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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 23, Number 25, March 19, 2018 – April 1, 2018. 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

6 Leading Edge 6 NOW BY THE NUMBERS 7 ON THE JOB WITH… 8 GETTING THERE 9 QUOTE/UNQUOTE 10 BIZ TRAVELER 11 THE PUBLIC RECORD 12 JUMP START 13 IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD BIZ POLL

18 News 18 PHYSICIAN TO HELP KAHLER SLATER DESIGN FOR HEALTH CARE’S FUTURE. 20 MADE IN MILWAUKEE

22 Real Estate 38 Strategies 38 CULTURE Phil Hauck 39 MANAGEMENT Susan Wehrley 40 A BRIEF CASE

COVER STORY

10 years later, it’s still

42 Biz Connections

MillerCoors time in Milwaukee

Special Report

34 Mergers & Acquisitions Executives provide insight on how they integrated their companies and experts break down the process of selling your business.

42 NONPROFIT 43 PERSONNEL FILE 44 SBA LOANS 45 AROUND TOWN 46 GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 47 MY BEST ADVICE

W E ’ R E D E D I C AT E D TO

WISCONSIN

414-273-3507 | www.townbank.us

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Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us

NOW

Ridley unveils plans for creative arts hub in The Brewery By Lauren Anderson, staff writer

BY THE NUMBERS Quad/Graphics Inc. plans to use the benefits of federal tax reform to give eligible employees

22 MILLION $

in company stock. 6 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

Filmmaker and Milwaukee native John Ridley unveiled plans recently for No Studios, a creative arts hub planned for The Brewery complex in downtown Milwaukee. Ridley, whose work includes the Academy Award-winning film “12 Years a Slave,” is spearheading the effort to redevelop the 40,000-square-foot building at 1037 W. McKinley Ave. into a space that’s dedicated to the creation and presentation of art. The hub will offer long-term and short-term office space for individuals, organizations and companies in creative fields. It will also include a 50-seat screening room, food and beverage services, galleries and a rooftop event space. No Studios will open in September with a weekend of programs, including film screenings and discussions, dance and music performances, readings, and art exhibitions. Lisa Caesar, Ridley’s sister who has worked with him on the project, in November announced the hub’s tenants, including Milwaukee Film, Milwaukee Filmmaker Alliance, 371 Productions, Custom Reality Services and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film

program. Marquette University has also signed on as a tenant, organizers announced this month. Milwaukee Film will occupy an entire floor in the building and is slated to move in this spring. UWM’s film, video, animation and new genres department will occupy nine rooms on the building’s third floor, with plans to move the UWM film professional practice program, internship program and documentary media center, doc|UWM, from the Peck School of the Arts building at 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd. to the new hub. Ridley stressed that No Studios is designed as a for-profit venture. “We are for-profit because we do not want to try to intrude on the space of all the not-for-profits who are writing grants, who are looking for funds, who are doing such good work and are embedded here,” Ridley said. He said the name for No Studios was inspired by the obstacles that artists often face in their creative pursuits, as well the Japanese word “no,” which means skill, talent and artistic endeavor. “‘No’ is a word that all of us hear too much in life,” Ridley said. “And I think art, in particular, is forged against the word ‘no.’” n

Harley-Davidson Museum

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

ON THE JOB WITH…

By Corrinne Hess, staff writer For the past decade, Milwaukee’s Harley-Davidson Museum has given motorcycle enthusiasts and novices an in-depth look at the iconic brand and its unique culture. With special exhibits ranging from drag racing to Evel Knievel, and the permanent collection featuring the world’s last remaining 1909 Harley-Davidson and the bike that Elvis Presley bought in the early 1950s before signing his first record deal with Sun Records, the museum offers something for everyone. Behind the scenes, a team of curators and historians keep the bikes and accompanying archives

fully restored. They also collaborate with Harley-Davidson Inc.’s corporate office. Sometimes, the bikes are used for photo shoots. Other times, engineers working on the Harleys of tomorrow look back at the engines of yesterday to see what worked, or what didn’t. Over the next several months, the crew at the Harley Museum will be subtly transforming the exhibits to give guests a new experience as the museum celebrates its 10th anniversary this summer and Harley-Davidson Inc. celebrates its 115th anniversary over Labor Day weekend. n

Bill Rodencal, lead museum restorer/conservator, replaces the fender strut on the world’s only 1909 Harley.

Rodencal uses a forklift to remove a bike from storage. Harleys are rotated in and out of the public collection.

Rodencal fits an armature on a 300-pound engine that will eventually be hung on a museum wall for public display.

Jeff Mitchell, exhibits technician, secures engine mounts for an upcoming exhibit.

Leigh Albritton, registrar, measures a blueprint for a 1941 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead engine that will be profiled.

Tim McCormick, communications projects manager, and Kristen Jones, curatorial and exhibits manager, look at X-rays from Evel Knievel. biztimes.com / 7

Leading Edge

GETTING

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“We are extremely community-focused here at Citizens, which I absolutely love. I’m really invested in the Mukwonago community, and in the larger Waukesha community. I love that community banks invest in the communities they directly serve.”

What’s next? “My intention is to stay at Citizens until I retire; I’ve found my happy place. I hope that we can continue to grow the bank and I really want to see the bank reach out even more to the community and businesses in the area.”

In your free time? “I spend as much of my free time as I can with my husband and kids. As a family, we enjoy boating, fishing, baseball, tennis and music. On the rare moments I have to myself, I escape to my hammock with a cold beer and a good book.”

ABCD’S ANNUAL CELEBRATION Wednesday, May 30, 2018 | 5:30 p.m. InterContinental Milwaukee First Annual Melodie Wilson Oldenburg Visionary Award as well as Power of One-to-One Award will be presented For ticket, donation or sponsor information, please visit abcdmentor.org or call (414) 410-3211.

STEFANIE BONESTEEL Vice president of marketing CITIZENS BANK, MUKWONAGO AGE: 40 HOMETOWN: Wales EDUCATION: Bachelor’s in mass communication and economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee PREVIOUS POSITION: Assistant vice president of marketing

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“ QUOTE

unQUOTE

J O H N WAU P S H

”

C H I E F I N N O V AT I O N O F F I C E R , K A S A S A Marquette University’s commercial banking program recently held its inaugural conference, “Bankruption: How Community Banking Can Survive Fintech.” John Waupsh, chief innovation officer at Austin, Texas-based financial services company Kasasa Ltd. and author of “BANKruption,” gave the keynote presentation, which focused on fintech and the future of community banks. n

“Is fintech really doing anything at all? Are they really changing the game? Are people really interested in so-called ‘better banking?’ These fintech companies struggle because they don’t have some of the things community banks already have,” such as branch networks and account holders.

“You can serve everyone without targeting everyone. SoFi has done a tremendous job focusing on a segment—they went after Ivy League graduates, specifically millennials.”

“As an industry, we got super lucky, but that luck’s about to run out. Unfortunately, most community banks in our industry have been challenged by other things. But unless we make changes today, it’s going to come back and bite us.”

“Marketing is a data sport. There’s no more excuse in marketing, ‘Well, I don’t know what our ROI is.' You can’t overinvest in data. It’s important to invest too much in understanding your business and understanding where you’re going.”

“Is John going to make his third mortgage payment? Predictive analytics can tell you.”

“If you try to be everything to everyone, you’ll be nothing to no one. Yet every banking conference I go to talks about this idea of a universal banker. To expect a human to know everything about 50 products, or even 10 products, it’s crazy.”

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Leading Edge

@BIZTIMESMEDIA – Real-time news

B I Z T R AV E L E R :

SA N S E B A S T I Á N

JIM PAE TSCH Vice president for corporate relocation, expansion and attraction, Milwaukee 7

Jim Paetsch’s work with M7 takes him around the world in an effort to bring companies to Wisconsin. He first traveled to San Sebastián, Spain, while recruiting Ingeteam Inc., and has since returned several times. n

T R A N S P O R TAT I O N :

EQROY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

“You can’t get there directly … I typically will fly to Paris or Frankfurt, and then you can take a direct flight from there to Bilbao, and then you can get to San Sebastián.”

ACCO M M O DAT I O N S A N D F O O D :

E XC U R S I O N S: “It’s a city that’s fun to just walk around in. The old town … is certainly one of the highlights … but the shopping there is fantastic. There are a lot of cool shops that are unique to the Basque country. It’s a place of a lot of natural beauty that’s nearby, so you don’t have to go too far away from the water until you get into mountainous regions of Spain. You can drive for 20 minutes from San Sebastián and you’re in the mountains. It’s a fun place to drive because there’s a lot of curvy roads.”

T R AV E L T I P : “The red wines there are exceptional. They’ll tell you that their wine is better than the French but the French are better at marketing it. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but the wine is really, really good.”

10 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

“There’s a hotel that I like that’s called the Hotel Niza. It’s right on the water, family-owned place right in the city center. You think about small plate and tapas, in the Basque region it’s called pintxos. You just go from restaurant to restaurant, bar to bar, there’s always a show area for the food, and you walk up and you can grab whichever ones you want; you can have a beer, you can have a glass of wine, you stay for half an hour and then you move on to the next one, so socially, it’s one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had.”

THE

PUBLIC

RECORD Chase for Foxconn generated plenty of records By Arthur Thomas, staff writer IN EARLY MARCH, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. released thousands of pages of documents in response to open records requests prompted by Foxconn Technology Group’s decision to locate in the state. The records run from the first days of the Foxconn pursuit through just after the project was announced in late July. Details to emerge from the

thousands of pages include: • April 28: First White House meeting between Wisconsin and Foxconn officials. Gov. Walker Scott Walker was set to participate by phone until the state found out Foxconn chairman Terry

Gou was only attending meetings at which a state’s governor was physically Gou present. • $5.1 billion: The potential incentive Milwaukee 7 officials discussed as a frame of reference early on in the process in a memo that compared the Foxconn project to other mega projects. • $5.74 million: WEDC’s estimated value of media coverage of the Foxconn announcements on July 26 and 27. • $98 billion: The combined

annual revenue of WEC Energy Group Inc., Rockwell Automation Inc., Briggs & Stratton Corp., GE Healthcare, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Johnson Outdoors Inc., Johnson Controls International plc and Harley-Davidson Inc. Top executives of those companies were part of a July 10 dinner at Bacchus in downtown Milwaukee with Gou and other executives from the Taiwanese giant, which generated $135 billion in revenue in 2016. n

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biztimes.com / 11

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Connect

THE ANOKYE FOOD CO. LLC LOCATION: Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon FOUNDERS: Kwadwo Owusu-Ofori FOUNDED: 2012 PRODUCT: Vitamin-enriched coffee creamers and hot chocolate WEBSITE: satorifoodproject.com EMPLOYEES: 3

EXPERIENCE: Owusu-Ofori holds a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences and completed a Kauffman Foundation fellowship in lean startups. He is an adjunct professor in pharmaceutical sciences at Concordia and was previously operations manager at the City of Milwaukee Public Health Laboratory.

