, there are many more areas to consider. They will assess the following to help clients develop an effective distribution strategy: • Retirement income and distribution planning • Social security analysis • Tax efficiency concepts • Roth conversion strategies

• Strategic investing • Insurance planning • Legacy and estate planning Myklebust, Horne, & Fies Financial Group are true partners in their clients’ financial success. The level of care and the services they provide leave their clients feeling secure and ready for the future.

Plan today. Secure tomorrow.

Hans Myklebust, Barry Fies, David Horne and Maria Roloff use Myklebust, Horne & Fies Financial Group as a marketing name for doing business as representatives of Northwestern Mutual. Myklebust, Horne & Fies Financial Group is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, insurance agency or federal savings bank. Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI (NM) and its subsidiaries. Hans Myklebust, Barry Fies, David Horne and Maria Roloff are Insurance Agents of NM and Registered Representatives of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), a subsidiary of NM, registered investment adviser, broker-dealer and member FINRA and SIPC.

36 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

Strategies INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Dealing with the cost of tariffs OVER THE PAST three quarters, rising costs for labor, capital and the impact of tariffs have curtailed growth for small and midsize businesses in Wisconsin and across the nation.

A major factor of slower growth is the immediate impact tariffs have on the costs of raw materials, packaging and goods. Small and midsize businesses have less negotiating leverage than larger companies.

In the Q3 2018 Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey, 52 percent of CEOs said the tariffs that took effect last year have hurt them. The findings also showed that the manufacturing, wholesale trade and construction industries have been hardest hit by tariffs.

In the same survey, 63 percent of Wisconsin CEOs said they were strongly or moderately affected, 11 points higher than the national average. This increase is likely driven by the fact that the majority of survey respondents from Wisconsin were from those industries hit hardest.

Our research also showed that 59 percent of Wisconsin CEOs plan price increases in the next 12 months. To better understand what small and midsize businesses are doing to mitigate cost increases, I spoke with three Vistage members who shared tips to consider if you’re managing the impact of tariffs on your business.

BE TRANSPARENT »» Arm your customers with the right information. Skolnik Industries, a Chicago-based manufacturer of steel drums, has backed up its price increases with news and data about the rising cost

of steel. Each week, the company sends customers a list of steel prices published in CRU, the leading steel benchmark in the U.S. market, as well as articles about tariffs from reputable publications such as the Wall Street Journal. »» Be forthcoming with what’s happening – and why. i2 Construction in Denver tries to serve as a trusted advisor to its customers, and that means being upfront about issues like price increases. Talking about higher prices has helped the company build better relationships with clients. »» Don’t take advantage of the situation.

River of Goods, a custom home décor products and furnishings chain and Terrybear Urns & Memorials, both based in St. Paul, Minnesota, have made sure that any proposed price increases have been reasonable and fair to their distributors. »» Raise your prices gradually. Out of consideration for customers, Skolnik Industries has raised prices incrementally over five months, hoping that this will make it easier for clients to adjust to higher costs.

PLAN TO NEGOTIATE »» Treat each case individually. Even though every customer was expected to share the price increase, River of Goods has tried to approach each customer individually and developed specific programs to address the needs of each. »» Negotiate on issues besides price. One of i2 Construction’s clients had a project increase by $35,000 almost overnight.

Instead of scrapping the job, i2 helped the client work with a millworker and an architect to find an alternative option that met the client’s budget. »» Know your limits. Of all the raw materials Skolnik Industries uses to create steel drums, 90 percent is American-made steel. Since last year, the price of that steel has increased about 25 percent, leaving the company with no option but

to pass on the price to customers.

REMAIN NIMBLE »» Make educated guesses. When it comes to stocking inventory for 2019, River of Goods and Terrybear Urns & Memorials are planning for the worst while hoping for the best. Depending on the product category, these companies are making inventory purchases based on the assumption that their sales will be equal to, or less than, sales in 2018. »» Create a buffer for a worst-case scenario.

