Fair Oaks Farms president and CEO Michael Thompson is Kenosha County’s Entrepreneur of the Year
“QUOTE UNQUOTE” WITH KENDRA SCOTT 10
INTERVIEW WITH LOU MALNATI’S PIZZERIA OWNER 14 THE WINNERS OF KABA’S OVATION AWARDS 20
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CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
Friday, November 1, 2019 | Registration & Networking - 7:00am–7:30am | Breakfast & Program - 7:30am–9:30am
From Homelessness to Housing Chronic and family homelessness are growing concerns and challenging issues in the Milwaukee area that impact the entire community. Our panel discussion will address the realities of the growing tent city in downtown Milwaukee, hidden homelessness and other housing-related challenges in the region and possible solutions and paths to stable housing, along with ways you can help. Learn more about this important issue and see how you can guide our community toward solutions. Following the panel discussion, we will recognize BizTimes Media’s 2019 Nonprofit awards finalists and honorees. The for-profit categories include: corporate citizen of the year, corporate volunteer of the year, in-kind supporter, next generation leadership and lifetime achievement. The nonprofit categories include: executive of the year, nonprofit organization of the year (large & small) and social enterprise.
Panelists Eric Collins-Dyke, MSW, APSW, Homeless Outreach Services Manager, Milwaukee County Housing Division (1)
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Mike Flynn, President, Milwaukee, First Business Bank (2) Michael Gosman, Executive Director, Acts Housing (3) Beth Wierick, CEO, Milwaukee Downtown - BID #21 (4) Moderator: Lauren Anderson, Associate Editor, BizTimes Milwaukee
2019 Nonprofit Award Finalists
2019 Corporate Citizenship Award Finalists
Nonprofit Collaboration of the Year: • Medical College of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Academy of Science • LUMIN Schools • UMOS
Corporate Citizen of the Year: • The Starr Group • Kapco Metal Stamping • Sargento Foods Inc.
Nonprofit Executive of the Year: • Hector Colon, Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan • Sue Smith, Nativity Jesuit Academy • Mike Thirtle, Bethesda Lutheran Communities
Corporate Volunteer of the Year: • Gwen Erickson, Velvac Inc. • Christy Engel, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield • Kathryn Keppel, Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP
Large Nonprofit (Organization) of the Year: • Zoological Society of Milwaukee • Pathfinders • La Causa Inc. • Curative Care Network
In-Kind Supporter: • Tall Guy and a Grill Catering • The Corners of Brookfield
Small Nonprofit (Organization) of the Year: • ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis • Revitalize Milwaukee • Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation Social Enterprise: • Beyond Vision • Alliance for Strong Families and Communities – FEI Behavioral Health Lifetime Achievement: • Jim Mueller, mueller QAAS
Next Generation Leadership: • Justin Juley, HNTB Corp. • Jackson Bubolz, Elevated Insurance
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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 25, Number 15, October 28, 2019 – November 10, 2019. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, July and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2019 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Contents
4 Leading Edge 4 NOW BY THE NUMBERS 5 ON THE JOB WITH… 6 INNOVATIONS 8 REV UP 9 BIZ TRACKER 10 “QUOTE UNQUOTE” 11 ON MY NIGHTSTAND BIZ POLL
12 Biz News 12 L AUNCH OFFERS BUSINESS CHALLENGES TO STUDENTS 14 THE INTERVIEW 15 COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CONFERENCE PREVIEW
17 Real Estate 35 Strategies COVER STORY
20
Recipe for success Fair Oaks Farms president and CEO Michael Thompson is Kenosha County’s Entrepreneur of the Year
Special Report
19 Business in Kenosha County
35 INNOVATIONS Dan Steininger 36 FAMILY BUSINESS David Borst 37 TIP SHEET
40 Biz Connections 40 NONPROFIT 41 AROUND TOWN 42 GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 43 THE LAST WORD
Coverage includes the cover story and profiles of the rest of the Kenosha Area Business Alliance’s Ovation Awards winners, and a report on Haribo’s plans in Pleasant Prairie and its early community involvement.
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DENNIS KRAKAU Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking
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Leading Edge
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NOW
Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital go public with $225 million campaign By Lauren Anderson, staff writer The Medical College of Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital announced they have raised $209.5 million over the past four years as part of a $225 million philanthropic campaign. The institutions recently went public with their Hope to Health
BY THE NUMBERS
Home sharing service Airbnb is reporting a
729%
year-over-year increase in Milwaukee bookings for 2020. The San Franciscobased company ranked Milwaukee as No. 1 on its list of the top 20 trending travel destinations for the upcoming year.
4 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
campaign, which has been underway since July 2015. The goals of the campaign are to “accelerate discovery of life-saving biomedical research, transform health care education to ensure a strong workforce for tomorrow, to continue to lead the way in cancer research and care, and to drive the health and vitality for and with the community,” the organizations said. MCW and Froedtert are aiming to reach the $225 million goal by December 2020. “We know the challenges, and the world looks to us for innovation,” said Dr. John Raymond, president and chief executive officer of MCW. “As the only academic health system and largest biomedical research institution in eastern Wisconsin, and top provider of doctors for the state, we have a responsibility to drive breakthroughs and innovations that elevate health in our community. We need philanthropic partners to help us realize our vision.” So far, more than 20,000 donors have made contributions to the campaign, 38 of which have exceeded $1 million. “Together, MCW and Froedtert Hospital are an essential engine for health care excellence,” said Cathy Jacobson, president and CEO of Froedtert Health. “We need philanthropic partners to help us realize our vision. The
funds raised through the Hope to Health Campaign will allow us to continue to further our vision and to bring both hope and health to as many people as possible in our region, state and beyond.” Among the campaign’s significant contributions is the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Trust and Kern Family Foundation’s gift of $37.9 million in 2017 to MCW, which established the Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education and Kern National Network for Caring and Character in Medicine. In September, the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) Fund announced a $25 million pledge for MCW, in partnership with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, to accelerate research to fight pediatric cancer and blood disorders. Additionally, the Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Endowed Innovation and Discovery Fund, a $6.5 million gift to the campaign, will help to advance genomic sciences and precision medicine at MCW. “Every day, people come in search of hope and they find it because the finest researchers and best clinicians are right here in our own backyard,” said Linda Mellowes, a campaign advisor and donor. “These incredible institutions are making our community a healthier place, and they are truly deserving of our support.” n
1
Retrospekt
JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY
ON THE JOB WITH… By Lauren Anderson, staff writer For Milwaukee couple Kori and Adam Fuerst, what started as a side hobby of searching for used cameras at thrift stores turned into a full-time business of restoring thousands of Polaroid cameras for resale. The Fuersts are owners of Retrospekt, a business they run out of a workshop in a redeveloped warehouse in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. Retrospekt refurbishes Polaroid cameras, which they both sell directly to customers through their website and back to
Polaroid, as well as cassette players, Game Boys and other vintage technologies. “Modern technology isn’t made to be restored anymore; it’s made to be disposable,” Adam said. “And I think there’s a group of young people especially that care about old things. They’re shooting on instant film to get a retro look and they want a retro camera, and there’s an added bonus of it’s a camera that doesn’t need to be made. It already has a 30-year track record of working.” n
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1 Kori Fuerst, co-owner of Retrospekt, shows off a Hello Kitty-themed Polaroid camera slated for repair at Retrospekt’s workshop.
2 Rachel Curtis cleans a Polaroid Sun660, a camera that was first released in 1981. Retrospekt sells the refurbished cameras for $119.
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Cameron Hoerth cleans the nooks and crannies of a used Polaroid camera, as part of the refurbishing process at Retrospekt.
Owners Kori and Adam Fuerst walk through Retrospek’s Bay View workshop.
5 Retrospekt’s workshop at 2612 S. Greeley St. in Bay View.
6 Retrospekt’s workshop in Bay View is full of vintage analog technology.
biztimes.com / 5
Leading Edge
INN EZ-Sit helps people stand up By Marla Hiller, staff writer
The EZ-Sit’s arm rests fold in for transport or storage.
6 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
VAT I HARRY SCHROEDER was working as a contractor in 2014 when a client who used a walker asked if he could build him something that would allow him to get out of chairs independently at restaurants. Convinced that such a device already existed, Schroeder hunted on the internet for something that could help his client, but his search came up empty. Schroeder decided to create his own device, which would become known as the EZ-Sit. The EZ-Sit is a portable arm rest system designed to help those who struggle to rise independently from chairs. The original client who asked for a device represents the target demographic for the innovation. “He (the client) wanted to go meet his buddies at a restaurant and just be independent and have dignity,” said Mary Schroeder, co-owner of Innovations US LLC, maker of the EZ-Sit. “And that’s what he was looking for, not outside help; he wanted to do things himself.” In addition to the elderly, potential EZ-Sit customers could also include those with medical conditions that affect their body strength, who could benefit from the stability the EZ-Sit provides. Potential daily uses for the device include putting it on the arms of a dining room chair at home, when going out to eat, using it in the bleachers at a game or in the pews at church, Mary said. Harry and Mary currently have two design patents and one method-of-use patent. The Schroeders are exploring a partnership with a
NS
The EZ-Sit attaches to most chairs.
“large company in Wisconsin” to bring it to market, Mary said. The Schroeders tried several prototypes of the EZ-Sit before settling on the final model. After creating the first prototype – which Harry described as “very crude looking” – they decided to build a device that was both stronger and cheaper. The next iteration was too heavy, which caused an issue for customers who are unable to manage a lot of weight. The next version was just six-and-a-half pounds and capable of holding a 300-pound person. But the Schroeders discovered the limitations of that version. While the couple demonstrated the EZ-Sit on entrepreneurship pitch show Project Pitch-It on WISN-TV Channel 12, the arms of the device broke. At that point, Harry realized that when people get out of a chair, they tend to push sideways, rather than directly down, on the arms. They approached an engineer to fix the problem. Despite the mishap, EZ-Sit won the show’s Stritch Pitch Award, which includes business classes at Cardinal Stritch University, office space and guidance from a professor for 12 months. The Schroeders
worked with a business professor to draft a business plan. “We had no idea how to do those things,” Harry said. During the development process of the EZ-Sit, Harry and Mary took their product to several conferences to gauge interest and receive feedback. At an AARP convention in April, they asked a woman with a walker if she was willing to give the EZ-Sit a test. Her response was a positive one. “She said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is a wonderful idea. My friend, when she goes out to restaurants, takes PVC pipes in a little bag and she puts together arm rests for herself so she can get up by herself,’” Mary said. To the Schroeders, that interaction demonstrated the EZ-Sit’s viability as a product. n
Innovations US LLC Brown Deer
INNOVATION: The EZ-Sit, a portable arm rest system FOUNDERS: Harry and Mary Schroeder FOUNDED: 2014 ez-sit.com
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LEADERSHIP: Harvey Shovers, chief executive officer, president and founder
LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY
MSI DATA
REV UP
H E A D Q U A R T E R S: 500 W. Brown Deer Road, Bayside W H AT I T D O E S: Field service management software F O U N D E D: 2010 E M P L OY E E S: 70 NEX T GOAL: To be one of the leading companies in the field service automation market FUNDING: MSI Data recently received a significant undisclosed investment from San Francisco-based private equity firm Luminate Capital Partners.