Anokye Food Co. following lean startup model By Molly Dill, staff writer

12 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

GOAL: Complete trials; get on retail shelves

Kwadwo Owusu-Ofori with the zebrafish at his lab.

WHILE HE WAS COMPLETING his post-doctorate work in pharmaceutical sciences, Kwadwo Owusu-Ofori became disillusioned with the pace and impact of academic research. “When it came to doing research, a lot of people at these universities do research, it just goes in a paper and sits there,” Owusu-Ofori said. “I thought to myself, ‘There could be a next step.’” So he wrote a business plan and completed a Kauffman Foundation Global Scholars fellowship focused on lean startup companies. The lean startup methodology involves quickly and cheaply building a company through iterative product development. As a result of the program, Owusu-Ofori launched his company, The Anokye Food Co. LLC, to tackle a big issue he saw impacting people across ages and socioeconomic classes: anxiety. In his pharmacy work, he had noted many people don’t want to take pills every day, so he created coffee creamers and hot chocolate enriched with vitamins to aid mental health. The vitamins include vitamin D, L-theanine and magnesium. “At least in the Western world, in America, a

lot of people are walking around with magnesium deficits, and that can cause anxiety and depression, as well,” Owusu-Ofori said. In 2015, Anokye started selling its Satori coffee creamers and hot chocolate on Etsy. Once the product was launched, Anokye began increasing its efficacy by studying Satori’s impact on users. Anecdotally, users have seen positive impacts on their mental health, he said. “We’re just putting forth the products based on the research that’s out there, but we also have to do our own research,” Owusu-Ofori said. “Instead of going from cells to mice to non-human primates and hundreds of millions of dollars, can we test something that’s safe? All the vitamins we use are generally regarded as safe by the FDA.” Owusu-Ofori and his team at Concordia are currently conducting two years of trials on zebrafish, because their biome and brain functions are considered a good model for human anxiety. Next, Anokye plans to apply for a Small Business Innovation Research grant. And the company hopes to get its product on retail store shelves, ideally in coffee shops. n

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD How did you decide to open the store? Stilling: “We loved the neighborhood – Moshe’s lived here all his life and is an important part of the community. I love the outdoors and selling quality specialty gear. The industry has changed over the past decades and we saw an opportunity to represent small, ethical, well-meaning companies.” YELLOW WOOD GEAR 401 E. Silver Spring Drive

How do you choose your vendors? Katz: “We work with companies that are sustainable, environmentally sound and have ideals that go beyond making

NEIGHBORHOOD: Whitefish Bay FOUNDED: 2015 OWNER: Moshe Katz and Marty Stilling EMPLOYEES: 7 PRODUCT: Outdoor gear and apparel

BIZ POLL

a buck. Most of the companies we deal with have some kind of a giveback program to the environment.” Why doesn’t Yellow Wood sell online? Katz: “While there are great companies that do online service exceptionally well, at the end of the day, how will you be able to tell if the shoe fits or not? Come in to our store and have a conversation. We offer human contact, something that can’t be achieved by an online service and will get you much better wear and service out of the product.”

Is your clientele made up of mostly extreme outdoor enthusiasts? Stilling: “No, not at all, and this shocked us a little bit. We have lots of dog walkers! And we don’t sell kids’ clothes or much to children, but kids love our store.” Katz: “We have those who are the weekend warriors, taking adventures to Iceland, Newfoundland, wherever in the world. We’ve also got people here on a regular basis. We’re here to make a difference in the community we live in.” n

A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.

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

Contact Linda Crawford today! Phone: 414.336.7112 Email: advertise@biztimes.com biztimes.com / 13

SPONSORED CONTENT

IT’S 2018 –

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

MARCH IS NATIONAL COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH – a unique opportunity to bring more attention to a cancer that can be prevented. The American Cancer Society reminds those 50 and older that one of the most important steps they can take is to be screened for the disease. It’s a message that seems to be resonating in communities across the U.S. since the American Cancer Society, the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a multi-year effort to increase colorectal cancer screening rates to 80% by 2018 among adults 50 years and older. When the 80% by 2018 campaign was introduced in 2014, screening rates had plateaued. Today, they’re on the rise! The increase in screening rates between 2013 and 2015 alone translates to an additional 3.7 million adults screened. In Wisconsin, we’re seeing positive results as well, including among the medically underserved population. At more than 15 community health centers across Wisconsin, from 2013-20161, colorectal cancer screening rates have increased

from 30%2 to 40.3%. But now that we’ve reached 2018, some want to know: where do we go from here? Many of our partners say they’re just hitting their stride, and we always knew our efforts would extend beyond 2018. According to Dr. Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer at the American Cancer Society, “We remain more committed than ever to doing what it takes to achieve an 80% colorectal cancer screening

rate. We intend to transition to a new campaign that continues to build on the incredible work and increased know-how to save lives from this disease.” Further, we’ll continue working with a sense of urgency through 2018, so we can look back with pride on what we accomplished. To learn more about how your company can join us, visit the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable’s website at nccrt.org/ what-we-do/80-percent-by-2018.

By the time you see the signs, it might be too late. If you’re over 50, learn more about colon cancer and how you can prevent it with a life-saving colonoscopy at wigia.com

16 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

1 HTTPS://BPHC.HRSA.GOV/UDS/DATACENTER.ASPX?YEAR=2016&STATE=WI 2 COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING, WI FQHCS: 2012 - 34.3%; 2013-30.0%; 2014-34.5%; 2015-39.8%; 2016-40.3% CHART SOURCE: HEALTH RESOURCES & SERVICE ADMINISTRATION (HRSA)

Getting a colon cancer screening isn’t a big deal. Not getting one is. If you’re 50 or older, a simple screening can help prevent colon cancer. What are you waiting for? Talk to your doctor right now. A colonoscopy is the first step. Screening detects polyps, which can be removed on the spot – before they turn into cancer. In case something more serious is found, where you go for treatment matters. Our teams of highly trained colorectal cancer specialists help you determine which options are right for you, like minimally invasive treatments and combination therapies that preserve your quality of life. That’s the difference academic medicine can make.

For a doctor near you, call 1-800-DOCTORS.

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BizNews

CREDIT: KAHLER SLATER

FEATURE STORY

Dr. Manuel Hernandez

Practicing physician hired to help Kahler Slater design for health care’s future

By Lauren Anderson, staff writer

DR. MANUEL HERNANDEZ, an emergency physician and health care executive, wanted to have a bigger impact on his industry so he added another job to his resume – designer and innovation strategist. That career pivot isn’t so unusual. What is: Hernandez kept his day job, too. Hernandez recently joined Milwaukee-based architecture and design firm Kahler Slater Inc., putting all of those credentials to work as principal of strategic innovation and co-practice leader of the health care team, while remaining a clinically active physician. As one of very few to maintain those roles in tandem, Hernandez

sees his position as doctor-and-designer giving him unique insight into the patient experience. “I’m living the challenges that Kahler Slater’s clients are facing every day,” he said. “Every day that I step into the emergency department to take care of patients, I’m dealing with the challenges of the U.S. health care system. I’m dealing with the expectations of our patients with respect to not only quality, but also efficiency, service excellence, cost and price. I’m dealing with the challenges physicians are facing in terms of trying to deliver health care in the new environment. So it really gives me a strong leg up in terms of under-

standing the challenges. It enables me to work with clients and craft better solutions with them.” While Hernandez’s resume puts him in rare company, he said his professional journey has followed a logical path. He knew from a young age that he wanted to be a doctor. “I have always been excited about the prospect of helping people,” he said. After completing medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and his residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Hernandez realized he wanted to take on projects that were larger in scope. “I really wanted to impact health care at a system level and change the way we deliver health care and the way we think about health care,” he said. Hernandez returned to school to get his MBA at the University of California-Irvine, initially thinking he would pursue an administrative role in a health care system or consulting agency. After serving in those roles, Hernandez again was itching to make a bigger impact on the industry, finding it difficult to transform health care from within the system. “I was finding that the solutions we were trying to create, they just didn’t go far enough,” he said. “They didn’t push the envelope and ask, ‘How do we change these processes in a way that delivers value in a way that hasn’t been delivered before? How do we think outside of ourselves? How