In some cases, Skolinik Industries is receiving estimates from contractors that are only good for seven days. To cope with this uncertainty, it is building in a price buffer that serves as a safety net in case prices keep going up. »» Scrutinize your costs. While coping with the rising cost of steel, i2 Construction must deal with price increases across a range of other goods and services, from shrink wrap to freight shipping. To manage those increases, is is taking a critical eye to costs while being prudent with spending. n

JOE GALVIN Joe Galvin is chief research officer for Vistage Worldwide and can be reached at research@vistage.com. For more reports and insights, or to connect with a Vistage chair, visit vistage.com/research-center. biztimes.com / 37

Strategies LEADERSHIP

Leaders have problems, too Tips for overcoming common challenges

LEADERSHIP IS TOUGH. Stress is a common occurrence. We’ve heard many a leader say, “My job would be so easy if it weren’t for all of these employees.”

We observe leaders struggling with multiple issues. Below are some of the more common challenges, along with a few simple ideas to manage them.

Navigating friendships with former peers.

Making the leap from co-worker to leader is tough. It can be awkward. On Friday, you were one of the team, and on Monday, you’re the leader of the team. So, what can you do? 1. Share gratitude. This can be as simple as “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with all of you in this role.” 2. Ask. Meet with each person individually and ask, “What will be helpful for me to know as I make this shift toward being your leader?” “What do you want or need me to do in this role?” 3. You’re a member of the team.

At the same time, be careful about trying to be “one of the guys.”

Mindset. This is a tough one. Most leaders are high-performing individual contributors. It is often very difficult to abandon this definition of self. Leaders will look around at their employees and compare. “This person doesn’t do things the way I did;” “That person doesn’t do things as quickly as I did.” It’s easy to become frustrated.

Remember, as a leader, you are measured on a 38 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

different outcome. The shift is from your own productivity to your effectiveness in maximizing the productivity of others. It is necessary to shift away from a me-centered mindset.

Helping employees sort through conflict.

Conflict is an inevitable part of a work environment. For a whole host of reasons, employees struggle with their working relationships. Most leaders lack the skills to help, so we see them default to clichés. One of the most common ones we hear is, “You need to play nice on the playground.” This is code for, “I don’t know how to help you.” Working environments do not have to be perfect, and not everyone needs to like everyone. If the work is impacted, however, you will need to get involved. You can bring your two employees together and share something like, “I understand things are difficult, and because the work of the team is being impacted, we need to address the issue.” You can have an objective conversation, asking each person to share a couple of things about the other person: 1. What is this person doing that I appreciate or find helpful? 2. What is this person doing that is difficult for me? 3. What one or two things would I like this person to do differently? By giving each an opportunity to objectively share, the next step involves their response. What tweaks will each make to help improve a lessthan-ideal situation?

The need for empathy. Every day, someone will have something: A car breaks down, a child becomes sick, someone has used up all of his or her PTO by July, someone is experiencing a divorce, or your people are not getting along. You cannot turn a blind eye to these things. It is important to weave in an element of understanding of the challenge of the human existence.

While doing your job to hold people accountable, you can also communicate with a simple, “I’m sorry that has happened” or “That must be frustrating.”

The work! “I had no idea how much work was involved.” This is a common refrain. Leadership is tough. It’s not just the lines at your door; it’s all of the things you need to be doing to ensure your employees have clear roles, respon-

sibilities, goals and assignments. Your work involves paying attention, acknowledging work, providing feedback and having tough conversations – not to mention the unpredictable nature of the role. As an individual contributor, you are in total control of yourself, including your habits, your effectiveness, your reliability and your mood. Leadership of people is unpredictable: they quit, they don’t do what they say they’re going to do, they’re grumpy and they can bring drama. The solution starts with your own awareness that leadership is hard work.

Invest time to strengthen your capabilities.

With so many situations to grapple with, you likely will not have all of the answers. Develop a habit of asking for help. n

ALETA NORRIS Aleta Norris is a co-founding partner of Brookfield-based Living As A Leader, a leadership training, coaching and consulting firm. You may send questions to her at anorris@livingasaleader.com.

Tip Sheet Helping your employees address mental health issues AS MENTAL HEALTH continues to become an ever-important issue in today’s society, companies are faced with the challenge of creating a culture that supports its employees’ mental wellbeing.

According to a study recently conducted in the United Kingdom by global consulting firm Accenture, two-thirds of surveyed workers have experienced or are currently experiencing mental health challenges or have even had suicidal thoughts or feelings.

Barbara Harvey, managing director at Accenture Research, recently discussed the study’s findings, and their implications for the business world, in an article for the Harvard Business Review.