New investment could accelerate MSI Data’s growth By Lauren Anderson, staff writer
8 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
Harvey Shovers
MSI DATA is nine years old, but it wasn’t until about four years ago that the Bayside-based field service management software company began to see substantial growth. The company spent its first few years in R&D mode as it worked to build out a cloud-based, mobile-enabled field service management solution. In 2015, five years after it was founded, MSI Data brought its product, the Service Pro platform, to market. “That’s really when the growth started,” said Harvey Shovers, chief executive officer, president and founder of MSI Data. “The past four-year period is where we’ve rapidly grown the company, with very large, big double-digit growth in each of those years. We did it by signing new customers and building partnerships with some of the leading ERP software companies in the world.” The company serves commercial, industrial and residential field service organizations, primarily in the equipment distribution and service contractor industries. MSI’s platform allows customers to schedule and dispatch technicians, manage maintenance contracts, track warranty information, manage inventory and complete work orders in the field. “Our focus is on really any size organization, I would say from one that has a minimum of 10 people in the field and up, that are out there servicing, inspecting or installing some kind of solution,” Shovers said. “It’s used to automate
field operations.” GCI, a private equity firm funded by Lands’ End founder Gary Comer’s family, was MSI Data’s initial investor when it was first building out its platform. “It’s a big investment to fund a pure software company,” Shovers said. “Back then, and now even, it’s very difficult for companies, especially in Wisconsin, to get reasonable funding to do a software startup. Banks aren’t going to give you a loan to do that.” GCI has since exited the investment in MSI Data. In September, San Francisco-based private equity firm Luminate Capital Partners bought a significant majority stake in MSI Data with an undisclosed investment that will allow the company to scale more quickly and grow its employment, Shovers said. He expects the company, which currently has about 70 employees, will grow to nearly 100 employees by the end of 2020. The investment also paves the way for MSI Data to potentially acquire other companies that would run on its platform, he said. “It gives us an incredible amount of funding to use our platform to allow them as a private equity, but also us as a company, to greatly expand in this market at a rapid pace,” Shovers said. “We’ve been growing very fast but we can grow faster … It’s really unlimited in terms of what we can do from a hiring and acquisition standpoint.” n
The latest area economic data.
The Milwaukee area manufacturing index for September was
45.41
For four of the past five months the index has been below 50, which indicates the sector is contracting.
Passenger traffic at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport from January through August totaled
4.67 million down 4% from the same period in 2018.
SAVE THE DATE! Friday, December 13, 2019 7:30-9:30AM Italian Community Center
2.9 million More than
fans attended Milwaukee Brewers games in 2019, the eigth-best attendance in Major League Baseball.
Home sales in the four-county metro Milwaukee area fell 1.6% during the third quarter, with a total of
16,162
homes sold, compared to the third quarter of 2018.
6.5%
Exports from Wisconsin declined
in August, bringing the total year-to-date decline in international shipments to 5.2%. Wisconsin’s decline in exports is the 15th largest in the country.
Join us as we salute excellence, encourage innovation and recognize these deserving heroes! The Health Care Heroes awards, presented by BizTimes Milwaukee, salute the accomplishments of people and organizations making a positive difference on the front lines of health care. Recognize the people and organizations that are making a difference every day by providing superior health care in our region. Winners will be featured in the December 16, 2019 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee.
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Leading Edge
“ QUOTE
unQUOTE
KENDRA SCOTT
”
CHIEF E XECUTIVE OFFICER , KENDR A SCOT T LLC Kendra Scott, chief executive officer of Austin, Texas-based Kendra Scott LLC and a Kenosha-native, recently discussed her entrepreneurial journey and shared leadership insight during TEMPO Milwaukee’s 14th Annual Leadership Event in downtown Milwaukee. In a Q&A with WISN-TV Channel 12 anchor Toya Washington, Scott reflected on her experience of growing a small jewelry business into a more than $1 billion brand with more than 100 locations and 2,200 employees. n
“I hope our daughters, our granddaughters will start to walk into board rooms where the majority of people in there will look just like them.”
“When I started (the company) out of my bedroom, it really was those three things: I wanted to be a present mother, I wanted to be in fashion because that’s what I’d loved since I was young and I wanted to do something good for my community…I didn’t write a big plan to build a billion-dollar fashion empire, I just knew it would be a success if I were able to do those three things.”
“Being a woman, we have a huge advantage, and it’s hard sometimes to hear that when a lot of doors can be slammed in our faces and we’re told ‘no,’ but we have instinct. We have a gut instinct that can really tell you if someone around you is good or bad, and I say we should use that.”
10 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
“Those values and seeing what family meant – and it doesn’t always mean your blood family, it could be a neighbor in need or a friend – we always had room at the table and I think that’s such a big part of these Midwest values.”
“Don’t hire people who are just like you. Now, they need to have your core values, they need to share your heart, but they need to have different skill sets and when you build a team of diversity like that, with a variety of skill sets, my loathe is what they love. And when everyone’s doing what they love, that’s when you start to scale. The more time I’m spending on things I’m great at, the better our company is.”
on my nightstand...
BIZ POLL
ARTHUR FLATER Vice president of sales, owner Central Office Systems
‘The Slight Edge’
A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.
Will the addition of new attractions Movie Tavern and WhirlyBall revitalize the rest of Brookfield Square Mall? YES:
NO:
26%
74%
By Jeff Olson ARTHUR FLATER will read around 24 books this year, but that is not the goal he sets at the beginning of the year. “I don’t say, ‘I’ve got to read 24 books a year,’” said Flater, vice president of sales and owner of Central Office Systems. “I say, ‘I’ve got to read 10 pages a day.” It is a tactic he picked up from “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson, which details how small choices can lead to substantial outcomes over time. In business, Flater said the prin-
ciples of “The Slight Edge” can apply to something as simple as taking an extra couple minutes to send a handwritten thank you instead of just sending an email. “Is it a big deal? No,” Flater said. “Does a client make a decision on a $50,000 office equipment or technology purchase because they got a hand written thank you note? The answer is ‘no.’ But, you are reminding them that you’re more grateful than the people that don’t send a thank you note.” n
Share your opinion! Visit biztimes.com/bizpoll to cast your vote in the next Biz Poll.
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BizNews FEATURE Students in the LAUNCH program work on real-world business projects and meet with clients in Concurrency’s office in Brookfield.
High school students take on real business challenges through LAUNCH program By Lauren Anderson, staff writer BEFORE MAGGIE CONLON entered her senior year of high school, she had already solved business challenges for three area employers: Milwaukee Tool, the Medical College of Wisconsin and Prestwick Golf Group. Conlon, a student at Brookfield Central High School, had the opportunity to work with those organizations through LAUNCH, a program that immerses area high school juniors and seniors in corporate settings during part
of their school day. The goal is to help students better discern their future career path, build their employability skills and help produce a talent pipeline for the region. Dozens of companies – including Direct Supply, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Milwaukee Tool, ProHealth Care, Siemens and others – participate in the program, presenting students with their real-world business challenges that students, in turn, attempt to solve. Given the region’s workforce
shortages and sluggish population growth, a proactive approach is needed to develop and retain talent, which means exposing students as early as high school, or even before, to potential professional opportunities. “We hear from our private sector and nonprofit employers that the inevitable people crunch is upon us in many industries or will be upon us,” said Mark Hansen, superintendent of Elmbrook School District. “If we don’t find a way to rapidly accelerate our workforce development in our region, we could have a stagnant regional economy. As we started out on this journey it was really about creating passionate opportunities to make learning irresistible (to students) and it’s evolved into a mutually beneficial partnership between K-12 and future employers.” LAUNCH is available to students at four high schools, including those in the Elmbrook and Wauwatosa districts. This year, about 350 students are enrolled in the program. Students are offered the option to pursue one of several career interests – called “strands” – including global business, business analytics, media solutions, IT foundations, medicine and health care, biomedical solutions and others. Conlon participated in the business analytics strand last year.
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Her first assignment was a twomonth project in which she and a team of classmates had to develop a model through Microsoft Excel to prevent overspending among different Medical College of Wisconsin departments. Her second project was with Milwaukee Tool, which tasked students with coming up with an alternative to the company’s standard protocol of selling returned tools to third-party liquidators. Her group’s solution was to create a tool rental program, in which safe, returned tools could be rented out to customers. Conlon’s group presented their solution to Milwaukee Tool employees through a company innovation challenge and were named the winners. “It was neat because we knew our idea could actually help the company in the future,” Conlon said. Part of what sets LAUNCH apart is that participating businesses – rather than school curriculum – determine students’ projects, LAUNCH executive director Robert Hall said. “(Businesses’) projects aren’t necessarily designed to meet our needs,” Hall said. “Their projects are designed to meet their needs. We’re not asking them to fit it into a curriculum. We’ve developed a curriculum to take any problem, solve it and that’s embedded into our work.” While there has been a significant push in K-12 in recent years to encourage students into manu-
facturing, engineering and other STEM-oriented careers, LAUNCH is designed to make exposure to that experience more engaging for students. “When you look at a typical career in manufacturing 10 years ago, you’d go through Advanced Manufacturing 1, Advanced Manufacturing 2 (classes) and youth apprentice, but that approach isn’t making anyone happy,” Hall said. “But if we can expose 20 kids to a problem at a manufacturing company with data, artificial intelligence and work with their leads on that … When our kids are measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of collaborative robots, that’s going to get them more excited about manufacturing than possibly a more traditional approach.” With concerns about Wisconsin being a “brain drain” state, LAUNCH leaders noted the program provides an important opportunity for young people to become familiar with the major brands based in southeastern Wisconsin. “Our kids go to Duke, our kids go to Stanford, our kids go to (University of California, Berkeley), they go to Alabama, they’re pretty mobile,” Hansen said. “But when they go, they know they have a place to come back to because they’ve built relationships with the Manpowers, they know what Northwestern Mutual is all about, they have meaningful relationships with Milwaukee Tool because they’ve worked on some projects through LAUNCH. So we want
Students pitched their business solution to Milwaukee Tool employees as part of the LAUNCH program.
to build a program that allows a meaningful relationship to be established so that when students finish their school, they know they can come home because there’s an awesome employer they have a relationship with.” Among the participating businesses is Concurrency, Inc., a Brookfield-based software and professional services company. The company first connected with LAUNCH when its chief people officer, Kate Weiland, heard about the program through her daughter, a student at Brookfield Central High School. “Immediately, she thought this was in our wheelhouse,” said Jim Savage, founder and president of Concurrency. “It just seemed symbiotic, complementary and had potential for us.” Recently, the LAUNCH program opened its new office on the second floor of Concurrency’s office in Bishop Woods Office Park. The second-floor space includes offices and open areas for students to collaborate and meet with their professional clients. “In order to feel like you’re being treated as a professional you have to be in a professional setting,” Conlon said. “It’s nice to not be in a classroom all day … it’s also nice when we meet with clients because we have a professional office to use.”