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18 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

do we learn from other industries? How do we learn from the health systems of other countries?’” He found the answer to those questions by pivoting his career into the design industry. Hernandez joined New Yorkbased architectural firm CannonDesign, where he provided insight on health care strategy, operations, consumer experiences and facility solutions as a health market and advisory services leader. Simultaneously, he’s been an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and an attending physician at University of Florida Health in Jacksonville. This year, Hernandez will receive his master’s in strategic design and management from Parsons School of Design in New York City. Now at Kahler Slater, Hernandez will work with Al Krueger, vice president and co-practice leader of the firm’s health care team. “We’re really on a mission to understand the current state of turmoil that the health care industry is in and be on a path to design the future of health care,” Krueger said. “There are so many things that are broken today in the health care system, so by utilizing the power of design and expertise and industry knowledge, and in Manny’s case, his clinical expertise and his perspective on design, there is a boatload of knowledge that we’re going to leverage at the firm.” The other part of Hernandez’s role will be focusing on strategic

innovation at the company, crafting a plan for how Kahler Slater will keep up with a rapidly evolving architecture and design industry. “We’re not far off from the day when architecture is going to be assisted by artificial intelligence,” Hernandez said. “And we have to think very differently about what do we do as a business and how we deliver our product. That’s a lot of what I’ll be thinking about.” While technology and procedures have become more sophisticated and propelled the industry forward in recent decades, Hernandez said, the same strides have not been made in the area of design and processes. These days, Hernandez said, patients expect more out of their health care experience, having grown used to the conveniences of other industries, such as banking and retail. “There are a lot of convenienc-

es that people have now that they don’t see in health care,” he said. “We haven’t really taken the time to step back and look at things from a system level and say ‘What is it that our patients are defining as value?’ We often create solutions based on what we think our patients want and without a full understanding of what our patients actually truly value.” Hernandez points to previous design challenges he’s taken on. Working with Hamad Medical Corp. in Qatar, Hernandez led an effort to design an emergency department capable of seeing 550,000 patients annually – one of the largest facilities in the world. “We were designing an emergency room for volumes that didn’t exist anywhere else,” he said. “It forced us to rethink things. There would be times when people would be lined up out the door and around the building waiting to get checked in. So we

had to think very differently about how you design an arrival process and a facility when you can have a situation where literally a bus pulls up and 50 or 60 laborers step off a bus and come in for various types of treatment.” Adding layers of challenge was the fact that the emergency department served patients from 127 countries with different cultural customs that influenced the way they received care. “We had to understand that we were also not dealing with an emergency department that functions like a North American emergency department,” he said. “There were aspects that functioned more like an Australian health care system, and others that functioned much more like a British system, some much more like an Indian health care system. So we really had to spend a lot of time learning how the people that lived in that country

expected delivery differently.” Patients in the U.S., likewise, have varying expectations of their health care experience. And the challenge for designers, he said, is to stay ahead of the curve. “Right now, there are seven generations of patients receiving health care in the American health care system,” Hernandez said. “Our oldest generation of patients was born before penicillin was discovered. Our youngest are being born at a time when we can pretty much conduct all the business of our lives from a handheld device. Their future holds cures for cancer, cures for diseases that we may not have even discovered yet. Every new generation that comes is going to have a very different set of experiences and expectations with regards to how they want to interact with the health care system. We have to meet all these people where they are – not where we are.” n

biztimes.com / 19

BizNews

3D Molecular Designs builds a business on science THE ADVENT of lower-cost 3D printers in recent years has led to plenty of predictions about growth opportunities for businesses using additive manufacturing, but a family business based at Milwaukee School of Engineering has been steadily building a business with the technology for nearly two decades. Tim Herman started Milwaukee-based 3D Molecular Designs LLC in 1999 after joining MSOE to start the Center for BioMolecular Modeling. The company has grown to about $1.6 million in annual revenue and has yet to take a loan, supporting operations through internal investments and $1.9 million in National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research grants. Herman started his career as a faculty member at the Medical College of Wisconsin and began collaborating with MSOE researchers in the 1990s. They developed a model of the green fluorescent protein, took it to a conference and found researchers were more excited about the model than they were. “That’s what really convinced me that there was something valuable here,” Herman said. Today, the company has two main business lines. It makes custom models of cutting-edge proteins and other molecular structures for researchers, including five models recently for a traveling Nobel Museum exhibit. The other half of the business makes kits and models for educational settings. The original plan was to focus on custom models for researchers and do some work for teachers, but the education side has grown to as much as 90 percent of 20 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

the business. Making custom models still remains an important part of 3D Molecular, Herman said, pointing out that it gives the company a chance to work with cutting-edge researchers and help them make their science more accessible. “That’s really the power of these physical tools,” said Heather Ryan, director of operations. “It allows the expert to communicate what they’re doing with the novice.” The educational kits 3D Molecular makes range from water molecules to amino acids to DNA strands. The company has been able to build a national reputation with teachers through science education conferences, having the kits included in programs like Project Lead The Way and conducting years of field trials before taking products to market. “We’re trying to make the most accurate model we can that will convey important concepts at the most affordable price,” said Diane Herman, Tim’s wife and a partner and vice president in the company. Most of 3D Molecular Designs’ products – about 50 to 60 percent – are made through injection molding, either in-house or through outside vendors. Another 15 percent of the products are made with 3D printing, while foam and poster products make up the rest. The company has 10 full-time staffers and hires up to 35 MSOE students for part-time work each year to help with assembly and production. Since 2010, 3D Molecular has operated from about 4,000 square feet of leased space in the school’s campus center, but the plan is to move to a

Heather Ryan with Tim and Diane Herman and examples of 3D-printed models.

3D MOLECULAR DESIGNS LLC 1050 N. Market St., Suite CC130A, Milwaukee

INDUSTRY: Scientific models EMPLOYEES: 10 full-time, up to 35 part-time 3dmoleculardesigns.com

larger facility later this year to accommodate growth. Ryan, who is also Tim and Diane’s daughter, said the company plans to move into a roughly 12,000-squarefoot space and has a couple of locations identified. She said the goal is to stay in close proximity to MSOE to continue working with students. “Their availability matches up very well with the demand from our customers,” she said, noting the company ran three shifts of students working full-time over the summer ahead of the start of the school year and can offer flexible hours during the school year. The move will also allow 3D Molecular to add new injection molding equipment, a $300,000 investment partially funded by a crowdfunding campaign. The new equipment will allow the company to release a new dynamic DNA model that will allow students to untwist the double helix and separate pieces. Whether it’s the mass-produced products or the detailed custom models, the company isn’t concerned about the potential for falling 3D printer prices to lead to customers

making their own models. “The labor in designing the model and finishing the model is the biggest cost,” Diane said. The continuing evolution of the technology does present a challenge, however. “One of the most difficult things for us is to learn enough about the new technologies as they become available so that we can make good decisions … so that two or three years down the road we’ve invested in the right technology,” Tim said. n

ARTHUR THOMAS Reporter

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5 4500-4518 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood Property Owner: Winder Real Estate Development Inc., Blair Williams Tenant: Colectivo Coffee 22 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

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UGLY BUILDING: 6 4 0 E . P O L K S T., M I LWAU K E E

WEST BEND HEALTH CENTER Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin is planning to build a 100,000-square-foot health center to replace its existing facility in West Bend. Construction on the three-story building is scheduled to begin this summer, pending city approval, and it is scheduled to open in early 2020. The existing facility will remain operational while the new building is under construction. The center will be occupied by primary care physicians and other providers in family and internal medicine.

On the southernmost point of the Italian Community Center’s 15-acre property sits a one-story brick industrial building. The 68-year-old structure was once home to Liquid Carbonic Corp., according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. It would go unnoticed if not for the nearby South Gate to Henry W. Maier Festival Park, the site of Summerfest. The building, owned by the ICC, will look even more out of place when the Milwaukee Ballet builds its two-story educational and rehearsal facility in the southwest corner of the ICC lot. Milwaukee developer Peter Renner is also planning a 10-unit condo complex immediately west of the building. It’s unclear what the industrial building is used for, and members of the ICC could not be reached for comment.

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STORY COVER

10 years later it’s still

MILLERCOORS

TIME in Milwaukee

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer IT IS HARD TO GO ANYWHERE IN MILWAUKEE and not be reminded of the presence of

venture called MillerCoors LLC. Executives said the new company would keep a major

Miller beer. Look to the south while driving on I-94 and there’s Miller Park, look to the

presence in Milwaukee and Denver, but it would be hard not to worry when Chicago was

north and the Miller brewery stretches out of the Miller Valley. The neon lights in bar

picked as the headquarters over the two hometowns.

windows are more likely to be Miller Lite than Bud Light. The reminders are much more

“There certainly was trepidation because you didn’t know what was going to happen,” said

prevalent than the other beers in Milwaukee’s history. Sure, you can still find the names

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. “I think people thought, rightfully, there might be a pullback.”

Schlitz and Pabst around town, but not like Miller.

A decade after the formation of the MillerCoors joint venture, however, the Milwau-

It wasn’t that long ago it seemed Miller might go away, the same as the other brew-

kee Brewers still play in Miller Park, bands still rock the Miller Lite Oasis at Summerfest,

ing giants. Given the way corporate transactions often go, Milwaukee-area residents

the Bucks recently announced their new arena will have a Miller-themed bar, the Mil-

might have been excused if they were worried in 2007 when SABMiller plc and Mol-

waukee Theatre now carries the Miller High Life name and millions of barrels of beer are

son Coors Brewing Co. announced they would combine their U.S. operations in a joint

still brewed every year in the Miller Valley. biztimes.com / 25

JON ELLIOTT OF MKE DRONES LLC

STORY COVER

The Miller Valley brewery.

“As most corporate mergers go, the impact from MillerCoors here has exceeded our expectation,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. If anything, MillerCoors, which has about 1,400 employees in the city, has been stepping up its commitment to Milwaukee, investing $165 million into the Miller Valley brewery over the past five years, adding a Molson Coors business center and building a $50 million expansion at the 10th Street craft brewery. Tami Garrison, community affairs manager at MillerCoors, acknowledged some outside of the company saw the joint venture as a reason for hesitation, but to her there was excitement about the potential of the deal. She said the creation of her position, which focuses on the company’s relationship to the community, helped send a message about MillerCoors in Milwaukee. “I think that went a long ways to reinforcing what that commitment to Milwaukee was, and that commitment has not changed in that time 26 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

period,” she said. The joint venture has also created new opportunities. Before the formation of MillerCoors, Miller did not do internal United Way campaigns. When now-retired executive Tom Cardella co-chaired the United Way of Greater Milwaukee campaign in 2011, the company and its employees raised $700,000. Last year, MillerCoors raised $1.3 million for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, one of just 12 companies in the area to top $1 million, and doing so for its third straight year. “It’s been inspiring,” Garrison said of watching the company’s commitment to the organization grow. Nicole Angresano, vice president of community impact at United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, said even though Miller’s United Way involvement wasn’t what it is today “there was massive concern” about the community impact when the joint venture was announced. As MillerCoors’ relationship with the Milwaukee United Way has grown, the nonprofit has

reached out to its counterparts in Chicago and Denver to make sure all three organizations are meeting the company’s priorities in each city. Mimi Laflin, United Way GMWC senior account manager, added that MillerCoors executives like chief executive officer Gavin Hattersley and chief legal and corporate services officer Kelly Grebe have made sure the company remains involved. “They have really helped set the tone that United Way is a priority for them,” Laflin said. MillerCoors was also one of five anchor institutions involved in the founding of Near West Side Partners, a group dedicated to improving and attracting economic development to that part of the city. Keith Stanley, executive director of NWSP, said the company has been “offering an endless commitment to our community. “This global brand remains a leader in our local revitalization efforts,” he said.