Based on the research, she suggests three ways companies can make more of an effort to show employees they care: Start the conversation Senior leaders are responsible for changing the narrative around “opening up” at work, Harvey says. Mixing personal issues with professional life has long been seen as taboo or as a sign of weakness, but leaders can change that notion by talking about their own experiences with mental

health and the company’s efforts to support its employees.

Provide training Companies can provide employees with tools to help raise awareness about mental health, including how to talk about the problem and what to do next. Classroom-based or online training courses, or webinars led by senior leaders, can teach employees how to recognize the warning signs of mental illness in themselves and in others.

Use online tools The internet is likely the most accessible method of seeking help for and information about mental health. Larger companies could create peer support tools, such as open forums for employees to post anonymously, Harvey said. Companies of smaller means could curate “a list of the most trusted publicly available sources and provide access to those sources where possible.” n

Thank You! To our sponsors, partners, attendees and winners of the 2018 Health Care Heroes Awards!

December’s Health Care Heroes awards program was a great success, honoring an array of very deserving winners who are making a positive difference in the local health care industry! Their accomplishments were celebrated at an awards breakfast emceed by Adrienne Pedersen, Co-Anchor at WISN 12 News This Morning, a media partner of BizTimes.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!

Read their stories online www.biztimes.com

Sponsor:

Event Partner:

Supporting:

Presented By:

biztimes.com / 39

Marketplace

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40 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

BizConnections NONPROFIT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM RECOGNIZES TOP DONORS The Milwaukee Art Museum has established a new giving level to recognize its top individual donors.

Founding members of the new “Visionaries” philanthropic group include John and Murph Burke, Lubar & Co. chairman Sheldon and Marianne Lubar, Quad/Graphics CEO Joel and Caran Quadracci, former Brewers owner and Major League Baseball commissioner Bud and Sue Selig and Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki and the Yabuki Family Foundation.

“This group is united by their generosity and their ability to see the potential in what they have helped build for the museum and the community,” said Marcelle

Polednik, Donna and Donald Baumgartner director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “We are grateful for their leadership, their support and their involvement in shaping the year, and the future of this museum. With their help, we truly will be able to take program excellence to new heights.”

Additional Visionaries members are expected to join the group in 2019.

The museum said its Visionaries support the institution’s overall artistic vision through annual sponsorship of the full year of exhibition programs, as well as connections between exhibitions and with the community.

— Lauren Anderson

nonprofit

SPOTLIGHT

FLIGHT FOR LIFE 2661 Aviation Road, Waukesha (414) 778-5427 | flightforlife.org

c alendar Menomonee Falls-based Team Bryce Foundation Inc. will host its Music Raising Hope fundraiser from 6 to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Anodyne Coffee, 224 W. Bruce St. in Milwaukee. The all-ages musical event and fundraiser will benefit metro Milwaukee charities focused on helping children with special needs. The event will feature live music from The Quilz, Road Crew and Without U2. Event donations are $15 for adults and $10 for children. More information is available at teambryce. foundation.

Real Estate Alliance for Charity will host its annual winter gala on Feb. 16 at Good City Commons on the Milwaukee Bucks’ Entertainment Block. REACH was established to raise funds for various Milwaukee organizations that focus on making the community a healthier, more vital place to live. Each year, REACH gives more than $37,500 in grants to local charities. Recipients in 2018 included College Possible, Playworks Wisconsin and Audio & Braille Literacy Enhancement.

D O N AT I O N R O U N D U P Milwaukee nonprofit organization TRUE Skool recently received $50,000 from the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation to commission hip-hop pioneers to mentor local youth in a new artistic production. | Chosen Inc., a Waukeshabased organization that promotes and educates about foster and adoptive parenting, raised more than $60,000 at its inaugural gala. | The Salvation Army of Milwaukee County received a $10,300 contribution from AT&T to support its emergency lodge shelter for people experiencing homelessness. | Wisconsin Veterans Network was recently awarded $150,000 in grants to continue its work of supporting the state’s most vulnerable veterans, including those experiencing homelessness, health crises or employment struggles. | A recent fundraising phone bank organized by WISN 12 and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin brought in $16,300 for education, research and amenities for local children.

Facebook: facebook.com/flightforlifetransportsystem Twitter: @flightforlife

Year founded: 1983 Mission statement: Flight For Life provides safe, high-quality, customer-oriented and efficient medical transportation, with a commitment to education.