Not only does the space place students in a real-world professional environment, Savage said, it also is a benefit to Concurrency employees. “It’s fun to see the kids coming in and out of here; it adds an energy and zest that we really enjoy,” he said. Savage said he’s been “blown away” by the projects that students are taking on. He sees the potential in capitalizing on students’ potential while they’re still in high school. “These are the young unfettered minds of this new technology generation,” he said. “These kids are accustomed to four different major social media platforms and the subtle variations of them. Someone from my generation will
never understand the differences and implications of those differences. I would highly recommend (other businesses) participate.” LAUNCH leaders envision more school districts signing on to the program so that it becomes a single point of contact for area businesses that are looking to connect with the K-12 sector. For Conlon, now a senior in LAUNCH’s media solutions strand, participating in LAUNCH means having ready-made references when she applies for her first internship as a college student. “It’s incredible that I can say I’ve worked with three well-known companies before I even went into my senior year,” she said. “Including that on my resume will definitely give me a step up.” n
Imagine everything that comes next.
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BizNews
the
Interview
LOU MALNATI’S PIZZERIA will soon bring its popular Chicago-style deep dish
pies to the Milwaukee area with its first Wisconsin location in Fox Point. The carryoutand delivery-only store is slated to open in early December at the Riverpoint Village Shopping Center. Since it was founded in 1971 by Lou Malnati, the chain has grown to include 45 partners operating 56 locations in the Chicago area and three locations in Arizona. BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Maredithe Meyer recently spoke to Lou’s son and the company’s second-generation owner Marc Malnati about its move into the Milwaukee market. Why Milwaukee? “We see Milwaukee as a sister city to Chicago and we love all the fantastic things going on in Milwaukee, great revitalization in town and I’m excited about the fact that it’s really on the uptick … I think a lot of the tastes are similar (to Chicago). A real appreciation for cheese is paramount in where we decide we’re going to go. And who knows cheese better than Milwaukee? We already know that there are a lot of people who visit Chicago from Milwaukee and love Lou Malanti’s and have been asking us for a long time, ‘Please come to Milwaukee. Please come up north,’ and we move pretty slow, but it’s time.”
Do you have plans for additional area locations? “We mapped out the whole area and feel like it would be incredible if we could open two to three restaurants and about four or five carryout and delivery stores in the whole area (over three to five years), and really kind of create a Malnati community, create a place where our people can grow and move into other stores and take on more responsibility and where we can create a strong culture. It’s important to us as a family business and it’s hard to do with one store, but way better for us when we can have multiple stores, like six or eight. We’ve identified some distinct areas where we want to be, based on demographics and strong population centers. Fox Point was the first opportunity… We’re hoping to follow soon with a full-service restaurant in Brookfield, but we don’t have a contract there yet. We’ll move in as the opportunities arise.”
JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY
Why enter the market with a carryout-only concept?
Marc Malnati Owner, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria 3685 Woodhead Drive, Northbrook, Illinois Employees: More than 5,000 company-wide loumalnatis.com 14 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
“We open two or three carryout stores for every one restaurant. Pizza is a food that’s so conducive to carryout and delivery. A pan pizza, especially, stays very hot in a box. It can travel well, unlike most other foods … We tend to adopt a hub-and-spoke approach where we’ll put a restaurant in the strongest population center with the highest density and we’ll build carryout stores around it. So when people want to go out with family or meet friends, it’s there, and when they just want to turn on the TV and snuggle up at home, there’s probably a location that’s even closer.”
Your company has sourced its cheese from Wisconsin dairy producers for almost 50 years. What does a Wisconsin expansion mean for those existing ties? “(Those dairy producers have) provided us the cheese that has the right flavor, the right butter fat, perfect for our product to serve out of a pan or out of a box. It’s so important to have a relationship with local vendors, and we consider Wisconsin obviously local, where we know what’s going on with the climate and what the cows are eating and how that’s affecting the cheese we’re buying … Wisconsin has played a big part in our success since day one, so moving and having stores in Milwaukee is only a natural progression for us.” n
EVENT PREVIEW
Commercial Real Estate conference will examine ‘what’s next’ for Milwaukee By Alex Zank, staff writer MILWAUKEE has arrived, some might say. So, now what? The city’s downtown has boomed in recent years with significant developments, including numerous new apartment build-
ings and hotels, the Northwestern Mutual Tower & Commons, Fiserv Forum, the BMO Tower, redevelopment of the former Grand Avenue mall and many other recent and ongoing projects.
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The suburbs have also seen significant activity, including Drexel Town Square in Oak Creek, The Corridor and The Corners in Brookfield and 84South in Greenfield. But the area still faces sig-
nificant long-standing challenges, such as racial inequity and stagnant population growth. And there are still plenty of areas in need of development, from vacant or underused downtown sites to entire commercial corridors in the outlying neighborhoods. The eyes of the nation seem to be on Milwaukee more than ever. The Democratic National Convention next year will bring unprecedented attention to the city. The metro area’s bright spots and its issues will be on full display in the coming months as a result. Meanwhile, two of the nation’s biggest sports stars — Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and Christian Yelich of the Brewers — have brought even more exposure to Milwaukee. The 17th annual BizTimes Media Commercial Real Estate and Development Conference will examine where the industry stands
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at this dynamic time in Milwaukee’s history and seek answers as to how it can address its challenges and further improve. The event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee. The keynote presenter will be innovation futurist Michael Perman, who has worked with several major brands during his career including Nike, Adidas, Williams-Sonoma, Levi’s, Gap, Starbucks, Del Monte, General Mills, Google and Hyatt Hotels. A Milwaukee native, Perman will examine what lies ahead for Milwaukee. “I think cities bloom from advocating for the right anchors that attract people,” he said. “I will share core cultural and business trends that commercial real estate professionals can think about as catalysts for the future.” Following the keynote will be
a panel discussion with prominent local real estate professionals who will discuss opportunities for economic growth in metro Milwaukee, as well as the significant challenges facing the region and how they will impact commercial real estate development in the area. The panel will be moderated by Andy Hunt, director of the Marquette University Center for Real Estate. The panelists will include: Kalan Haywood Sr., president of Haywood Group LLC; Juli Kaufmann, president of Fix Development; Steve Palec, chief marketing officer of Irgens; and Blair Williams, president of WiRED Properties. The conference is sponsored by CliftonLarsonAllen, Husch Blackwell and Wintrust. Exhibit sponsors are Acoustech Supply Inc. and Innovative Signs. Event partners are Marquette University and the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin. n
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Perman
Haywood
Kaufmann
Palec
Williams
Hunt
Real Estate
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WHO OWNS THE BLOCK? WISCONSIN AVENUE, FROM ST. PAUL AVENUE TO MAIN STREET, OCONOMOWOC
1 105 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: Oconomowoc Holdings LLC Tenants: Rocky Rococo Corp., Law Office of John A. Caucutt, Home Helpers
5 174 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: City of Oconomowoc Tenants: City Hall, Police Department
2 127 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: 127 Investments LLC Tenant: Great Harvest Bread Co.
6 162 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: Bancroft Properties LLC Tenant: Golosi Gelato Café
3 153 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: Kerzner Monaghan Investments LLC Tenant: Crafty Cow
7 152 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: Maureen L. Stapleton Revocable Living Trust Tenant: Fray Boutique
4 159 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: Marcos Contreras and Deborah Contreras-Tadych Tenant: Fiesta Cancun Mexican Restaurant & Cantina
ALEX ZANK
JON ELLIOTT OF MKE DRONES LLC
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8 124 E. Wisconsin Ave. Owner: Fowler Lake Properties LLC Tenant: Roots Coffeebar & Café
biztimes.com / 17
BRIOHN BUILDING CORP.
Real Estate
PAUL DAVIS’ NEW PEWAUKEE HEADQUARTERS Milwaukee-based Paul Davis Restoration Inc. broke ground this summer to build a new 100,000-square-foot headquarters on a 10-acre site in Pewaukee’s Northmound industrial area. The provider of fire and water damage cleanup, restoration and remodeling services expects construction to be completed in 2020. The facility will house the company’s more than 100 employees and 70 vehicles. It will feature classroom space, a specialized remodeling department and showrooms. Operations currently housed across multiple buildings will be consolidated at the facility. Paul Davis is partnering with Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corp. on the project, including architecture, permitting and approvals, construction and buildout, according to a news release.
WHO REALLY OWNS IT?: S AV E A LO T S T O R E N E A R F O N D D U L AC AV E N U E The new Save A Lot store at 2322 W. Oak St. (just off of West Fond du Lac Avenue) on Milwaukee’s near northwest side replaced a former Lena’s Food Market. As a result, the building’s distinctive curve-shaped street façade was transformed. Updates include new curtain wall glazing, rectangular brick section and building materials and coloring. The store opened in March 2018, but the current sign was added later. The building is owned by Oak and Fondy LLC. The registered agent for Oak and Fond LLC is Gregory Martin, according to state records. The Martin family has operated Lena’s Food Market stores for decades. ADDRESS: 2322 W. Oak St. OWNER: Oak and Fondy LLC ASSESSED: $825,700
SIZE: 100,000 square feet STORIES: Two DEVELOPERS: Paul Davis and Briohn Building Corp.
I
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18 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
COME CELEBRATE SOME OF KENOSHA COUNTY’S BEST IN BUSINESS
K PRESENTED BY:
enosha County is home to a many successful companies and business leaders, and that roster of dynamic companies is growing every year. The Ovation Awards, presented annually by the Kenosha Area Business Alliance in partnership with BizTimes Milwaukee, recognizes the best of the best; companies and individuals that have exhibited a history of growth, innovation, and a positive overall impact on the community. The program, and the related feature coverage by the BizTimes, provides a fantastic opportunity to learn about the companies and people that are moving Kenosha County’s economy forward.
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This year’s award winners definitely deserve to be celebrated! They represent a diverse group of businesses and entrepreneurs that are leaders in their respective industries. We congratulate them on their success, thank them for their investments in the community and encourage them to continue growing, innovating, and being engaged in the Kenosha community. On behalf of our sponsors, Johnson Financial Group, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, All Staff, Advocate Aurora Health, and our supporting sponsors Bear Real Estate Group, CG Schmidt, Clifton Larsen Allen, The Prairie School, WIPFLI, and Wegner CPAs, we are proud to recognize and celebrate their collective achievements. Congratulations and best wishes for much continued success!