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ARTHUR THOMAS

STORY COVER

CHANGING TASTE, DECLINING VOLUME But the past few years have not been all about an upward trend. MillerCoors – which was fully acquired by Molson Coors Brewing Co. in 2016 – has seen its overall volumes decline by 13 million barrels since 2008 as consumer tastes shift toward craft beer, wine and spirits. In 2012, beer made up 53 percent of the U.S. alcoholic beverage market. In 2016, beer was down to a 51 percent share and 28 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

Molson Coors said in its annual securities filing it expects the trend to continue in 2017 data. Within the beer market, Molson Coors has seen a steady drop in U.S. market share from 28 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2017. Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch InBev has seen its U.S. share fall from 47 to 43 percent over the same period. The simultaneous declines have resulted in Miller Lite passing Budweiser to become the No. 3 beer brand, with Coors Light No. 2 and Bud Light on top. Garrison said it is “no secret” volumes have been trending down, but she added MillerCoors’ employees take a lot of pride in what they produce and there’s a belief internally that the company can turn the tide. “None of us want to see the trends continue to decline,” she said. When the MillerCoors joint venture was created, the idea was that SABMiller and Molson Coors could combine their resources in the U.S. to be more competitive against Anheuser-Busch, which grew even larger when it agreed to be acquired by Belgian brewing giant InBev just after the MillerCoors joint venture started. The plan for the combination of Miller and Coors was to create a company with a stronger brand

Scenes around the Miller Valley Complex in Milwaukee.

portfolio, able to optimize production, eliminate duplication of corporate and marketing services, and get beer to market more efficiently. “This deal will create a stronger U.S. brewer with the scale, operational efficiency and distribution platform to compete more effectively in the U.S. against large scale brewers, both domestic and global, craft brewers, and wine and spirits producers,” a 2007 securities filing said of the MillerCoors deal. Executives said the two brewers had complementary operations and that all six major Miller breweries, and the two major Coors breweries, were needed to make the deal work. But executives also said they could find $500 million in annual cost savings through the deal, with 46 percent coming from the U.S. supply chain, 39 percent from marketing and overhead expenses and 15 percent coming from brewing and packaging. By many measures, the joint venture has made MillerCoors more efficient. Net sales revenue – after generally trending upward during the first six years of the joint venture – has been down the past

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ARTHUR THOMAS

STORY COVER

FLAT IN ’18, GROWTH IN ’19?

three years as volumes continued to fall. But taking the volume decline into account, per-barrel net sales revenue is up 23 percent since the start of the joint venture. Take the cost of goods sold into account, too, and the positive trend continues, with gross profit margins improving from 38.2 percent in 2008 to 42.3 percent last year. The improvement equates to about $14.75 more in gross profit per barrel, or about 4.5 cents more per 12-ounce beer. Those improvements have come while the company has generally decreased spending on marketing, general and administrative costs from $2.08 billion at the start of the joint venture to $1.78 billion last year. As a percentage of net sales, those costs declined from nearly 28 percent in 2008 to a low of 22.3 percent in 2014. Costs were up in 2015, but they’ve trended back down to 23.7 percent of net sales in 2017. 30 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

Reducing costs and being more efficient is great, but at some point revenues and volumes need to grow. MillerCoors CEO Gavin Hattersley has laid out a plan to do that, aiming to be flat in 2018 and return to growth in 2019. To get to those goals, the company is trying to address offerings throughout its portfolio, from economy beers to premium, to above premium and craft offerings. The idea is to stabilize economy brands like Miller High Life, Keystone Light and Hamm’s, continue share growth made by premium beers like Coors Light and Miller Lite, and accelerate growth for above premium brands like Blue Moon and Leinenkugel’s. Reaching those goals requires a mix of pricing strategy, marketing investments and the introduction of new products. MillerCoors added Mexican import beer Sol last year through an agreement with Heineken N.V. to help round out its portfolio. It also introduced Arnold Palmer Spiked Half & Half, a hard iced tea/lemonade mix, to its above premium lineup and Two Hats, a light beer with subtle fruit flavors, as an entry point for new legal-age drinkers. The company plans to invest more into Blue Moon and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy – which had its best year in brand history in 2017. Those investments would include a 24-ounce can and a

MillerCoors is building a $50 million expansion at its 10th Street craft brewery in Milwaukee.

15-pack of Blue Moon. MillerCoors is also investing in its regional craft brands – Saint Archer Brewing Co., Terrapin Beer Co., Hop Valley Brewing Co. and Revolver Brewing LLC – by expanding them into new markets. The company acquired those brands in 2015 and 2016. Mark Hunter, president and CEO of Molson Coors, told analysts stabilizing volume is a strategic imperative, but broader circumstances in the beer industry may make it more difficult to reach the company’s goals. “We’re not chasing stabilization and growth at any cost, but growth in a measured and balanced way,” Hunter said during the company’s February earnings call. In a Feb. 15 research note, analysts from Barclays said the company’s initiatives “may present reason for optimism this year,” pointing specifically to the potential of smaller brand efforts like Arnold Palmer Spiked and Sol. “In fact, we think Arnold Palmer may be one key reason that management didn’t totally walk back from its seemingly very unlikely goal of achieving flat volume,” analysts wrote. Barclays also highlighted a planned update to

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STORY COVER the packaging and marketing for Coors Light, refocusing on the theme “most refreshing.” It wasn’t that long ago the Miller Lite brand was among the biggest challenges for MillerCoors, and while it continues to face headwinds, the company says the brand has gained market share for 13 straight quarters. Garrison said returning Miller Lite to its original white can and original logo is what helped the beer address its struggles. “People really responded to that,” she said, pointing to the brand passing Budweiser. “That, to us, was the endorsement.” As the flagship beer of the Miller half of MillerCoors, Miller Lite remains the top product coming out of the Milwaukee brewery. And MillerCoors beer remains a major part of Wisconsin’s beer production, combining with Chippewa Falls-based subsidiary Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. to account for 75 percent of the taxable barrels produced in the state last year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. MillerCoors produced 7.7 million taxable barrels and Leinenkugel added another 241,000 taxable barrels. MillerCoors’ volume in Wisconsin has also increased over the past three years, up 3.6 percent in 2016 and 1.3 percent in 2017.

MORE BEER, MORE INVESTMENT The joint venture and acquisition by Molson Coors has also meant the introduction of other brands into the Milwaukee brewery. In 2016, for example, the company spent $30 million to be able to accommodate the production of Blue Moon, including installing a new spice house. Other upgrades included equipment to handle yeasts for flavored malt beverages, along with new brewing, packing and bottling equipment. This spring, the company plans to relocate the Gettelman farmhouse across West State Street as part of a project to improve the logistics of the truck yard. The farmhouse dates back to the 1850s and was once the offices for A. Gettelman Brewing Co., which created the “Milwaukee’s Best” brand in 1895. Miller Brewing acquired the company in 1961 and the Gettelman plant closed in 1970. Other former Gettelman buildings are used for employee beer sales and an employee fitness center. MillerCoors originally sought to demolish the farmhouse, but decided on relocation as a compromise with the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. The company also brought forward a proposal to improve pedestrian and traffic safety along West State Street. The plan – which calls for going

from four to two lanes and installing medians – was approved by the Milwaukee Common Council in October. Closer to downtown, MillerCoors has also made an investment in its 10th Street brewery, which is one half of the inspiration for the name of the company’s Tenth and Blake craft beer division. Blake is a reference to the address of The Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field, where Blue Moon was developed. For years, the 10th Street brewery has given the Leinenkugel’s brand prominent visibility along I-43, but the brewery only had capacity for 25,000 barrels per year. The $50 million expansion, expected to be completed in June, will increase capacity to 250,000 barrels. The expansion project got another boost recently when MillerCoors announced it would close its Colfax, California cidery – which has 33 employees – and move production of Crispin Cider to Milwaukee. The 10th Street project was originally projected to create 65 new jobs, but the company expects that to grow with the addition of cider production. Milwaukee was also a beneficiary in 2015 of additional volume coming to the Miller Valley, when the company decided to close its Eden, North Carolina brewery, citing declining volumes and a distribution overlap with its Elkton, Virginia brewery. More recently, Milwaukee won out over Kentucky to be the site of a Molson Coors business center. The decision will keep 85 MillerCoors jobs in Milwaukee and add another 65 positions. Garrison

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said Milwaukee already has much of the needed infrastructure in place for the shared services center. “From a business perspective, it makes sense, and from a community perspective, it makes sense,” she said. Molson Coors will be making $600,000 in capital expenditures to establish the center in existing space and another $2.45 million on training. The center will provide support in finance, accounting, human resources and procurement for the company’s North American operations. Average wages range from $26.92 to $48.08 per hour and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is offering up to $2.45 million in tax credits and grants to support the project.

MAKING MILWAUKEE HOME Even though the decision to put the joint venture headquarters in Chicago meant the loss of some corporate jobs, Garrison said the company’s Milwaukee offices continue to have the same feel they did a decade ago. “This city and this community mean something to us,” she said. “Milwaukee has been a tremendous place for our company to grow.” Barrett says he is holding out hope the company might one day decide to return its headquarters to Milwaukee. “If they wanted to make that small itsy bitsy move from Chicago back to Milwaukee, our arms

are open,” he said. Barrett and Sheehy both suggested the company has gone beyond what it might be expected to do given its presence in the market. “They’ve been a model corporate citizen here,” Sheehy said. “I don’t think anybody here feels unloved by MillerCoors,” Barrett said.

Garrison pointed to MillerCoors’ First Choice Learning Center as something that brings people to Milwaukee for training, and added the company has remained committed to things like Holiday Lites in the Miller Valley, the UPAF Ride for the Arts and investing in the Milwaukee County parks. “I think we’ve proven that this is our hometown,” she said. “It will always be our hometown.” n

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biztimes.com / 33

Special Report M&A

The combined company kept the Healics name.