Primary focus: Flight For Life wants to be the best part of your worst day. Flight For Life’s team of skilled critical care nurses, critical care paramedics and EMTs are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Whether providing care in ambulances or helicopter, Flight For Life believes everyone has a right to compassionate, dignified, highquality medical care.

Other focuses: Flight For Life is committed to education, working with hospitals, fire departments, emergency medical services, law enforcement officers and dispatch centers to improve the quality of care in the communities it serves.

The organization also recognizes the importance of preventing serious injuries, which prompted Flight For Life’s distracted driving campaign in 2016. Through the campaign, team members spoke to thousands of high school students, sharing firsthand experiences of dealing with

the aftermath of distracted driving.

Promoting safety at a national level within the air medical industry is also a focus of the organization.

The organization received the 2011 American Eurocopter Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award, an honor that recognizes a program that demonstrates a high level of commitment to safety, both internally and around the industry.

Employees at this location: 121 Executive leadership: Robert Simi, executive director, Milwaukee Regional Medical Center; Dan Burns, executive director, Flight For Life.

Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? No. Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: Businesses that have employee giving programs can designate Flight For Life as a recipient, and provide in-kind donations to support the organization’s projects. In addition, donations to the Barb A. Hess Memorial Fund, which provides support for additional FFL staff education that is not covered by the organization, are welcomed.

biztimes.com / 41

BizConnections PERSONNEL FILE ARCHITECTURE

BANKING

HGA, Milwaukee

Port Washington State Bank, Mequon

Allebach

Torine

HGA recently announced the promotions of Kevin Allebach, Mike Torine and Andrew Zimmer to vice president.

Zimmer Allebach is a principal and project manager directing work on education, corporate and cultural projects.

Torine is a senior project architect focusing on health care projects.

Zimmer is a principal working on health care projects.

BANKING

Old National Bank, Brookfield Cooper Wage was recently hired at Old National Bank as a commercial relationship manager in the commercial and industrial group. Wage partners with small- to medium-sized businesses in the greater Milwaukee area. He specializes in providing an advisory approach to his clients and has a background in credit structuring, underwriting and relationship management.

42 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

Port Washington State Bank has named Ron Knaus vice president and business development officer. He is a 30-year banking industry veteran and joined the bank in 2015. In this new role, Knaus will continue to assist with growing and maintaining relationships in Thiensville and now, Mequon.

LEASING and legislative matters. Taffora served on the transition team for Gov.-elect Tony Evers, and was previously a managing director at CSA Partners in Milwaukee, where he managed a venture capital fund for tech startups. He is the co-founder of Ward4, a coworking space in Milwaukee designed to encourage collaboration and innovation among the city’s entrepreneurial community.

LAW

Godfrey & Kahn S.C., Milwaukee

CONSTRUCTION

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

Michael Best Strategies, Milwaukee and Madison Michael Best Strategies recently hired Brian Taffora as a principal. He will provide strategic guidance to clients on a variety of public policy, government relations, regulatory

Steve Schaefer has been named president of Selig Leasing Co. He has more than 20 years of experience in the fleet management industry, as well as in sales management and manufacturing.

Schaefer graduated in 1991 from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s in advertising. He was also a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves for 12 years. He succeeds Sari Selig Kramer.

MECHANICS

Mortenson Co., Milwaukee Brian Tobiczyk has been promoted to market executive at Mortenson Co. He has more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

Tobiczyk has an executive master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from UW-Milwaukee.

Selig Leasing Co., West Allis

TOTAL Mechanical, Pewaukee Blinka

Braun

Godfrey & Kahn S.C. recently announced the election of both Dan Blinka and Shannon Braun to shareholder status. Blinka is a member of the Litigation Practice Group and the Government Investigations, White Collar & Compliance team in the firm’s Milwaukee office. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, government enforcement actions and internal investigations.

Braun is a member of the Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration Practice Group in the Milwaukee office. She works closely with her clients to help them achieve their financial goals while minimizing certain tax risks.

Lisa Streich was recently named president and chief operating officer of TOTAL Mechanical.

She has been with the company since 2002. Streich is a certified public accountant with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from Marquette University.

Streich succeeds Dennis Braun, who owned and operated the company since 1988.