Todd Battle
Dan Meyer
President Kenosha Area Business Alliance
Publisher BizTimes Milwaukee
SUPPORTING SPONSORS:
biztimes.com / 19
STORY COVER
2 019
OVATION MICHAEL THOMPSON AWARDS
PRESIDENT & CEO, FAIR OAKS FARMS LLC
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Recipe for success
“
Fair Oaks Farms president and CEO Michael Thompson is Kenosha County’s Entrepreneur of the Year BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer
P
leasant Prairie-based Fair Oaks Farms was running at far less than full capacity and entirely reliant on one customer, McDonald’s, when Michael Thompson bought the business in 2003. The company has since tripled its workforce to around 260 today and revenue grew to $342 million last year.
As part of its annual Ovation Awards, the Kenosha Area Business Alliance named Thompson its 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year, a recognition that followed Black Enterprise magazine naming Fair Oaks Farms as its Company of the Year. Thompson, president and chief executive officer of the company, credited the team at Fair Oaks Farms with helping deliver the company’s growth. “It’s my success, but it’s my success and their hard work,” he said. “I’ve been blessed. I mean, I’ve been blessed by God’s good grace.” Thompson sat down with BizTimes to discuss his career, growing the business, working with his son, Michael J. Thompson, a vice president at Fair Oaks Farms, and his approach to management and leadership. 20 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
PHOTOS BY: JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY
Fair Oaks Farms produces protein foods, including breakfast sausage, bacon, meatballs, chicken and turkey. Thompson leveraged his knowledge of the food industry, which he gained from nearly two decades at McDonald’s and his early career at Aldi Foods, to grow the company.
ou just learn Y how to be persistent and to go after your goals again, even though you got knocked down. That’s the biggest lesson I think a person derives out of sports, besides just the discipline nature of it itself.” — MICHAEL THOMPSON
biztimes.com / 21
STORY COVER BizTimes: How did you get your start in business? “I was a graduate of Cornell University out of Ithaca, New York. I started with Aldi Foods as a supervisor trainee. So, I got into the food business right out of college and opened up about 17 Aldi stores in the Midwest and just started working on my career from there … I worked my way from operations into supply chain and then McDonald’s hired me away in 1985 to be the beef buyer for the U.S. …
You played basketball at Cornell. What are some of the basketball lessons that you apply in business? “I tell you what, it’s teamwork. It’s working hard. It’s knowing how to win but also knowing how to lose and, even though you’ve lost, persistence, which I think is one of my hallmarks. You just learn how to be persistent and to go after your goals again, even though you got knocked down. That’s the biggest lesson I think a person derives out of sports, besides just the discipline nature of it itself. You work so hard, you go to practice every day, you’re at games on weekends, you’re traveling
“ I believe in investing in our people and our employees … I don’t look at that as an ROI; I just look at that as the right thing to do.”
“I had many, many roles in McDonald’s, but probably the two major ones was I headed up North America supply chain for McDonald’s as a vice president and then I ran their West Coast operations out of San Francisco. I had made a switch from a supply chain career into an operations career and wound up running several hundred stores in the California base, operator- and company-owned stores. It’s kind of a unique background to have supply chain and both operations in a large corporation, but that was a good career path for me.”
What are some of those differences, then, between the supply chain side and the operation side that kind of play off each other? “Well, on the operation side, you’re responsible for day-to-day business, so you have just a different level of responsibility. First of all, you’re working with a group of owner-operators that are entrepreneurs in their own sense under the brand, but still in their own sense they’re entrepreneurs. And you have company goals and objectives and you’re trying to work with operators. They have personal goals and objectives, but you’re all trying to reach one level. The nice thing is that you learn to work with other businesspeople on common goals and you have a daily, weekly, monthly P&L that you have to be responsible for, so those things are very helpful in a business sense. For me, anyway, that is a little different than on the supply chain side where you have more long-term goals and objectives. You’re supplying food every day, but your goals are a little bit more long-term, a little bit strategic.” 22 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
and you’re expected to keep up a high level of work for school so that you can obviously be successful and graduate … I don’t know everyone really appreciates how hard that all is. And you try to have some fun in between.”
Are there any lessons from your time at McDonald’s that you fall back on? “McDonald’s is a great company and I learned a lot … primarily this environment of working with people, with the owner-operators. They don’t re-
Why this company? And was owning a company always a goal for you? “You know, as a young inner-city kid, I’ve always had visions of either running a company or owning a company. And kids have many, many dreams, right, and they come and go but that was one that kind of always stuck with me … When the opportunity came, it was a unique one, one that I thought I could be successful at. There’s a lot of opportunities out there, but you have to figure out which ones you can be successful at based on your skillset and based on what you’ve done in the past.” When you bought the company, it wasn’t really running at full capacity. Did you have a clear plan of how to grow or did you have to get your feet on the ground to develop one? “It really was the latter. I really had to get my feet on the ground. Everyone thinks they can run a company … that you walk in the door and you know what to do, but frankly, I was excited for the opportunity. I knew I had to grow the company but I wasn’t quite sure how … there wasn’t a detailed plan. I really needed to get my feet on the ground. I really needed to understand the company and all the different departments, so I spent time in every department trying to learn what everyone does … Once I got a sense of what the company needed, which was volume, then it was about putting together a plan to grow the customer base because at that point in time we were 100% just a McDonald’s supplier.” So, today, who are your customers now and how did you get that business in the door? “One of the first things that I did with the company was look for more outside business. So, first thing I did was create a retail division. So, in our retail division are companies like Walmart and
“ One of the best things we have on the planet is to be able to communicate with each other and understand each other as people.”
port to you, you know, so you have to really learn how to accomplish what you need to accomplish through communication, through getting people to align with your thinking, your thought process, and get them on board. And then you learn that your thinking isn’t correct all the time either, and then you learn from them.”
You bought Fair Oaks Farms in 2003.
Aldi Foods. And then we continued to expand to do more food service, so we do companies like … everyone from Papa John’s on meatballs to Panera Bread ... we’re in Meijer, so we’re in several companies like that to help us expand. And then, finally, we were working on the distributor side of the business. So, there’s also large distributors out there that we do business with, and I believe
there’s more growth opportunity for us to come.”
What’s the challenge of being in the supply chain for those big brands? They have a lot of leverage, right? “You have to have a great customer base and for us that begins with McDonald’s. I mean, they are the best chapter and verse on how to work with suppliers, how to use their system to get everyone focused on one goal and the goal is to make them successful. So, once you learn that and, remember, I was in that learning for 20 years, so it was second nature for me to be able to create that same type of process and system for my own company as I went out. So the larger companies, because I came from a larger company, I understand how they work, that’s the knowledge and the information I was able to
“ Sometimes just put a stake in the ground and then go for it. I give myself the opportunity to be wrong sometimes and adjust if I need to adjust.” leverage running my own company. It would have been very difficult if I started with a lot of smaller companies and then tried to scale up to a McDonald’s. But when you start out with a McDonald’s, it became, I won’t say easy, but obviously it was a little easier for me to understand how that all works.”
You mentioned the need for volume. Was there an element of not chasing volume just for the sake of it and making sure you found the right partners? “That’s correct, and that’s very difficult to do and sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don’t. If you don’t, you try to make adjustments, but we got it right – not 100% – but I think we got it right, and, again, because of my knowledge in the industry, I knew who were the right people to talk to and go after.”
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Switching gears, how do you describe your own personal leadership or management style? “I would consider myself more of a humble leader, but a strong leader and I would tell you I’m an optimist by nature. I’m very persistent and very much action oriented. I think those things help me to be successful in this business because there’s just a lot of adversity that comes up in business in general.” What’s the importance of goal setting to you, especially in setting ambitious targets for your teams? We do long-term planning and we do shortterm planning. Our short-term planning would be our yearly goals and then long-term planning
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biztimes.com / 23
employees so, you know, I don’t look at that as an ROI, I just look at that as the right thing to do.”
STORY COVER
then go for it. I give myself the opportunity to be wrong sometimes and adjust if I need to adjust.”
would be more like three to five years out, but I’m involved in all of those conversations and I want to know what my department heads are thinking about for the coming year – areas that we have opportunities that we want to make sure we capture
Fair Oaks Farms has invested more than $10 million into its facilities in recent years. What’s your decision-making process for those investments? Does it go beyond ROI?
“ I love Kenosha County. I think it’s a phenomenal place. I think it has a unique opportunity to become a place of destination for industry, for family, for technology.”
those for goals and objectives for the following year to make improvements on. The longer-term pieces are more strategic in nature, you know. Where do we want to go, what do we want to be, you know, in three to five years, (are a) little harder to put a framework around, so they’re more at the 60,000-square-foot level, but that’s OK. You have to sometimes just put a stake in the ground and
“I mean, those are difficult decisions and that’s why I have a very good team at Fair Oaks. We vet those and we go through them with a fine-tooth comb and try to make decisions. A lot of times decisions are ROI-based, but a lot of times you have to make investments that have nothing to do with a return on investment. Sometimes it’s a return on people. I believe in investing in our people and our
This is both a minority- and family-owned business. What is important about those two distinctions to you? “I just think being an African-American, it’s important that people of color have opportunities to run and build and grow businesses in this great country of ours ... I’m very proud to have had that opportunity and I think there should be more, so I try to do anything I can do to support that... “The legacy piece, my son is in the business. He’s been here with me for 10 years. I love to create a business that I can create a long-term legacy of family ownership. That’s really important to me. I know a lot of companies grow, build and sell. I’m hoping to grow, build and turn it over to my son and hopefully he’ll do the same, but I just think that that’s important. It’s really something special; it’s really something unique and (I’m) hoping that happens.” How do you approach making sure he’s fully prepared when the opportunity comes for him to take over? “You know, you can’t really make sure but I just read a great article that said leadership ... it can’t be taught, it must be learned. I think that’s important. He’s learning, he’s doing the learning and we’ve got a great group of folks here that work
Congratulations! from the strategic partners behind COME CELEBRATE SOME OF KENOSHA COUNTY’S BEST IN BUSINESS #2019OvationAwards
Michael Thompson, Fair Oaks Farms, LLC DLA Piper is pleased to congratulate Mike Thompson and Fair Oaks Farms. D LA P IP E R
Thursday, November 7, 2019
at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside Learn more: kaba.org/ovation-awards
ANDREW WEIL (312) 36 8-3 42 5 DLAPIPER .COM Congratulations to the
2019 OVATION AWARD WINNERS:
Business of the Year:
Thank you to the 2019 Ovation Awards Sponsors
CATALYST EXHIBITS Small Business of the Year: KITCHEN CUBES Entrepreneur of the Year: MIKE THOMPSON,
Andrew L. Weil, 444 West Lake Street, Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60606 | 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 | DLA Piper LLP (US) is part of DLA Piper, a global law firm, operating through various separate and distinct legal entities. Further details of these entities can be found at www.dlapiper.com. | Attorney Advertising
Congratulations to Michael Thompson, President & CEO of Fair Oaks Farms, LLC! R S M U S LLP 1-800 -274-3978 RSMUS.COM
FAIR OAKS FARMS Forward Awards: ADVOCATE AURORA HEALTH BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF KENOSHA KENOSHA COUNTY SL MONTEVIDEO UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PARKSIDE
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together. And then the good thing about him ... he has a great attitude about it and he understands that he has to learn this as well and you cannot teach leadership.”