Navigating the integration After the deal is done, companies must mesh together By Molly Dill, staff writer WHEN HEALICS INC. and Interra Health Inc. decided to merge in March 2017, it was a combination of equals. Milwaukee-based Healics specialized in employer-sponsored health and wellness programs. Founded in 1985 as health and wellness software firm Health Steps, it had transformed over time and grown to about 100 employees nationwide. Patti Plough and Michael Naparalla had owned Healics since 2011. Brookfield-based Interra Health offers employers wellness programs and on-site and near-site clinics. It had about 100 employees across the country, as well. Derek Boyce and Ryan Sommers founded Interra in 2001 and originally provided workplace chiropractic and physical rehabilitation services. Both companies had shown their ability to adapt over time and refine their missions. All four owners planned to stay involved in the merged company. The trick was the integration: making the decisions on who would do what, where the company would be based, which name would be retained, how the cultures would mesh, and myriad other decisions that would guide the direction of the new entity. Tammie Miller, managing director at Milwaukee investment bank TKO Miller, works with business owners as they prepare to close on 34 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

mergers and acquisitions. When it comes to the integration, she said the first things to address from a culture standpoint are who is leading the organization and what it will be called. “It’s … unlikely that any transaction, especially a merger, is not going to have some component where ego plays a role,” Miller said. “The name, the leadership and all those kinds of things.” Larger firms often have in-house integration teams, and consultants sometimes assist smaller firms with the specifics of the integration, Miller said. The new entity took on the Healics name, and over the past year has worked to sew the companies together with Plough serving as chief executive officer of operations and Naparalla as CEO of sales and marketing. “If we said there were no challenges, we’d be lying,” Naparalla said. “Our number one struggle was trying to help the staff understand that this merger was a good thing.” “Anytime you’re bringing two companies together, going into this, you have to know that processes and protocols are different and you have to review and look at each one and pick the best practice,” Plough said. “There really hasn’t been any surprises that we didn’t anticipate.” The leader must communicate early and often with employees about how the merger

will impact them, Miller said. “Employees, when they hear news of a merger or acquisition, focus on a couple very specific things: one, they want to know that they have a job, so if there’s redundancy in an organization, they’re going to be nervous; they care about their pay, and they really care about their benefits,” Miller said. “I think the communication was key and communicating with the employees on a regular basis, making them feel as secure as we could possibly make them feel as we were working through the adjustments in the merger itself,” Plough said. There was some turnover, which was to be expected. The norm is about 33 percent, but Healics only experienced 17 percent, Plough said. “In that 17 percent that happened in the merger year, we also had people retiring, women…who quit to start their families,” Plough said. “In the exit interviews, we found out there was fear that their position was a duplication and so they wanted to secure a job in case theirs was the one that was let go. It was constant communication with our staff, letting them know each step of the way what we were working on.” Both Interra and Healics had about 11,000 square feet of office space housing about 40 employees at their headquarters – Interra at 1675 N. Barker Road in Brookfield and Healics at 8919 W. Heather Ave. in Milwaukee. They considered opening a new office or adding more floors to Healics’ office. One year in, they are undertaking an effort to move all the employees under one roof by combining Milwaukee operations at the Healics office to provide continuity and mesh their cultures. About half of the Brookfield staff has made the move, with the goal of having everyone in one place by the end of the first quarter. “We have gotten very creative with our workspace,” Plough said. “In addition, Healics is very open to employees working remotely. We just don’t want to jump into (expanding the building) right now before we settle in to our growth and our needs.” Healics now has about 600 corporate clients, including Blain’s Farm & Fleet and Trek Bicycle Corp., with about 200,000 participants. In some cases, both Healics and Interra had been working with a client so they could streamline those operations and offer the same services via one vendor. There’s also some opportunity for cross-selling the expanded services to each company’s client base. The portion of the integration that has yet to be completed is the merging of technologies, platforms, processes, policies and procedures, Plough said.

“It’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of details to consider and things have to be thought through and what affects each and every department before we can finalize,” she said. With the integration, Healics can offer its participants a portal that tracks their health and provides incentives for smoking cessation, hydration or other positive health steps. So far, Healics has seen 10 percent growth as a result of the combination, which brings primary care clinics in line with a wellness program, Naparalla said. Healics has added 29 new wellness clients since the merger. “We’ve got to provide not only electronic options, but we’ve also got to provide on-site options. What’s driving our growth is that we do offer that all in-house now,” Naparalla said. As a result of the growth and to prepare for its wellness usage spike in the fall, Healics plans to add 40 to 50 employees by August, Plough said. Overall, the integration has gone well, they said. “It’s been a very positive experience,” Plough said. “We had four CEOs coming together, down to a co-CEO run company, and

Specialists in Mergers and Acquisitions

All of the employees in Milwaukee are moving into Healics’ office at 8919 W. Heather Ave.

we couldn’t ask for a better partnership with all the partners involved.” A similar merger of equals that Miller advised on was the merger of Waukesha-based Safway Group Holding LLC and Kennesaw, Georgia-based Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services Inc. last year. The companies formed an integration team to combine the operations, and took a middle path on the

key facets. The company is now called BrandSafway, which gave equal weight to the previous names. The headquarters is in Georgia, a nod to Brand, while Safway president and CEO Bill Hayes runs the company, a nod to Safway. “For a merger to really yield results, you have to be open to taking ideas that aren’t yours, which is hard for a lot of people,” Miller said. n

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Special Report M&A

M&A Forum to break down the sale process By Molly Dill, staff writer TIM SULLIVAN has bought and sold companies of all sizes. As chairman and chief executive officer of South Milwaukee-based Bucyrus International Inc., he brokered the 2011 sale of the company to mining giant SULLIVAN Caterpillar Inc. for $8.6 billion. In December, Sullivan sold his 11-employee Brookfield software startup, GenAlpha Technologies LLC, to private equity firm Shore Points Capital in a much smaller deal. And in his current role as president and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based specialty vehicle manufacturer REV Group Inc., Sullivan has executed a number of bolt-on acquisitions, including Lance Camper Manufacturing Corp. in January. Sullivan will share the lessons he’s learned in his varied experience as the keynote speaker at the 2018 BizTimes M&A Forum on March 21. The goal of the transaction drives the whole process, he said. And the integration of the two companies is important to consider up front, as well. “It’s easy to go and buy something, but then to assimilate it and integrate it, if you’re unsuccessful in that aspect of the process, everything else means nothing; you’ve failed and you’re not going to get the returns,” Sullivan said. He will also walk through the process of completing an acquisition or divestiture, and key points to consider. “A lot of people tend to overthink it,”

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Sullivan said. “Usually, what you know already is going to be sufficient to help you understand what needs to be done through the acquisition process and then after the acquisition for integration and assimilation.” The M&A Forum will also include a pair of panel discussions. The first panel discussion, “Motivators for a business sale: Lessons learned,” will include panelists Lawrence Burnett, a shareholder with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., John Lauber, founder and former owner of LauberCFOs, Linda Mertz, CEO of Mertz Associates Inc. and Mike Graf, former owner of Letterhead Press Inc. The discussion will be moderated by Ann Hanna, managing director and owner of Taureau Group. Mertz sold a portion of her investment banking firm in 2011 to focus on her M&A strategic advisory work. “I think that one (motivator) that I personally would like to see people think of more frequently is thinking of life strategically,” Mertz said. “…If we look at life from the big picture perspective, what do we want to accomplish?” The most difficult part of selling, she said, was settling into her new role. “You know the changes are going to be significant, but you’re never sure how the change is going to settle in, and it’s stressful,” Mertz

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said. “You can have a plan, but I think that you need to have some flexibility in that.” Lauber, too, said he has been challenged by establishing himself in a new role after 30 years of running a business. He sold LauberCFOs for a variety of reasons. “I think some of that goes back to … my dad died of a heart attack when he was 42 years old. That kind of gave me an awareness of my own mortality. I’ve got a degenerative muscle disease, and again, while that did not drive the decision, it provides a context. I didn’t want to hang on and not be able to continue to do the things that had made the business successful,” Lauber said. In addition, the market conditions were right to sell. Once he had decided to sell, he just had to find the right buyer. “I just was looking for that right fit,” he said. “Someone that would have the same type of care and focus on employees and customers that I had.” He found that in Mark Wiesman and Julie Tolan, who bought the business in February 2017. Graf decided to sell Letterhead Press because he had been doing the same thing for 35 years and was ready for a change. “Not that I’m not extremely happy, I’m still running the same company, but I think in a few years, I’ll probably be doing something differ-

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ent,” he said. He advised business owners to consider all of their options, including ESOPs, and get ready for a lot of paperwork and due diligence. “Be prepared. That last three to six weeks can be a wild ride,” Graf said. The second panel discussion, “Recapitalize or sell? Know the benefits and pitfalls before deciding” will include panelists Jonathan Eder, co-owner of In-Place Machining Co.; Steve McGlothlin, executive vice president and chief credit officer of Old National Bank; Ron Beam, a former owner of Complete Office of Wisconsin Inc.; and Paul Sweeney, partner at PS Capital Partners. The discussion will be moderated by Molly Dill, managing editor of BizTimes Milwaukee. A top factor to consider when considering whether to sell is how much the business is worth, taking into account the industry’s current market conditions and expected conditions in five years, McGlothlin said. Often, the owner knows that best from experience in the field. “That first step is, ‘What range am I going to be in?’” he said. “A lot of businesses don’t know what they’re truly worth on the open market.” Then, consider all of the exit strategies, which range from recapitalization to an employee stock ownership plan to selling the whole company.

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“Obviously, the first thing you decide or evaluate is the offer itself,” said Ron Beam, who recently sold his share of Germantown-based Complete Office of Wisconsin to Office Depot Inc. “And the second thing is who it comes from. Most owners, I would think, care about the people that helped build their company and make sure the buyer’s not going to tear it up.” For Complete Office, recapitalization wasn’t a consideration because the company was well capitalized and was not on the market when a couple of offers came in. Complete Office, which had six shareholders with various ownership stakes at affiliated companies in the state of Washington and California, also made a number of acquisitions over the years, and Beam got a feel for what makes a good acquisition target. “You’re looking for a good name, good employees. You get a feel for that when you’re out competing every day. You kind of know who’s strong and who’s difficult to compete against,” he said. The thing Beam most wants other business owners to know is they need to have a plan for the company after they retire. “The number one thing that I see is a lack of clearly defined succession management,” McGlothlin said.