MORTGAGE

Guaranteed Rate, Brookfield Peter Burgelis has been named vice president of mortgage lending for Guaranteed Rate. He is a longtime mortgage originator with 14 years of experience.

SBA LOANS: NOVEMBER 2018 The U.S. Small Business Administration approved the following loan guarantees in November: JEFFERSON COUNTY

Riverwalk of Waterloo LLC, 333 W. Madison St., Waterloo, $1.4 million, WBD Inc.; Y’s Way Inc., 500 Milford St., Watertown, $175,000, Bank of the West; KENOSHA COUNTY

Learn To Swim LLC, 6940 Green Bay Road, Kenosha, $50,000, The Huntington National Bank; Learn To Swim LLC, 6940 Green Bay Road, Kenosha, $1 million, The Huntington National Bank;

MILWAUKEE COUNTY

BMO Harris Bank;

RACINE COUNTY

WASHINGTON

187 East Becher LLC, 187 E. Becher St., Milwaukee, $1.4 million, WBD Inc.;

JBB Holding LLC, 1741 St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee, $3.2 million, The Huntington National Bank;

Anderson Trailers LLC, 4365 S. 27th St., Franksville, $113,300, Community State Bank;

COUNTY

Milwaukee Grocery Supplies LLC, 2816 W. Fond Du Lac Ave., Milwaukee, $534,000, CenTrust Bank;

Daisy 1 LLC, Parcels 11200720435 and 11, West Bend, $492,000, WBD Inc.;

Eagles Disposal Inc., 21107 Omega Circle, Franksville, $125,000, First Bank Financial Centre;

Kevin Breitzmann CPA LLC, W. 142 N. 10038 Sunburst Court, Germantown, $20,000, PNC Bank;

R&P Restaurants II LLC, 7600 W. Capitol Drive, Milwaukee, $250,000, Byline Bank;

Fuhrman Carls Insurance Agency Inc., 10503 Northwestern Ave., Franksville, $30,000, Community State Bank;

Kewaskum Foods LLC, 111118 Forest Ave., Kewaskum, $1.9 million, Byline Bank;

Accutrans Inc., 6134 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, $544,000, Harvest Small Business Finance LLC; Bachman Inc., 1741 St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee, $250,000, The Huntington National Bank; Barre District Kenosha LLC, 2121 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee, $83,000, Cornerstone Community Bank; Canary Coffee LLC, 720 N. Old World Third St., Milwaukee, $90,000, Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.; Gigaflight Connectivity Inc., 6180 Industrial Court, Greendale, $350,000, BMO Harris Bank; Hackettcraft Enterprises LLC, 6180 Industrial Court, Greendale, $631,600,

Seftar & Son Foods Inc., 7101 W. Lisbon Ave., Milwaukee, $43,400, Associated Bank;

Gallo Investments LLC., 3600 S. Memorial Drive, Racine, $2 million, Bank of the West;

The Soup Market Ltd., 2211 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee, $150,000, Independence Bank;

Woodwright Inc., 32767 45th St., Burlington, $125,000, JPMorgan Chase Bank;

OZAUKEE COUNTY

Home of the Novas LLC, 10433 Baehr Road, Mequon, $433,000, Byline Bank;

Computing Technology Solutions LLC, 435 Woodcrest Court, Brookfield, $151,500, JPMorgan Chase Bank; Crush LLC, S74 W16834 Janesville Road, Muskego, $125,000, Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.; Ove Water Services Inc., S53 W31165 Old Village Road, Mukwonago, $1.4 million, Byline Bank;

Lake States Vending Inc., N173 W21298 Northwest Passage, Jackson, $181,000, First Bank Financial Centre;

Ove Water Services Inc., S53 W31165 Old Village Road, Mukwonago, $2.4 million, Byline Bank;

Rockfield Short-Pour LLC, W172 N12882 W. Division Road, Germantown, $19,400, U.S. Bank;

Saheb Inc., W194 N5700 Deer Park Court, Menomonee Falls, $1.4 million, Waukesha State Bank;

WAUKESHA COUNTY

2nd Life Home Repair and Remodeling Service, 18480 W. National Ave., New Berlin, $190,100, Wells Fargo Bank;

STUFF Recruit tomorrow’s workforce Changing the image of careers in manufacturing and the skilled trades in Wisconsin.