What’s the roadblock to more people of color getting into management positions? “I just think we’ve got to do a better job of looking. I think people are out there. You have … hundreds and thousands of graduates coming out of college, great colleges and universities, across the land. I just think there has to be a better outreach to find people. It used to be said that ‘Well, you know, we can’t find people for these positions.’ I really don’t believe that and I don’t buy it. I think the people are out there; you just have to do a better job of reaching out to them and it may be non-traditional ways of reaching out. But I think if the business community, in general, gets a little bit more creative, then you can find all of the people of color for these types of positions that you want.” Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie have seen a lot of growth since 2003. How has that impacted your business? “We used to be able to put up a sign outside of the door that we were hiring and we’d have lines all in the parking lot of people to come in and now we can put out as many signs as we want, we will hardly get anybody. There’s been a huge change in employment base overall. But I love Kenosha
County. I think it’s a phenomenal place. I think it has a unique opportunity to become a place of destination for industry, for family, for technology. You’ve got the lake. You’ve got a lot of business coming in and I think the more the leaders look at improving the area and the services to the area and the housing and everything else, I just think it’s got a great opportunity to be a destination. We have more trouble hiring now than we’ve ever had before. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I think that’s good for the area and hopefully the more people you draw in it’ll get us more professionals in the area.”
How do you work with your customers on product development? “Almost every customer we have is looking for the next new thing that’s going to bring excitement to their customer base. We look at our responsibility as trying to help them find whatever that next new thing is and if it’s something that we can do in a protein product … do we spend time on that to try to figure out what is it that people are looking for? Is it a new flavor of bacon or a new flavor of sausage or is it something for snacking time or pre-dinner or new at breakfast? … It’s a giant wheelhouse that you try to make some sense out of, depending on the customer base that you have.” So it’s not just a spec that McDonald’s gives you, you have to hit, and you don’t have to
think about the product development at all? “We have to do both. I mean, once you have a spec, once you develop a spec, my responsibility is to produce that well and to hit that spec ... I think we’re unique in the sense that we want to understand what our customers’ goals and objectives are because I look at one of our roles is to help them fulfill their goals and objectives. So if I know they’re trying to create more customer traffic or they want the newest product for breakfast, we’re going to try to help them do that and by helping them, you know, hopefully we would grow as well.” What’s the importance of personal relationships in a world that is becoming more digital and transactional? “While we are fully into all of the digital communications, and we do that very well, we go out of our way to take the time to still make sure we have personal relationships with people. I am a firm believer that every human being is unique and I think every human being has unique qualities and personalities. One of the best things we have on the planet is to be able to communicate with each other and understand each other as people … I don’t care how digital we get, you just have to go out of your way to make sure you meet, you shake hands, you talk to people, you look them in the eye ... I’m just a big believer of it and I think it’s part of our success in terms of our relationships with our customers.” n
Advocate Aurora Health is proud to be a part of Kenosha County. We are dedicated to helping the people in our community live well.
biztimes.com / 25
2019
OVATION AWARDS
CATALYST EXHIBITS INC.
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
CATALYST EXHIBITS INC.
7809 100th St., Pleasant Prairie INDUSTRY: Trade show exhibits and events EMPLOYEES: 160 catalystexhibits.com
Pleasant Prairie-based Catalyst Exhibits Inc., founded in 1998, has seen notable growth over the past four years and continues to find ways to innovate. It’s for these reasons, among others, that earned the tradeshow exhibit creator the Kenosha Area Business Alliance’s Business of the Year award, as part of KABA’s Ovation Awards program. The company provides a range of services for clients globally. It specializes in the design, development, fabrication and management of exhibits and displays for trade shows and expos. Its work entails
custom exhibit design, rental exhibit solutions, program management, interactive design, event management, event marketing and trade show designs. “Catalyst is honored to be one of this year’s (Ovation) award recipients,” said Tim Roberts, Catalyst chief executive officer. “It’s really a celebration of our customers, our employees and the community in which Catalyst has been able to continuously grow.” Catalyst relocated from Crystal Lake, Illinois, to a 144,000-squarefoot building in Pleasant Prairie’s Lakeview Corporate Park in 2009.
This exhibit for Carbon Black, a cybersecurity company, featured a branded arcade-brawler game. In 2016, it had 130 employees. That number grew steadily each year to 160 employees today. It has also seen double-digit percentage-point increases in
gross revenue in that timeframe. In 2016, Catalyst saw a 13.5% growth in gross revenue. In 2017 it was 16.7%. In 2018 it was 15.7%. And year-to-date in 2019, it is about 12%.
Congratulations! from the strategic partners behind
Catalyst Exhibits, Inc.
NOTABLE WOMEN
Congratulations Catalyst Exhibits! We admire your success and appreciate your friendship.
IN MANUFACTURING
ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS NOW!
M E RCH ANTS AND M A NU FACT U R E R S BA N K
On December 16, BizTimes Milwaukee will name the 2019 Notable Women in Manufacturing in a special editorial feature in print and online. This section will feature influential female leaders who have made a substantial impact across the manufacturing industry with groundbreaking ideas, initiatives and leadership, as nominated by clients and colleagues.
Nominate notable women in manufacturing at biztimes.com/notableMFG 26 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
LARRY FOY (6 30) 575-9700 • M-MBANK .COM
2019
OVATION
CATALYST EXHIBITS INC.
AWARDS
Tim Roberts, CEO of Catalyst Exhibits Inc. “One key to our growth is that every day we focus on our four core pillars of growth, innovation, quality and efficiency,” Roberts said. “One example is our addition of a digital laser finishing system (that) helps with higher quality graphics and CNC production. Another example is our new Octave division that provides turnkey (audio/visual) services and equipment for exhibitors. The
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
An exhibit Catalyst created for Axalta. more we can do under one roof, the more cost-effective we become for our customers.” Catalyst invested in the stateof-the-art digital laser finishing system this year. According to the company, it has higher quality graphics to provide faster and better-quality products to clients. Through its Octave division, the company will be able to create
a more technological full-service exhibit trade show experience. Octave A/V has allowed Catalyst to better support its clients’ audio-visual needs, push the industry standard and create more local jobs, the company said. The company also says it has focused this year on adding some process experts to its team, which allows it to provide more consistent
service to customers. Catalyst is also involved in a number of efforts in support of the local community. For instance, the company is redesigning space and donating furniture and wall graphics to the Boys & Girls Club. It also donated supplies to be sold at Annie’s Resale for the World, a nonprofit group based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Money raised from those sales goes toward helping educate children, as well as providing food, shelter and emergency relief to families around the world. Catalyst also sponsored events such as the Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce’s Scholarship Golf Classic, which provides qualified high school students with scholarship funds to attend a college of their choice, and a golf outing for Open Wings Learning Community in Kenosha. n
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2019
OVATION AWARDS
KITCHEN CUBES LLC
8601 200th Ave., Bristol
Retail and manufacturing EMPLOYEES: 53 kitchencubes.com
KITCHEN CUBES LLC
SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
INDUSTRY:
Kitchen Cubes’ Bristol headquarters. Kitchen Cubes LLC has come a long way since opening as a small storefront along Highway 50 in Kenosha. Brothers Jake and Zach Molgaard founded the business in 2008 and have worked to grow it into a cabinet and countertop producer that now runs a manufacturing and retail operation out of its newly renovated 85,000-square-foot facility in Bristol. The fast-growing company’s revenue has grown 32% since 2016, and it now has 53 employees. Kitchen Cubes’ recent renovation project, which was completed in early 2019, added six offices and a small showroom to the company’s existing warehouse, condensing both arms of the business into one location. “Growing into a uniform company under one roof was a lot better strategically just communication-wise for getting everyone on the same page,” said KatiRose Haney, store manager. She said the move allowed the company to devote full attention to its wholesale operation, which currently makes up about 70% of its business, while retail comprises the other 30%. Kitchen Cubes is also focused on expanding its manufacturing capacity beyond laminate countertops. The company started manufacturing those products at its Bristol facility in 2012. It plans to do the same for its line of cabinets within the next year, Haney said, which would require
the addition of more manufacturing employees. Kitchen Cubes markets its wholesale cabinet line, countertops and kitchen hardware to property management companies, apartment complexes and dealers across the southern half of Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Its products are largely purchased for remodels, but the company is trying to tap further into the fast-growing new build market, Haney said. There is plenty of demand on both fronts. “There are a lot of buildings that are definitely remodeling to keep up with everything else going up, to keep a competitive edge and not necessarily lose business or renters,” Haney said. On the retail side, foot traffic has slightly slowed since Kitchen Cubes’ storefront moved from Kenosha to Bristol. The new showroom is open Monday through Friday, but not on weekends. With five small product displays and one larger full kitchen display, the space is designed for customer ease. There are fewer products on display, but they are the store’s most popular and cost-effective items, Haney said. “They can have a little bit more focus instead of having so many different options to look at and getting overwhelmed,” she said. “We’ve simplified it to help our customers make quicker decisions and not be too flustered with the whole process.”
Kitchen Cubes has always relied solely on word of mouth to attract its customers and generate foot traffic for retail. As a family-owned business, that hasn’t posed a challenge. “In this area people really value family-owned and local business,” Haney said. “People trust the
name. They know what Kitchen Cubes is, who we are and what we do for our customers. We don’t want them to be unhappy. They know that we go the extra mile with customer service and we know that if we didn’t treat our customers with that respect, we wouldn’t be in the position we are currently.” n
Congratulations! from the strategic partners behind
Kitchen Cubes, LLC Congratulations Jake and Zack! EWH is proud be a strategic partner of your business. E W H S M ALL B U S I NE S S ACCO U N T I N G S .C.
(26 2) 796-10 40 • EWHSBA .COM
biztimes.com / 29
2019
OVATION | FORWARD AWARD WINNERS AWARDS
ADVOCATE AUROR A HEALTH
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF KENOSHA
10400 75th St., Kenosha INDUSTRY: Health care EMPLOYEES: 70,000 aurorahealthcare.org
1330 52nd St., Kenosha INDUSTRY:
After-school programming EMPLOYEES: 22 bgckenosha.org A rendering of the new Advocate Aurora facility in Pleasant Prairie.