Eder sold In-Place to private equity firm Platte River Equity and then he reinvested some of the proceeds into the business. When considering whether to sell, he evaluated a number of factors: First, none of his children were interested in getting involved in the family business, so there was no family succession plan in the works. “A second factor was, I’m looking down the road three to five years,” Eder said. “I know for me, the decision to transition to a new career is not going to be today I own the business, tomorrow I’m retired.” He also wanted to decrease his administrative responsibilities significantly, and didn’t want to remain majority owner while someone else ran the company. “Before you sell your company, make sure you’re clear in your mind the reason,” Eder said. Sweeney agreed the business owner needs to set the parameters from the start. Whether he or she wants to stay actively involved in the business could guide the decision of whether to recapitalize or sell. Economic cycles also play a role in deciding which route to take. It’s good to look at the current market and anticipate what it might be like in five years. If the business owner is nearing retirement age, it may not make sense to wait through another economic downturn before selling, Sweeney said. On the other hand, if the business is doing well and the owner’s timeframe is flexible, it might make sense to pursue a recapitalization. “It would be that they have a lot of confidence in the business, but want to take some money off the table to diversify their investment portfolio,” Sweeney said. The M&A Forum will be held March 21 at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. It will also include three concurrent breakout sessions. More information is available at biztimes.com/maforum. n

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Strategies CULTURE

Your intentional culture How to ingrain it throughout the company

You may have heard lots of talk about intentional culture lately. That’s the list of 15 to 25 behaviors that drive success for an organization. It’s in addition to the five to eight behaviors that we refer to as core values. Most importantly, intentional culture also includes three or four things you do that set you apart from your competitors in the marketplace. If you’re thinking, “I can’t remember that many,” don’t worry. You don’t have to. They’re habits. They’re natural. And you’ll notice them mostly when you aren’t practicing them like you should. Most of my more than 35 TEC members have their lists of intentional culture behaviors in place now. But once the list of behaviors is set, the question members immediately ask is, “Now what?”

EMPLOYEES MUST PARTICIPATE Ingraining continual improvement means employees know they’re expected to participate in the success of the company. Include the behaviors in each person’s performance review. Discuss the topic with each employee at least twice a year. Develop your own rating technique. At some companies, the boss rates the employee. Other companies embed it every year into 360-degree feedback. That’s the process in which 38 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

employees receive confidential, anonymous feedback from managers, peers and direct reports. Obviously, when an employee falls short in one or more areas, you must deal with the problem immediately.

HOW TO KEEP IT TOP OF MIND Here’s how the process of intentional culture works and how to keep it top of mind among your employees. Each employee concentrates on one behavior for one week. The employee writes one or two paragraphs about why and how the behavior is meaningful. After those 15 to 25 weeks are completed, the sequence begins again with a senior member of management taking a week to write a paragraph, and then continuing until every employee has had a turn. Then it’s the CEO’s turn, and the sequence continues. The company publicizes the contributions to the entire workforce via emails, bulletin board postings, TV screens or other means.

MORE VISIBILITY TECHNIQUES TEC members are using many other techniques to stress the importance of these behaviors: • Require a new hire to sign a form listing the behaviors. That commits the employee to understanding and adhering to them. This becomes especially important in a discipline conversation. • Post an enlarged version of the list in the employee lunch area, and ask each employee to sign it. • Post a more permanent signboard in key areas where employees gather. This does not include the lobby, where customers and other outsiders can see it. • Create a “folded strip,” with each panel listing a behavior and its explanation, or simply a running list panel-by-panel. • Give employees a “flip deck” for desks, with

a card for each behavior and its explanation, that can be flipped over from one day to the next. Each card serves as a reminder. • Post a list of behaviors, and their explanation, on the TV screens used for communicating messages to employees. One TEC member has even placed banners in the production areas. • At the beginning of major meetings or shifts, have a quick discussion of the week’s behavior. Ask one or two employees to explain how they’ve seen it in action.

DOES ALL OF THIS WORK? Yes. Within two months, if not sooner, members are telling me that they get such feedback as “It’s great to really have a fix on what we do that’s most important,” and, “I feel more connected to the company now, more secure in what I’m doing.” If a company has remote offices, it’s become a major connector that strengthens commitment and focus. Even spouses have said they appreciate the reminders. Where are you at in this process? n

PHIL HAUCK Phil Hauck chairs three TEC CEO groups in northeastern Wisconsin. He can be reached at PHauck1@gmail.com.

Strategies MANAGEMENT

Empower your employees How to create a highperformance culture We’ve all heard the phrase, “Information is power.” There is a lot of truth to that statement when it comes to creating a high-performance culture. The problem is transparency of information takes trust. We often fear the ramifications of openness: Will someone share it inappropriately with others? Will they use the information for their own selfish gain? Will I somehow be hurt if I give up this information? While sharing information can be risky business, a culture without transparency makes it difficult for employees, and management, to make effective decisions. When employees feel empowered to make effective decisions in the moment of choice, you get a high-performing culture. This is in contrast to a culture in which employees put the monkey on their boss’ back because they fear making the wrong decision. There are some best practices to be considered when sharing information in a company. First, begin with a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis can be done online to engage employees and their input in what they believe are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business. It is advised to use an outside resource, such as BIZremedies.com, to conduct the SWOT analysis so employees can remain anonymous and therefore, give honest feedback. Collecting this information from employees will create a high-performing culture because employees will feel engaged in the business. Nothing makes an employee feel more motivat-

ed than asking his opinion or allowing her to be CEO for a day – telling someone all the changes they would make to improve the company. Often, leaders think the employees don’t know the business well enough to give educated feedback, but you would be surprised how they have secretly had a plan of action in their minds. A SWOT analysis gives the management team the information they need to succeed, as it can be filtered to specific departments and leaders, giving each area of the business suggestions for improving the upcoming year. Secondly, this information can be used to set goals, create initiatives and engage employees in action plans to overcome the weaknesses and threats management agrees must be addressed. This level of engagement creates a high-performing culture because action is translated to not only each department, but to each person’s job. This is done through a clearly defined action plan that addresses the area of the business each employee can improve to create a greater return on investment in the company goals. Third, it is important to measure progress on a regular basis. Feedback is a form of information and increases performance. Quarterly scorecards that give feedback to employees on their contribution to their job, as a team player and to the goals, help employees know how to get the ball in the net. Where employees are not performing, leaders can coach them by giving them more clear direction. Finally, in order to create a high-performing culture, a company must be willing to share more financial information so employees know how to make effective decisions that yield greater revenue and profit margins. To engage and educate employees in financial matters, leaders can ask their employees at each department level: “How might we contribute to the company’s growth and profit?” As financial information and ideas are shared at each department level, managers and

their employees will discover best practices that create an even greater positive financial impact. Creating a reward system that correlates financial success to specific best practices will create a culture of accountability and motivation that leads to high performance. Want a high-performing culture? In order to have a high-performing culture, we need to share the information needed to succeed. This begins with engaging employees in a SWOT analysis and gathering information on how they see the business from their vantage point. Then, taking this information and translating it to an action plan that is assigned to each department and individual so they know how to contribute to the goals. When we give regular feedback and measure progress, we can make the course corrections where needed, as well as recognize progress achieved. Sharing the financial scoreboard can help employees make decisions that create ROI and a high-performing culture. Challenge: Have you shared the information needed to create a high-performing culture? n

SUSAN WEHRLEY Susan Wehrley is the owner of BIZremedies.com, a consulting and coaching business that helps leaders improve their company culture. Learn more at www.BIZremedies.com or contact her at susan@BIZremedies.com or (262) 696-6856. biztimes.com / 39

Strategies A BRIEF CASE

How do I build customer loyalty? Ken Bockhorst Senior vice president and chief operating officer Badger Meter Inc. “At Badger Meter, we believe customer loyalty is directly tied to our history of innovation and our commitment to listening to our customers. As the oldest independent manufacturer of water metering solutions in the country, we strive to be on the forefront of new technologies that conserve and measure water, such as developing an app that allows customers to monitor their water usage and using cellular networks for meter reading. Our customers – water utilities and companies in diverse industries from oil and gas to aerospace – know they can count on us to deliver products and services that anticipate their changing needs. “This type of continuous innovation requires the best and brightest employees. We are engineers who creatively problem solve, manufacturing experts who put quality above all else and leaders who push our teams to take smart risks. Together, we’re laser-focused on ensuring the voice of our customers is reflected in everything we do. We regularly collect feedback via one-onone discussions, surveys, customer advisory councils and feedback cards shipped with our products. These insights are used to enhance our products and services to provide the best experience for all of our customers – whether they’ve been with us for days or decades.”

40 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

James Deppoleto Jr. President Quintec Integration Inc. “In our world of material handling, customer loyalty is at the core of what makes Quintec successful and sustainable. From Fortune 500 companies to small businesses across the country, we have earned loyalty by being consistent, dependable and exceeding expectations. “We treat every interaction with both new and previous customers as an opportunity to impress them. We respond promptly to quote and proposal requests, consistently work in the best interest of the customer (not our bank account) and ‘do what we say’…then, do more. This approach has led to our customers coming back time and time again. “We strive to always fully understand what our customer expectations are and then challenge our team to see how we can significantly exceed them. We practice this internally, peer-to-peer, and set the precedent that a competitive solution is not enough; we need to over-deliver. Consistently delivering these quintessential solutions on time has led to becoming a dependable and valuable resource for our customers. “We’ve become a no-brainer and as a result, every customer we have ever integrated a turnkey conveyor system with has returned to work with us again.”