Get involved with the 2019 editions:

A Better Me, N72 W13400 Lund Lane, #C, Menomonee Falls, $130,000, Town Bank;

Northeast Edition: Publishes February 2019

Tropical WI-1 LLC, 4820 S. Moorland Road, New

STUFF a guide to

A P R O D UC T O F

made and built in southeastern Wisconsin FALL 2018

COVER STORY page

16

Cool stuff made and built in southeastern Wisconsin

Cost of LIving page 26 Personal budgets and finding a salary that works for you

STUFF BLOWN UP pages 14 & 28

check out our PROFILES - pgs 42 -107 to learn about 33 career opportunities!

How did they build that?

Southeast Edition: Publishes August 2019

To reserve a profile, biztimes.com/stuff2019 Contact Linda Crawford today at advertise@biztimes.com or 414-336-7112 biztimes.com / 43

BizConnections VOLUME 24, NUMBER 19 | JAN 21, 2019

GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR

126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | advertising@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7100 | reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com MANAGING EDITOR Molly Dill molly.dill@biztimes.com REPORTER Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com

INTERN REPORTER Madison Goldbeck madison.goldbeck@biztimes.com

This photo, taken circa 1937, shows a Humane Society officer rescuing a kitten from a tree.

The Wisconsin Humane Society was founded in Milwaukee in 1879 by leaders including banker Samuel Marshall and Capt. Frederick Pabst. WHS is now the largest humane society in Wisconsin, with shelters in Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Racine counties.

— This photo is from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Photo Archives collection.

COMMENTARY

Reading the tea leaves AT THE START OF EACH YEAR, we take a comprehensive look at what lies ahead for the U.S. economy and the southeastern Wisconsin business community.

It is always an interesting, but challenging, exercise. Since we don’t have a crystal ball, who can say for certain what is going to happen in 2019?

After seeing several predictions for an economic slowdown this year, that became our theme for the 2019 economic trends report.

But then the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a surge in hiring, with the U.S. economy adding 312,000 jobs in Wisconsin, far more than expected. Data for job growth in October and November was revised upward, as well.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote the December jobs report “suggests the U.S. economy still has considerable forward momentum.”

However, several signs still point to slower economic growth in 2019 after a fairly robust 2018.

44 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

University of Wisconsin-Madison economists Junjie Guo and Noah Williams predicted that Wisconsin’s economy could lose 50,000 nonfarm jobs this year, which would be the largest decline since 2010. They predict the state’s unemployment rate will rise from 3 percent to 4.2 percent.

“We’re predicting a fairly large slowdown nationally, and so we see that reverberating throughout the state,” said Williams, director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy.

The Milwaukee-area manufacturing index continues to show growth, but in December it dipped to 52.87, its lowest level since December of 2016.

Wage growth in Wisconsin was strong in 2018, until it dipped sharply in October and November.

Milwaukee-area business leaders are less optimistic about 2019 than they were about 2018, according to the latest survey of Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce members. Of the MMAC members surveyed, 72 percent predict sales increases for their companies (the lowest level since 2013), 65 percent expect profit increases (the lowest level since 2016) and 63 percent expect to add more

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE David Pinkus david.pinkus@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com INSIDE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Amanda Bruening amanda.bruening@biztimes.com SALES INTERN Tess Romans tess.romans@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION

REPORTER Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com

Kitten rescue

DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com

Independent & Locally Owned

ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

— Founded 1995 —

employees (the lowest level since 2017).

“Business optimism in the metro Milwaukee area has trended mostly downward in recent quarters,” said Bret Mayborne, the MMAC’s economic research director.

The U.S. economy is showing signs of weakening, according to a fourth quarter market review from Madison-based First Business Financial Services Inc. “The economic expansion will likely continue into 2019 at a slow and steady pace,” the report says. “At almost 10 years old, this is the second-longest expansion since 1900.

Although growth accelerated meaningfully in 2018 on the wings of fiscal stimulus and an improving trade deficit, moving forward growth will moderate as weak productivity, labor force dynamics, waning trade numbers, fading trade stimulus, and higher interest rates slow it to 2 percent or less in 2019 and beyond.” n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR

P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland

AROUND TOWN #IamMKE networking Archna Sahay, Milwaukee tech hub consultant, recently hosted a networking event at NO Studios, 1037 W. McKinley Ave. in Milwaukee. Sahay is contracted by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Advocate Aurora Health Inc. to help guide Milwaukee’s efforts to become a tech hub.