Advocate Aurora Health has made several investments in Kenosha County to meet the needs of its growing population. At Aurora Medical Center-Kenosha, which was built in 1999, the health system recently expanded its services in the areas of women’s health, emergency department and cardiac rehab. It is also currently creating dedicated observation beds and enhancing interventional radiology services at the medical center. “It’s no secret that this area of southeastern Wisconsin is expanding in population and major developments that have added to our local health care needs, creating a need to expand at Aurora Medical Center Kenosha in women’s health, cardiac services and
Youth from Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha.
In recent years, Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha has launched several new initiatives to grow the number of youth it serves through its sports, recreational and educational after-school programming. Since 2015, the club has seen its after-school program attendance increase from 67 youth per day to 234. Recently, the club launched its Gus the Bus program, which offers free after-school busing to the Boys & Girls Club from nine low-income elementary schools. “That’s when we saw our average daily attendance skyrocket,” said Jake McGhee, chief executive officer. It also covers all busing costs for teens’ transportation to and from the club. The club also recently remodeled its
emergency care,” said Lisa Just, president of Advocate Aurora Health’s eastern corridor patient service area. Advocate Aurora is also building a new $130 million health center in Pleasant Prairie, which is expected to open in summer 2020. The facility will include a 100,000-square-foot ambulatory care center and a three-story, 100,000-square-foot professional office building. “Upon opening, the new Aurora Health Center in Pleasant Prairie will expand much needed pediatric services to the region through a new offering of Aurora Children’s Health, as well as offering same day services including general surgery, orthopedics, urology and Aurora Sports Health,” Just said.
ORDER YOUR REPRINTS!
8 2 0 1ION OVAT
AWARDS
OF THE YEAR: SMALL BUSINESS
S CHIA PPET TA SHOE
Kenosha 6821 39th Ave., retail INDUSTRY: Footwear EMPLOYEES: 12 chiappettashoes.com
Excerpt: Family shoe
store business is Small
Tags: Tony Chiappetta, Categories: Retail
Business of the Year.
Nick Chiappetta, Fred
Chiappetta, Chiappetta
Shoes
spent Tony and Nick Chiapetta helping much of their childhood longtime shoe out at their family’s Shoes. Now, store, Chiappetta serve as chief the two brothers and chief operatexecutive officer Kenosha-based ing officer of the in its third and company, currently of family ownerfourth generations ship and leadership. premium men’s The retailer sells pedorand women’s footwear, orthotics, and thics and custom services at its offers shoe repair storefront. 6,500-square-foot
50 brands of It carries almost Birkenstock, footwear, including and Saucony, Dansko, Pikolinos and on the available both in-store redesigned e-comcompany’s newly launched in June. merce site, which was foundChiappetta Shoes and Nick’s ed in 1921 by Tony Pasquale great-grandfather, immigrant. Chiappetta, an Italian shoe repair shop He opened a small home in a Kenosha right next to his five miles away neighborhood about location, current company’s from the later, the cobbler and a few years
Tony, Fred, Lori and
facility, with support from Haribo of America, to build out a new Tween Center, designated for youth ages 10-12. “It’s made a huge difference,” McGhee said. To sustain its growth, Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha has also experienced an increase in revenue. Corporate and individual contributions are up by more than $500,000, grant funding has increased by more than $200,000 and special event revenue has grown by $150,000. “We’ve been aggressive in reaching out to new companies coming to the area,” McGhee said. “And although we are a nonprofit, I would say a lot of our job is to run it like a business and not a nonprofit. Thankfully, because of community support, we’ve been able to sustain that growth.”
Nick Chiappetta.
n’t do it Good TEAM We could ut our team Good WORK witho unity! Good FOODs & comm PM 10/22/18 4:30
27-31 OCT 29 Ovation
Awards.indd 27
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2019
OVATION | FORWARD AWARD WINNERS AWARDS
KENOSHA COUNTY
SL MONTEVIDEO TECHNOLOGY INC.
1010 56th St., Kenosha
8201 109th St., Suite 500 Pleasant Prairie INDUSTRY: Manufacturing EMPLOYEES: 146 slmti.com
INDUSTRY: Government EMPLOYEES: Roughly 1,200
kenoshacounty.org Kenosha County executive Jim Kreuser
Kenosha County, located between Chicago and Milwaukee, is one of the fastest growing counties in Wisconsin. Since 2000, its population has grown by 12.6% (more than double the state average of 6%). Since 2013, economic developments within its borders have accounted for nearly 10,200 jobs and more than $2.1 billion in capital investment. The county government fosters economic development by making investments in infrastructure, such as the expansion of roads and repaving of existing roadways. It also created the High Impact Fund, which is managed by the Kenosha Area Business Alliance. County executive Jim Kreuser said over the past decade he has budgeted, and the County Board has approved, $3.75 million of county
investment into the fund, which can help close the deal when Kenosha County competes for business relocations or expansions. “These funds have been awarded to nine companies or developments, producing roughly 1,500 new jobs and more than $168 million in new private investment,” he said. “I would call the High Impact Fund a smart investment for Kenosha County.” Kreuser also noted the county’s commitment to quality-of-life issues. It has used federal funding and public-private partnerships to improve the county parks systems. Improvements include refurbishing and constructing new bike trails and providing free wireless internet access at parks and downtown Kenosha.
To say SL Montevideo Technology Inc. has had a busy year is an understatement. The manufacturer in late 2018 moved its headquarters from Minnesota to its Pleasant Prairie facility. In July, it completed a $2.7 million, 63,000-square-foot expansion at the site, allowing it to invest more than $2 million in new product equipment and add 60 skilled employees to its local workforce. MTI manufactures and develops precision, high-performance electric motors, drives, controllers and precision winding components for the aerospace and commercial industries. Business has grown more than 33% over the past two years, and with the help of
its new headquarters location, that growth is expected to continue, said president David Ruppel. “Because we are a business that relies heavily on technology and those are the types of industries we serve, we were counting on the availability of technical talent and skill sets in the region,” Ruppel said. “Being in the middle of Milwaukee and Chicago really provides a great funnel of people and other business that we may rely on to help support our growth activities.” He said the company plans to double its size over the next three to five years through both organic growth and acquisitions.
T H E S A LV AT I O N A R M Y O F M I LW A U K E E C O U N T Y PHONE: (414) 302-4300 WEB: SAMilwaukee.org The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Our message is based on the Bible, our ministry is motivated by the love of God, and our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as we meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
2019 GIVING GUIDE F E ATU R E D NONPROFI T
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Join us for an inspirational evening in support of our future female leaders.
Italian Community Center 5:30 p.m.
Tickets
$100 per person Co-chairs: Jen Dirks and Marquette Baylor BGCMilwaukee.org/celebrating-girls.
PRODUCED BY
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2019
OVATION | FORWARD AWARD WINNERS AWARDS
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE 900 Wood Road, Kenosha INDUSTRY: Education EMPLOYEES: 450 uwp.edu
CELEBRATING KENOSHA COUNTY’S BEST IN BUSINESS
UW-Parkside’s campus
The University of Wisconsin-Parkside has developed several new academic programs to prepare students for the region’s pressing workforce needs in recent years. In 2017, UW-Parkside opened the SC Johnson Integrated Science Lab on its campus to provide students with more learning opportunities, including research fellowships, scientific career exploration and development activities. The lab was named in recognition of Racine-based SC Johnson’s lead $500,000 gift. Another new initiative, the UW-Parkside App Factory, offers students the opportunity to develop mobile apps for community clients throughout southeastern Wisconsin. Through the program, hundreds of students each year work with businesses, organizations and community groups to provide them with conceptual design and prototype mobile app
development services. “Students are learning the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a digital world and have the opportunity to engage with business, industry and community partners,” said Chancellor Debbie Ford. Earlier this year, UW-Parkside entered a partnership with Kenosha County to develop 100 acres of recreational land adjacent to Petrifying Springs County Park, in an effort to improve ecology and recreational opportunities. As part of another recently announced partnership, Haribo of America, Inc. will provide funding for the renovation of UW-Parkside’s Sports & Activity Center, along with a needsbased scholarship program at the school. The company’s commitment over the next decade is expected to exceed $300,000.
16th Annual
Congratulations to these dynamic companies and entrepreneurs. Let’s continue to celebrate growth throughout the Kenosha area in the next year. Thank you to our sponsors, Johnson Financial Group, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, All Staff, Advocate Aurora Health, and our supporting sponsors Bear Real Estate Group, CG Schmidt, Clifton Larsen Allen, The Prairie School, WIPFLI, and Wegner CPAs, for their investment in the Kenosha-area business community.
Congratulations and best wishes for much continued success!
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Special Report BUSINESS IN KENOSHA COUNTY
Haribo puts down roots as it moves closer to groundbreaking BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer THE TOP SPONSORS of the past two Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce All-Member Meetings have mostly been well known companies – with names like Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, J.P. Morgan Chase, Aurora Health Care and the Milwaukee Bucks. But among those names in 2017 and 2019 was Haribo, the German gummi bear maker planning to build its first U.S. production facility in Pleasant Prairie. Haribo also had a presence at German Fest in Milwaukee this year, helped with the renovation of a “Tween Center” at the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha, and recently signed a 10-year partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Since Haribo of America originally announced
Proud to be part of the Racine/Kenosha growth
Kenosha Business is Our Business At Reinhart, we always put our clients first. As long-standing partners in Kenosha’s business success, our attorneys help clients face important issues, execute sound strategies, and achieve their business goals while building lasting relationships.