Ethan Bach Managing partner, consulting Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP “There is nothing more crucial to the success of our business at Baker Tilly than building lasting and meaningful relationships with our clients. Our mission is to deliver a promise that starts and ends with a commitment to quality, a client-centric way of doing business and a real partnership with our clients. “The key to building lasting relationships with our clients begins with how we define a successful partnership. We strive to become valued business advisors for our clients. Our clients’ needs and their definition of satisfaction are the only things that matter. “Furthermore, all healthy client relationships have a foundation of trust. Our clients must never question our commitment to their success. Through our exceptional client service approach, we ensure our clients feel safe and trust our promise to deliver quality and produce results. “Additionally, client communication must always be a primary focus. Establishing regular and effective communication helps ensure we are continuously bringing our best ideas forward, meeting our goals, maintaining expectations and adapting to our clients’ needs. “I consider customer loyalty the best reward for a job well done. At Baker Tilly, our clients are our brand’s best advocates.” n

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BizConnections NONPROFIT RUNNING REBEL S GET $ 75 0 , 0 0 0 F R O M B R A D L E Y A N D B U R K E F O U N D AT I O N S Running Rebels Community Organization’s capital campaign to establish a second Milwaukee community center has received a $750,000 boost thanks to recent gifts from the Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation and the Burke Foundation. The Bradley Foundation’s $500,000 gift and the Burke Foundation’s $250,000 gift will support Running Rebels’ new community center at 225 W. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood, and help maintain services at its original center at 1300 W. Fond Du Lac Ave. Running Rebels, which provides after-school and summer educational programming for Milwaukee youth, is in the mid-

dle of a $4.1 million campaign to fund the purchase of the new building, make improvements to its Fond Du Lac Avenue building, create a reserve fund and provide additional program support. The organization purchased the building on West Capitol Drive in early 2017 with support from the Zilber Family Foundation and Chicago-based nonprofit facilities lender IFF. The new community center, called Running Rebels East, triples the organization’s space and includes a gym, cafeteria, catering kitchen, computer labs and offices for its 125-person staff. The organization serves about 1,500 youth annually. — Lauren Anderson

c alendar Gold in September will hold its 2018 Golden Celebration at 5:30 p.m. on April 24 at Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons, 800 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee. A culinary experience will be provided by James Beard Award-winning chefs Paul Bartolotta from The Bartolotta Restaurants and celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern, featured on the Travel Channel series “Bizarre Foods.” More information is available at goldinseptember.com/take-action/ 2018-golden-celebration. SHARP Literacy Inc. and McDonald’s will host “Unwrapped,” an evening of food and festivities, at 5:30 p.m. on May 17 at 838 S. Second St. in Milwaukee. Unwrapped will challenge area chefs to create unique dishes using McDonald’s ingredients, which guests will have the opportunity to sample. Proceeds will benefit SHARP.

D O N AT I O N R O U N D U P United Way of Washington County’s 2017 campaign brought in a record $1,550,326 to support local health and human services programs. | Pittsburgh-based PPG, which has an industrial coatings facility in Oak Creek, announced its foundation has invested more than $113,000 in 10 Milwaukee-area organizations to support educational and skill development programs. | The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Herzing University-Brookfield announced they will provide half-off tuition, up to $15,000, at Herzing University’s Brookfield campus for LGBT employees of Aurora Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin health network.

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10936 N. Port Washington Road, Suite 209, Mequon (262) 389-7627 | www.milwaukeewomeninc.org

Year founded: 2003 Mission statement: To achieve balanced representation of women on boards of directors to maximize performance of Wisconsin businesses. Primary focus: Providing resources, education, programs, outreach and advocacy to change the face and quality of leadership through the advancement of women on public and private company boards and in leadership positions. Other focuses: MWi educates business leaders and the broader community about the benefits and impact of women in leadership. Every year since its founding, MWi has conducted research and released an annual benchmarking report that documents the representation of women on boards of directors of Wisconsin’s top companies, and highlighted organizations that can serve as models in advancing diversity and inclusion. MWi also provides resources for companies looking to place women on their boards, as well as for women interested in serving on boards. Employees at this location: 1 Executive leadership: Jackie Mortenson, director of services Key donors: A.O. Smith Corp., Associated Banc-Corp, Badger Meter Inc., Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., BMO Harris Bank, Brewers Community Foundation, Deloitte, Enterforce Inc., Ernst & Young

LLP, FIS, Foley & Lardner LLP, Godfrey & Kahn S.C., Greater Milwaukee Committee, Johnson Controls International plc, KPMG, ManpowerGroup, The Marcus Corp., MGIC Investment Corp., Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Quarles & Brady LLP, Regal Beloit Corp., Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Rexnord Corp., Rockwell Automation Inc., U.S. Bancorp and We Energies Foundation. Board of directors: Sandy Wysocki, chair; Lindsay Hammerer, vice chair and chair-elect; Gail Hanson, treasurer; Mary Dowell, secretary; Phyllis King, immediate past chair; Ellen Bartel, member at large; Julie Granger, communications chair; Debbie Seeger, board resources chair; Lori Craig, fund development chair; Kim Stoll, governance and nominating chair; Pat Ackerman, programs chair; Janet Slater, research chair. Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? No. However, we do actively consider nominations for general membership. Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: Advocating for our mission, advancing diversity and inclusion within their organizations, financial support, and utilizing our resources to connect with qualified board candidates and/ or share open board positions through our network.

PERSONNEL FILE ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Boelter + Lincoln Communications, Milwaukee

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

LEGAL SERVICES

SENIOR LIVING

Horizon Retail Construction Inc., Sturtevant

Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee

Heritage Senior Living, West Allis

Boelter + Lincoln Communications has promoted Danielle Fuentes to senior account executive.

ARCHITECTURE

Kahler Slater, Milwaukee

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

Clark Dietz, Milwaukee Clark Dietz has hired Andrew Turnbull as director of power and energy engineering.

Kahler Slater has hired Manuel Hernandez as principal, strategic innovation/ co-practice leader for the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health care team.

BANKING & FINANCE

Foley & Lardner LLP has named Brett Belden partner.

Horizon Retail Construction Inc. has hired Sabrina Salazar as assistant project manager.

MANUFACTURING

SOCIAL SERVICES

Rexnord, Milwaukee

SaintA, Milwaukee

Rexnord has promoted Scott McDowell to vice president, sales and marketing for its Zurn business within the water management platform.

FUNERAL & CEMETERY

MANUFACTURING

The Tribute Cos., Hartland

W.M. Sprinkman Corp., Waukesha

BANKING & FINANCE

First Federal Bank of Wisconsin, Brookfield First Federal Bank of Wisconsin has hired Matthew Mancuso as vice president of commercial lending.

BANKING & FINANCE

Park Bank, Milwaukee Park Bank has hired Lynn Sigfred vice president of commercial banking.

SaintA has named Jody Pahlavan chief program officer for community services.

SOFTWARE

TechCanary, Milwaukee

W.M. Sprinkman Corp. has named Anne Slattery chief financial officer.

Citizens Bank, Mukwonago Citizens Bank has promoted Stefanie Bonesteel to vice president of marketing.

Heritage Senior Living has promoted Pierre Verger, vice president of operations, to chief operating officer.

Gosa

Lopez

Burr

The Tribute Cos. has hired Jason Gosa as regional sales representative and Linda Burr as general sales manager.

HUMAN RESOURCES

MRA-The Management Association, Waukesha MRA-The Management Association has hired Todd Rognsvoog as an HR business partner serving members in Wisconsin.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Creative Business Interiors, Milwaukee Creative Business Interiors has hired Mike Cherubini as director of construction services.

NONPROFIT

Artists Working in Education Inc., Milwaukee Artists Working in Education Inc. has named Jezamil Arroyo-Vega interim executive director.

RETIREMENT SERVICES

Luther Manor, Wauwatosa Luther Manor has named Jason Wilson director of operations.

Brown

TechCanary has hired Ricky Lopez as vice president of professional services and Bo Brown as chief operating officer of professional services.

STAFFING

Personnel Specialists Ltd., West Allis Personnel Specialists Ltd. has named Norm Keene president and chief operating officer.

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Stewart-Peterson, West Bend Stewart-Peterson has named Christian Walters as its next president.

biztimes.com / 43

BizConnections SBA LOANS The U.S. Small Business Administration approved the following loan guarantees in January: JEFFERSON COUNTY

Kandyman Can LLC, 212 W. Main St., Watertown, $180,000, Partnership Bank; Kandyman Can LLC, 212 W. Main St., Watertown, $15,000, Partnership Bank; Strong Automotive LLC, 1020 E. Main St., Watertown, $140,000, Waukesha State Bank; KENOSHA COUNTY

CNC Offroad LLC, 3803 60th Place, Kenosha, $105,000, Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.; Leeward Holdings Corp., 5455 Sheridan Road, Suite LL1, Kenosha, $186,000, Community State Bank; WD Industries LLC, 1616 27th Ave., Kenosha, $25,000, BMO Harris Bank;

MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Braatz Building Inc., 2010B W. Bender Road, Milwaukee, $75,000, Tri City National Bank; Brass Light Gallery Inc., 1101 W. St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee, $150,000, Cornerstone Community Bank; C Blu LLC, 2450 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., Milwaukee, $595,000, Byline Bank; Chapman Property Management Inc., 9306 W. Flagg Ave., Milwaukee, $944,500, Badger Bank; Chapman Property Management Inc., 9306 W. Flagg Ave., Milwaukee, $50,000, Badger Bank; Cross Management Services Inc., 1815 N. Fourth St., Milwaukee, $45,000, Associated Bank; Easy Living Senior Home LLC, 1904 N. 59th St., Milwaukee, $207,000, Summit Credit Union;

Greige LLC, $120,400, 408 W. Florida St., Milwaukee, WWBIC;

Veital Designs LLC, 330 E. Brown St., Milwaukee, $10,000, Associated Bank;

Hearts & Minds Childcare LLC, 8980 N. 85th St., Milwaukee, $776,000, Wells Fargo Bank;

Ziad Salameh LLC, 10501 W. Research Drive, Wauwatosa, $350,000, Wisconsin Bank & Trust;

HM-MKE LLC, 730 S. Fifth St., Milwaukee, $1.5 million, Byline Bank; Imagineered Ventures LLC, 3530 S. River Glen Lane, Apt. 7, Milwaukee, $50,000, JPMorgan Chase Bank; KRIKAR LLC, 1940 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee, $475,000, Byline Bank; Menet Aero Inc., 517 E. Otjen St., Milwaukee, $275,000, River Valley Bank; St. Martino’s Ltd., 1215 W. Layton Ave., Milwaukee, $47,200, Landmark Credit Union; Tu-Todos Unidos Agencia LLC, 4514 W. Forest Home Ave., Milwaukee, $50,000, PNC Bank;