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NICK GARTMANN of RokkinCat, MAGGIE FERNANDES of Girl Develop It and KATE POCIASK of Patron Sainte.

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ADAM GABORNITZ and ARCHNA SAHAY, both of Northwestern Mutual.

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QUENTIN ALLUMS of Urban Misfit Ventures and CHRISTINA HAIDEMENOS of Milwaukee Women’s Entrepreneurship Week.

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AMANDA DAERING of Newance and BRITTANY MALLAS of Quarles & Brady.

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JIM DONAHUE of Rising Tides Analytics and MOLLY SCHULD of Northwestern Mutual.

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IVAN RAHMAN of Northwestern Mutual, ANITA MOGAKA of The B.E.E. Narrative and GEORGE WALKER of Northwestern Mutual.

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ERIC DIDIER and CHARLOTTE STREATER of MKE Misfits.

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CHANDLER LUHOWSKYJ of MKE Misfits and TARIK MOODY of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee.

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LUKE REPETTI and LISA CAESAR of No Studios.

10. GRETCHEN MILLER of Northwestern Mutual and BREMA BREMA of MKE Misfits.

Photos by Molly Dill

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Key Industries for Wisconsin in 2019 and Beyond The Waukesha County Business Alliance recently hosted “Key Industries for Wisconsin in 2019 and Beyond” at the Ingleside Hotel. The event featured a panel of industry-leading experts who discussed Foxconn Technology Group’s impact on the region.

11. BRYAN BECKER of R&R Insurance Services Inc. and ROB DILLON of BAYCOM.

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12. WERNER HOLENTUNDER of Berghammer Construction Corp. and CHUCK WICHGERS of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

13. BOB FREESE of Schenck SC and JILL BOYLE of Sikich LLP. 14. GUS HERNANDEZ of Johnson Financial Group and JIM WAGNER of Sikich LLP. 15. SANDY WYSOCKI, MICHELLE FARETTA of Gross Automation LLC and ANN BARRY HANNEMAN of von Briesen & Roper.

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16. CRAIG CERBINS of Wintrust Commercial Banking and SUSAN BALL of Schenck.

Photos by Lauren Anderson biztimes.com / 45

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

BizConnections

5 MINUTES WITH…

DANIEL BADER

President and chief executive officer, Bader Philanthropies BADER PHILANTHROPIES INC. has now settled in to its new headquarters in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood. In July 2018, the foundation moved from its former location in the Historic Third Ward to a renovated, once vacant building at 3318 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on the city’s north side. Foundation leaders have said the move allows it to embed itself in a community it supports.

In a recent interview with BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Lauren Anderson, Daniel Bader discussed the foundation’s move to the central city.

CONNECTING WITH THE NEIGHBORS “We’ve had somewhere around 15 (neighborhood open houses) called ‘Chats with Bader’ since we first announced the project in 2016. It’s open to anyone from the community. It’s given us more direct contact with citizens. It gives us a chance to talk about life, what it’s like to live in the inner city, what the challenges are and what the positives are. It paints a different, more realistic and more personalized picture for us of what life is like.

It makes us a better organization and better grant-maker.”

THE TRANSITION “Being there has been transformational for us and has worked out positively for us in every way. There is a tremendous benefit for the type of work we do to be part of the neighborhood. We’re a grant-maker that gives grants to nonprofit organizations, and being part of the neighborhood helps us to be informed by those who live in the community. Another aspect is that we designed a building that we wanted. We now have great convening and conferencing facilities. It helps bring people to us and interact with nonprofit groups. We have meetings virtually every day with nonprofit organizations.”

SENDING A MESSAGE TO MILWAUKEE “The message to our neighbors is that we believe in them. We believe in the community. We’re here as a partner and we’re open to discussion. We want to learn. The message to other businesses that are thinking about moving to the central city – whether it’s a nonprofit like ourselves or a for-profit – is: Don’t be afraid. There is nothing scary about being in the central city. It’s a different environment than downtown and the suburbs, but we love being there. It’s been a great experience for us.”

46 / BizTimes Milwaukee JANUARY 21, 2019

WHAT’S NEXT “We’re going to be undergoing development (on the former bank building located to the north of the new headquarters) starting in the spring. We’ll be announcing that project then.” n

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