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Special Report BUSINESS IN KENOSHA COUNTY
Wes Saber, CFO of Haribo of America, speaks at the 2017 MMAC All-Member Meeting. its plans in 2017, the company has been working to create relationships in the community before starting to build its Pleasant Prairie facility. Lauren Triffler, senior communications manager for the Rosemont, Illinois-based company, said Haribo has received a warm welcome. The Parkside partnership is at least a $300,000 commitment from the company that provides funding for renovations of athletic facilities on the campus, along with support for UW-Parkside Foundation need-based scholarships. “We really want to be part of the community,” Triffler said. “We don’t want to just be a factory producing gummi bears and not really letting people know who we are and what we value as a company.” Among those values is quality, which helps explain why a factory that, when it was first announced, was supposed to begin construction in 2018 and production in 2020 is now on track to break ground next year. “One of our most important values is quality, so that’s not something we sacrifice,” Triffler said. “If that means it takes more time, then we’re going to do that, because we want to make sure our factory is set up for success to produce top-quality products for consumers. We want the best materials. We want the best machinery. So if that means the timing shifts a little bit, then we’re going to do that, versus rush, rush, rush, just to produce. We never sacrifice quality.” Triffler said the delay is also partially a result of the opportunity the company has in establishing its first U.S. production facility. “I think we had one original plan and then once we got into the community and we started thinking about all we could do, it started to become a bigger build,” she said. “We started to think about things like, what if we did an immersive experi34 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
ence? And so that added more time. I think we just really want it to be the best that it can possibly be, so when you start adding and adding, that takes more time.” The originally announced plans called for a 500,000-square-foot facility to be located in the Prairie Highlands Corporate Park, west of I-94 between Highways 165 and 50. The company, which is eligible for $21 million in state tax credits, selected the site over seven options in Illinois because of its affordability, visibility from and proximity to the interstate, utility costs, proximity to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, workforce and land costs. The project has grown to also include elements to help expose consumers to the Haribo brand, including a retail store, promotional areas and a museum. It will have around 450 employees after the first phase of construction, and more than 1,200 at full buildout. Triffler said that in Europe and the United Kingdom there are plenty of ways for consumers to interact with the Haribo brand. “In the U.S., that doesn’t exist yet. We don’t have standalone stores. We just have our retail partners,” she said. The idea is for the Pleasant Prairie facility to be a place where consumers can try products and learn about the company history, its values and how products are made. “It gives people something to engage with, versus just getting the bag and thinking ‘this is delicious’ and maybe it leaves their mind,” Triffler said. While Haribo has 100 years of history in Europe, the company has only been strategically investing in the U.S. for around five years. Establishing a U.S. factory will make products more readily available to consumers. Haribo currently imports all of its candy for the U.S. by boat
from facilities in Germany, Brazil, Turkey, France and Spain. “We don’t want to sacrifice freshness at all, but there’s always a time delay,” Triffler said. “The time will already be drastically improved … it doesn’t mean we’re not going to import anymore, because we are a global company, so the markets support each other, but having production in the U.S. is really going to be huge for us as a business.” The Pleasant Prairie project is Haribo’s first build in the Americas and Triffler acknowledged there have been some adjustments as the company adapts to different sourcing partners and regulations. “I think we’re all on a learning journey,” she said, noting the company’s global head of production Arndt Ruesges has been brought on to oversee the building and operation of the facility. Even as the company focuses on developing a clear plan for its operation and establishing community connections, it is hard to not draw comparisons to Foxconn, the other major project in the area also announced in 2017. If nothing else, it would seem the attention and resources dedicated to the mega-project in Mount Pleasant could have delayed Haribo. Asked about it, Triffler said the company has remained focused on its own project. “We’re definitely focused on what we’re trying to do while also becoming part of the community,” she said. “We want to ensure that people know we’re there to stay and we are going to be there. It’s just a matter of the timeline, but we have never wavered on our commitment to be there.” Triffler added that the company continues to refine its plans for exactly which candies it will produce in what volumes at the Pleasant Prairie facility. “When we have certainty about what we’re going to do then we’re going to start, so we’re still on track for the groundbreaking next year,” she said. n
Strategies INNOVATION
The talent to innovate How companies can find the smart, creative employees they need MANY AMERICANS KNOW from watching the 1995 movie about Apollo 13, featuring Tom Hanks, the story of how that space mission averted disaster for the astronauts. But what most Americans don’t know is that the real reason they made it back to Earth safely was an unknown contribution by Dr. Ken Cox, a NASA scientist. His formal title was manager of primary flight control systems. In their book “Agile Innovation,” authors Langdon Morris, Moses Ma and Po Chi Wu documented the Apollo 13 crisis, in which the astronauts’ lives were at stake when it was discovered in the middle of the flight that an oxygen tank had exploded, creating problems for the propulsion system, the navigation system and all power generation. Cox had worried that the main digital control system on the spacecraft had no backup in case of failure. He made an impassioned plea for the addition of a contingency system called a backup analog system. Top brass vetoed the idea, but Cox surreptitiously figured out a way to embed it in the spacecraft. So, when the explosion occurred on Apollo 13 and the main propulsion system became inoperable, it was his backup analog system that came to the rescue and ultimately saved the lives of the astronauts. Every CEO often asks employees to “think outside the box.” But that can’t happen unless the CEO has recruited innovative leaders to his or her team. How do you find people as brilliant and innovative as Ken Cox?
In their book, Morris, Ma and Wu argue that recruiting individuals who have arrived at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy is critical. Those are individuals who are focused on self-mastery and reaching their full human potential. Whatever they take on they aspire to be the best. Consequently, it’s critical that certain qualities be embedded in every search for creative leaders. The authors suggest looking for individuals that: »» Are passionate about solving important problems. »» Have empathy for the human condition. »» Are motivated internally and not by external authority. »» Most importantly, they want to accomplish great things with their lives. How do you find these people? There’s no substitute for using a quality search firm that can identify those candidates. So when you select a search firm make sure you look for those with a track record of hiring creative talent. Ask what systems they have in place to identify those types of candidates. In Milwaukee, there are two firms that excel in this. Scott Seefeld and Jonathan Reynolds of Titus Talent Strategies put in place a process that helps identify those kinds of leaders. They have a twostep process: 1. THE BRIEFCASE, which identifies the key qualities and credentials candidates must have to meet the requirements of the job. 2. THE HEART, which determines what motivates individuals internally. Are they self-actualizing people that Maslow’s identified as at the top of his famous hierarchy? They have tests that reveal individual motivation, hence understanding their heart, not just their mind. Titus also provides a series of workshops to train members of your team how to hire smart. They focus on teaching how to attract candidates, write better job descriptions, and most importantly evaluate those candidates in depth and select the best. Another firm is led by Kathy Panaro, also an entrepreneur in her own right. The Panaro Group
is a technology recruiting firm that specializes in professionals in the IT, manufacturing and engineering spaces. Her firm looks for innovative qualities in every candidate. Technology is changing at the speed of light. It is a very exciting time! Her recruiting teams are learning the new technologies daily to stay on top of their game. They attend seminars, read articles, talk to leaders and remain engaged in the tech scene. Consequently, they are able to ascertain very quickly what companies are trying to accomplish with technology in order to identify, recruit and screen the right candidates. This could range from AI (artificial intelligence), block chain, cloud, e-commerce platforms and SaaS tools in IT, to embedded software, robotics technology and new product innovations. During the Apollo 13 mission, after the crisis struck and the astronauts’ lives were on the line, the flight director gravely intoned: “Failure is not an option.” That’s true for the rest of us in running our companies. But failure can only be avoided if you have the right talent in place to drive never-ending innovation. n
DAN STEININGER Dan Steininger, author, speaker and business advisor is president of Steininger & Associates LLC, which helps companies drive innovation. He is also president and founder of BizStarts and can be reached at Dan@BizStarts.com. biztimes.com / 35
Strategies FAMILY BUSINESS
The toughest decision Family businesses need a succession plan
“Who is the next in line? This is what rarely goes smoothly.”
IF YOU ARE A FAMILY IN BUSINESS and don’t get HBO, I strongly suggest you plunk down $14.99 and binge-watch “Succession.” It is the all too real story of a media tycoon born outside the U.S. who immigrated here and built a fortune. Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch come to mind, although this show is really a fictional account. The part that isn’t fictionalized is the drama, which takes place in the family when the 80-yearold father has his birthday and previously announced his turning over the reins of the family business. The show is an interplay between the owner’s spawn as they negotiate to rise to the top of the company. And then dad suffers a brain aneurysm before the announcement of his successor can be named. When groups have events dealing with family businesses, they frequently fail. The reason is simple: the succession planning that most work 36 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
toward is not the succession planning most businesses need. The hard skill accountants, financial planners and bankers who flock to assist are rarely the ones that family businesses need the most. Don’t get me wrong, they need those skills and service providers. But the problems that many family businesses face are not going to be solved by those entities. The soft skill relationships are usually the biggest problems I see. The interplay between family members. The brothers who don’t get along. The cousins who don’t get along and never intended in being in business together. The sister alienated by a gentrified father who wants his boys taking over and, well, they don’t have the aptitude for it. The father who stays in the business too long because his worth is tied up in the business – his self-worth along with financial worth. It is sometimes more difficult to have a challenging conversation with your family than it is with a business associate. After all, you are the son or daughter talking with your parents. Many families in business don’t transition well from that parent-and-child relationship. As a result, the child is always trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations of the parent and the parent is constantly lording them being the parent over the child, who might now be 40 or 50 years old. Another fact of the matter might be that the child is simply not capable of taking over the family business. If the parent tells the next generation this, if they realize it at all, they risk the enmity of the child. But if they move forward with a child who is not ready, and perhaps will never be ready, they will eventually run the business into the ground. The toughest business decision the owner and founder must make is who to pass the business on to. Who is the next in line? This is what rarely goes smoothly. This is what is usually ignored, to the peril of the longevity and survivability of the company. In previous columns, I have identified other directions business owners can go if they find themselves without an heir. Hiring a regent is one possibility, but it is usually met with mixed success. Having the next generation buy the
firm rather than gift it makes sense and all the pundits suggest this is the best way to ensure the interest and buy-in of the next generation, as well as the cashing out of the business the owners need. But some owners view this as transactional and can only see their way toward gifting the company ownership. Finally, there is always the option of an outright sale of the company to a third party that is not related. In some ways this destroys the positives of what a family business is supposed to be and should be seen as extreme. I am frequently perplexed by business owners who decide to close without selling or passing the business along. Perhaps this is a vestige of the real problem: the difficulty in deciding who the next person up really is or should be. If you watch “Succession” on HBO, know this: it isn’t too far-fetched from the reality that I often see in real-world family business succession planning. n
DAVID BORST David Borst, Ed.D., is executive director and chief operating officer of Family Business Leadership Partners, a regional resource hub for family business. He can be reached at david@cuw.edu.
Tip Sheet Using technology for business growth and social good
T
he phrase “digital transformation” is usually associated with technology such as artificial intelligence, block chain, data analytics and The Internet of Things, but there is often a lack of clarity with what the term actually means. In a recent Ernst & Young article, author and global
managing partner Andy Baldwin argues companies can only take full advantage of technology if employees and leaders fully understand it, value it and put it to use. That’s because “technology alone does not and cannot transform organizations,” Baldwin says. Rather, people transform organizations when they are empowered by technology. He suggests three ways organizations can effectively use technology for growth and social good. 1. Prioritize people Digital transformation is more about unlocking human potential than it is about replacing them with machines. Technology can and should be used as a tool to enable people to increase productivity, expand opportunities and accelerate career development. “Consider how your business could move forward if people are relieved of some of their most mundane tasks to focus on more strategic and higher-value activities,” Baldwin says.