OZAUKEE COUNTY

BDS Fastener & Supply LLC, 548 S. Park St., Port Washington, $655,000, Investors Community Bank; BHOD Investments LLC, 65 N640 Saint John Ave., Cedarburg, $689,000, U.S. Bank; Data Financial Inc., 1100 Glen Oaks Lane, Mequon, $2.3 million, Byline Bank; L & G Express Bar LLC, 50 N. W. 5586 Portland Road, Cedarburg, $25,000, U.S. Bank; Luis M Calix, 1303-1305 Wisconsin Ave., Grafton, $430,000, First Bank Financial Centre; SHEBOYGAN COUNTY

ADC Real Estate Investments LLC, 62 S. Pleasant View Road,

Plymouth, $319,000, WBD Inc.; Midstar Printing and Marketing Services LLC, 1209 Pilgrim Road, Plymouth, $57,900, Investors Community Bank; WALWORTH COUNTY

CMC Media LLC, 6534 State Road, Whitewater, $1.1 million, U.S. Bank; Hollywood Plumbing LLC, 6534 Hickory Road, Elkhorn, $90,000, The Huntington National Bank; PolyPail Inc., 1615 Grebby St., Delavan, $512,800, BMO Harris Bank; All Purpose Trucking LLC, W156 N10318 Pilgrim Road, Germantown, $70,000, WWBIC; Delta T Systems Inc., 2171 State Road 175, Richfield, $750,000, National Exchange Bank and Trust; Fischer Truck Service Inc., W175 N11117 Stonewood Drive, Germantown $2.4 million, Partnership Bank;

INNOVATE WISCONSIN

WAUKESHA COUNTY

Aeronauticas Design Inc., 333 Bishops Way, Suite 126, Brookfield, $148,500, JPMorgan Chase Bank; Christys Wolf Pack LLC, 2105 S. 170th St., New Berlin, $345,000, Waukesha State Bank; KR Starz Facilities LLC, W195 S6842 Racine Ave., Muskego, $1.4 million, U.S. Bank; LB4 Investments LLC, 13111 W. Silver Spring Drive, Butler, $873,000, WBD Inc.; Mathison Manufacturing Inc., W246 S3245 Industrial Lane, Waukesha, $537,000, Waukesha State Bank; Rev’s Pre-Cast Concrete Corp., 1410 Ellis St., Waukesha, $125,000, Independence Bank; SJK Enterprises LLC, 4235 N. 127th St., Brookfield, $251,000, WBD Inc.; Southeast Real Estate Group, 103 Lake St., Mukwonago, $150,000, National Exchange Bank and Trust.

PUBLICATION DATE

APR 30, 2018 RESERVATION DEADLINE

MAR 21, 2018

A NEW PUBLICATION FOCUSED ON THE LEADERS IN WISCONSIN INNOVATION. The new Innovate Wisconsin will showcase the state’s most innovative corporations, startups, entrepreneurs, and researchers throughout industries like advanced manufacturing, biomedical and health care, finance, technology, education, energy, and agriculture. Innovate Wisconsin will focus on today’s innovators: those fostering business growth, those daring us to dream bigger, reach farther, and work harder for the betterment of Wisconsin’s future.

For advertising and sponsorship opportunities contact Linda Crawford at (414) 336-7112 or advertise@biztimes.com 44 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

Startup Milwaukee Emerge: Blockchain

AROUND TOWN

Startup Milwaukee hosted its February Emerge event, focused on startups using blockchain, at the 707 Hub at Marquette University.

MICHAEL CYMERMAN of Improovment, PAUL MEIER of M25 and CHRIS WELKER of Rockwell Automation Inc.

MARIE WATKINS of Polaris Talent and MARK BOEDER of JellTech.

JULIAN EINFRANK and BRADY PASCHKE of CliftonLarsonAllen.

MICHAEL ADAM of DocLaunch and STEVE ROBINSON of Ferrite Labs.

ZOE MUEHL of EmpowerHR and MATTHEW KOVACICH of Godfrey & Kahn S.C.

JUSTIN WEBB of Godfrey & Kahn and SCOTT BRUNNER of Husch Blackwell LLP.

SIMON DAO of Marquette University and ANDY HALL of Centare.

JACOB SCHERRER and CHIP PIEPER of Centare with TOM BOWE of Challit.

ED JAVIER of EMJ Consulting and HEATHER SULLIVAN of Marquette University. Photos by Molly Dill

State of Black Business Symposium

The African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin hosted its first State of Black Business Symposium, in partnership with the Milwaukee Urban League and LISC Milwaukee, at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. 10. DOMINIQUE SAMARI of P3 Development Group and NIKKI PURVIS of the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Small Business Development.

11. OSSIE KENDRIX of AACCW, EVE HALL of Milwaukee Urban League, KEENAN GRENELL of Global Capital Group and DONSIA STRONG HILL of LISC Milwaukee. 12. DANIELLE HAWKINS and EVA BROWN of U.S. Bank. 13. JERRY ROBERTS of Bader Philanthropies and WENDY BAUMANN of Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.

14. GABRIELLE RABON, AACCW board member, JOHNRAE’ STOWERS , AACCW board member, and COURTNEY KELLY of Rochelle Consulting. 15. SUZANNE ZWASKA of U.S. Bank and MARCUS WHITE of Greater Milwaukee Foundation. 16. FRANCISCO BRAVO of LISC Milwaukee and KERMIATH MCCLENDON of AACCW. 17. Developer QUE EL-AMIN and real estate entrepreneur ANTHONY KAZEE .

18. GWEN JOHNSON and MICHELLE KACZMAROWSKI of Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Photos by Lauren Anderson biztimes.com / 45

BizConnections VOLUME 23, NUMBER 24 | MAR 19, 2018

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 | ads@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7128 | 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 Corrinne Hess corri.hess@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com

— Image courtesy of the Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is getting a lot of pushback in Wisconsin for his 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports, though imports from Canada and Mexico are exempt for now and could be for other U.S. allies. The long list of objectors includes companies like MillerCoors LLC and Harley-Davidson Inc. On Twitter, MillerCoors said a tariff on aluminum would “likely lead to job losses across the beer industry…American workers and American consumers will suffer as a result of this misguided tariff.” Harley is worried about retaliatory tariffs planned by the European Union. “A punitive, retaliatory tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles in any market would have a significant impact on our sales, our dealers, their suppliers and our customers in those markets,” Harley said in a statement. 46 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 19, 2018

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

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN

This photo, taken by Warren O’Brien in 1930, shows the Avalon Hotel at 222 Park Place in Waukesha, looking north. The hotel closed in the late 1960s, and the building is now part of a retirement community called Avalon Square operated by Presbyterian Homes & Services.

Trump faces backlash for tariffs

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION

Avalon Hotel

COMMENTARY

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

Some conservatives, like Gov. Scott Walker, House Speaker Paul Ryan and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson have also criticized the Trump tariff proposal. “Bemis (Co. Inc. in Neenah) and (Seneca Foods Corp. in Janesville) are two very specific examples of companies here in the State of Wisconsin that can be negatively affected (by the tariffs),” Walker said. “You have really an existential threat to businesses in the United States.” It’s an interesting twist in the relationship between Walker and Trump. Remember, in 2015, they were both competing for the Republican Party nomination for president, and they have long had differing views on trade. Walker has supported free trade as beneficial for Wisconsin manufacturers. In his campaign, Trump was a harsh critic of U.S. trade policy, especially with China. He criticized Walker’s support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. During the first year of Trump’s administration, Walker has been supportive of the president. At a White House announcement in July, Walker thanked Trump for his role in talks to bring Foxconn Technology Group to Wisconsin. Walker also enthusiastically supported the tax cut plan passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com

Independent & Locally Owned

ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

— Founded 1995 —

But now, Walker is speaking out strongly in opposition to Trump’s tariffs. “These tariffs…will not only cause major disruption in the market and drive prices up, it will likely cause layoffs and plant closures, with jobs and operations shifting to other countries,” Walker said. But while some fear a trade war, Trump says that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. On Twitter, Trump said, “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!” When he ran for president, Trump promised to get tough on trade. Like it or not, he is clearly eager to deliver on that campaign promise. n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR

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

MY BEST ADVICE

is a responsibility”

LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY

“ Success

GRISELDA ALDRETE President and chief executive officer

Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee Milwaukee Industry: Business organization hpgm.org Employees: 4

“THE BEST ADVICE I ever received was from a mentor of mine years ago, and she said, ‘Success is a responsibility.’ “That’s why I love mentoring (and) the work that we’re doing to help college students find the right major or career path. I don’t think I knew what I was doing because I was the first person in my family to go to college. You have to give back in a different way. Never forget where you came from, but once you reach a pinnacle of success, it’s your responsibility to help other people achieve that. “I want to make sure that there’s more Griseldas, if you will, coming out of the state and we need to create that leadership that the city craves. “Instead of poaching employees from one company to the next, we’re helping to bring talent forward and getting them to stay here.”

AGE: 37 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Aldrete earned a bachelor’s in criminology and law studies and Spanish from Marquette University; a master’s in criminal justice from the University of Nebraska at Omaha; and a Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University Law School. She was previously the executive director of the Cream City Foundation, as well as program manager and then executive director at HPGM. Aldrete is currently an adjunct instructor in criminal justice at Marquette.

IN THE NEWS: HPGM is undergoing a rebranding, which will include changing the 18-year-old organization’s name to better reflect its current mission and statewide reach. HPGM works with corporations and professionals on talent attraction and career development, and also with universities and Hispanic students on creating a career path. It has 11 student chapters in Wisconsin. The organization hopes to launch the rebrand by August. n

biztimes.com / 47

Your Unique Business Needs, Our Innovative Solutions Whether currently buying or selling your business or wanting to strategically plan ahead, our team offers more than mere legal advice. We bring practical, real-world experience to help evaluate all options, take advantage of planning opportunities, and overcome the legal and business pitfalls related to mergers and acquisitions. To learn more about Davis & Kuelthauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mergers & Acquisitions services, contact Scott Fiducci at 414.225.1428 or sfiducci@dkattorneys.com.

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