2. No one gets left behind Because technology is constantly changing at a fast pace, people could easily be left in the dust if they are not taught how to keep up. Baldwin recommends that companies invest in talent training and development to help employees unlock their full potential. By maintaining high ethical standards around respecting privacy and protecting personal data, organizations will build trust, which leads to inclusive growth. 3. Strive for collaboration Digital transformation becomes a force for good when it benefits multiple parties, both internally and externally. But one organization cannot achieve that by itself, says Baldwin. That’s why it’s necessary to collaborate with other groups, like startups, to create solutions that benefit not only your company, but also your industry and society as a whole. n
SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN’S BUSINESS LEADERS ATTENDED THE ANNUAL MMAC/COSBE FUTURE 50 AWARDS LUNCHEON ON SEPTEMBER 20TH AT THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY CENTER. THE PROGRAM CELEBRATED THE SUCCESS OF 50 FAST-GROWING BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE REGION.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE WINNERS, AND THANK YOU TO THE EVENT SPONSORS!
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38 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
BIZ PEOPLE
Advertising Section: New Hires, Promotions and Board Appointments
INTERIORS
TECHNOLOGY Schroeder Solutions announces promotion of AJ Fink to Director of Workplace Strategy.
Schroeder Solutions is pleased to announce the promotion of AJ Fink. In his new role as Director of Workplace Strategy, he will use his over 19 years of operations and sales experience to foster relationships with clients and vendors to support the creation of dynamic work environments. He will lead educational programming and networking efforts that support the future of the workplace with an emphasis on simplifying the management of work environments while improving productivity, efficiency, communication and the overall quality of work life.
FINANCIAL SERVICES Nick Arneson, VP, Joins the Equipment Finance Team at First Business Bank. Nick has 20 years of experience in sales management and finance primarily facilitating sales of specialty vehicles for manufacturers and distributors. He helps deliver customized, competitively priced financial solutions for equipment suppliers.
FINANCIAL SERVICES RSM designates Jon Flusser as a new director in Milwaukee. Jon will be responsible for developing new business opportunities and creating customized solutions for our clients in Wisconsin. He will be a valuable asset as RSM continues to strive to provide an engaging, meaningful client experience.
Engineered Security Solutions Inc. names Rich Hewitt President. Engineered Security Solutions, a leader in commercial integrated-technology security services, welcomes Rich Hewitt as President. In addition to leading day-to-day operations, Hewitt will focus on new integrated product lines that most benefit the ESS customer base. Hewitt has a 25-year history in the industry, leading change in fast-paced environments dealing with disruptive technology. Most recently Hewitt served as Vice President, Integration Sales, North America at a leading global security company. CEO Brian Bautz will remain highly involved with an increased focus on strategy and company culture.
FINANCIAL SERVICES Kyle Haug, VP, Joins First Business Bank. Kyle has more than 15 years of banking experience primarily serving southeastern Wisconsin. He has experience working with privately held manufacturing and distribution companies along with financing mergers and acquisitions.
FINANCIAL SERVICES RSM has announced Nicholas Hahn as a new risk consulting partner in Milwaukee. Nick provides experienced internal audit and specialized risk consulting services to his clients in commercial and community financial institutions, both privately and publicly held.
BIZ UPDATES
Advertising Section: Press Releases, etc.
AC T UA N T CH A N GE S N A M E TO ENERPAC TO O L GRO U P Actuant announces the adoption of its new business name, Enerpac Tool Group following the anticipated divestiture of its Engineered Solutions and Systems (“EC&S”) segment in the calendar fourth quarter of 2019. The company also launched a new corporate website at www.enerpactoolgroup.com and began trading under a new NYSE ticker symbol (EPAC) on Monday, October 7th. The new name signifies the company’s continued progression toward becoming a premier pure-play industrial tools and services company with the Enerpac brand at its core.
The company plans to grow the business both organically and through acquisitions aligned with its new concentration on tools. Enerpac Tool Group will become a more meaningful partner to customers and suppliers as it expands its tools and services offering.
Enerpac Tool Group will continue to be led by President and Chief Executive Officer Randy Baker and the headquarters will remain in Menomonee Falls.
FINANCIAL SERVICES David Schade, VP, Joins First Business Bank. David has held many roles in the financial industry, and in 2011, he started focusing on Treasury Management. David is working on his Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) designation in order to better understand and assist clients with their needs.
FINANCIAL SERVICES RSM announces Matthew Metzig as a new audit partner in Milwaukee. Matt has over 13 years of public accounting experience providing audit and consulting services to public and large private internationally-active companies. He serves clients within the manufacturing, wholesale and distribution sector.
To place your listing, or for more information, please visit biztimes. com/bizconnect
FINANCIAL SERVICES RSM names Zach Rieboldt as a new state and local tax partner in Milwaukee. Zach provides state and local tax consulting services to large public, as well as large and growing private companies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing and distribution, business and professional services, and technology.
biztimes.com / 39
BizConnections NONPROFIT
c alendar Courage MKE will host its annual gala on Friday, Nov. 1, from 6-10
p.m. at the Pritzlaff, 325 N. Plankinton Ave. More information is available at CourageMKE.org. Milwaukee SCORES will host The Art of Poetry Soiree fundraiser
on Friday, Nov. 1, from 6-8:30 p.m. at Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, 2220 N. Terrace Ave. More information is available at americascoresmke.org. NEWaukee is hosting Sensorial: A Masquerade Ball on Friday,
Nov. 8, from 8 p.m. to midnight at Saint Kate Arts Hotel, 139 E. Kilbourn Ave., in support of the United Performing Arts Fund. More information is available at NEWaukee.com. Chosen Inc. will host its second annual Open Hearts, Open
Homes gala on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Crowne Plaza, 10499 W. Innovation Drive, Wauwatosa. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. More information is available at choseninlove.org/2019gala.
D O N AT I O N R O U N D U P The UNCF Empower Me Tour recently awarded nearly $1 million dollars in scholarships to Milwaukee area students. | The 30th Anniversary AIDS Walk Wisconsin and 5K Run recently raised $361,900 to support HIV prevention, care and treatment programs throughout the state. | Modine Manufacturing Company’s foundation announced it is giving $200,000 over five years to nonprofit education agency Higher Expectations for Racine County. | Racine Revitalization Partnership was awarded $50,000 from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to help purchase two dwellings in Racine that will provide three permanent supportive housing units. | Friends, Inc. was awarded $28,000 from WHEDA for rehabilitation at its emergency shelter in West Bend. | Midwest Conservation Dogs, Inc. was awarded a $10,000 grant from United Way as part of the 2019 Stacy’s Rise Program.
40 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
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cultural and underrepresented students with additional resources and connections before they begin classes. “I was very lucky when I grew up,” Thomas Werner said. “For me, a college education was expected, and even a given, but that isn’t true for so many young people. As a trustee of Marquette University, this was a great opportunity to give back and to open wider doors for higher education. We are proud that more first-generation and minority students will now have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the world by attending a great institution with tremendous leadership and a strong mission.” — Lauren Anderson
SPOTLIGHT Gu
Marquette University alumnus Thomas Werner and his wife Suzanne are donating $5 million to support scholarships for first-generation students at the university. Thomas Werner is chief executive officer of San Jose, California-based global solar company SunPower Corp. A 1986 Marquette graduate, he has served on the university’s board of trustees since 2012. The gift will launch The Thomas & Suzanne Werner Endowed Scholars Program for First-Generation Students and will support Ready to Inspire Success and Excellence, Marquette’s new pre-orientation program. RISE aims to provide multi-
nonprofit
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MARQUETTE UNIVERSIT Y ALUMNUS GIVES $5 MILLION FOR FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
G U I TA R S F O R V E T S
6501 3rd Ave., Kenosha 855-G4V-HERO (855-448-4376) | Guitarsforvets.org Facebook: facebook.com/GuitarsForVets Twitter: @GuitarsForVets Year founded: 2007 Mission statement: Guitars for Vets puts the healing power of music in the hands of heroes. Primary focus: Bringing hope and joy to United States military veterans struggling with the challenges of physical and emotional injuries by providing them with free guitars and lessons. Other focuses: Building community by providing a forum for veterans and civilians to come together and share music, stories, understanding, teamwork and camaraderie. Employees at this location: Four Key donors: Yamaha, Gibson Foundation, Kraft Music, Hal Leonard, Reverb and The Les Paul Foundation. Executive leadership: Eric Weinstein, executive director; Patrick Nettesheim, co-founder, fundraising, strategic partnerships, media; Bernie Kampf, director of operations; Michael Nettesheim, event coordinator and donations; Bailey King, national chapter coordinator; Peg Andrae, operations. Board of directors: Pete Ruzicka, president and chairman; Bernard (Bud) Bobber, secretary; Dave Globig, treasurer; Beverly R. Belfer, Ph.D.; Ben Kraft; Major General Stephen R. Layfield, USA (ret); and Eric Weinstein.
Is your organization actively seeking board members? Yes. What roles are you looking to fill? Fundraising and strategic corporate partnerships. Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: Guitars for Vets is in need of donations of musical instruments and money. Additionally, we are seeking volunteers with great communication skills and a passion for supporting our vets. Key fundraising events: »» Guitars for Vets Benefit Concert: Saturday, Nov. 9, 4-6 p.m., Brass Bell Music Store, 210 W. Silver Spring Drive, Glendale. Free performances by Guitars for Vets students and instructors. Guitar and instrument drive to take place all week leading up to the performance. Donations accepted at Brass Bell Music Store. »» Rock to Remember: Monday, Nov. 11, 6-10 p.m., Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee. Performances by Kharma Shotgun, Scott E. Berendt & the U.S. Project, Shattered. Familyfriendly soiree will feature silent auctions, music, dancing and many surprises as we celebrate our military veterans of all ages. Instrument donations are encouraged. Food, beverages and G4V apparel will be available.
AROUND TOWN Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s On the Table 2019 event
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Representatives from Milwaukee’s business and nonprofit communities recently gathered at The Pfister Hotel for the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s third annual On the Table MKE event. 1.
JAMY MALATESTA, community volunteer, and SARA GRUNWALDT of Northwestern Mutual.
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KATIE EIRING of Marcus Hotels & Resorts and EMILY TAU of VISIT Milwaukee.
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VANESSA LLANAS of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s office and DONNA TRIPLETT of Jewish Family Services Milwaukee.
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JEANNIE FENCEROY of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and CADIN TRUESDALE of Pfizer.
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BRITT GROSENICK of The Pfister and MIKAYLA DHEIN of White Lodging.
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EDWARD MITCHELL of Advocate Aurora Health and JARED JUDGE of BookLive.
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LYNDA KOHLER of SHARP Literacy and DOUGLAS ERLACHER of Wells Fargo Advisors. Photos by Lauren Anderson
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Greater Milwaukee Committee monthly member meeting
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Business and community leaders recently gathered for the Greater Milwaukee Committee’s monthly member meeting to hear from Liz Gilbert, president of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee, who spoke about opportunities related to the upcoming Democratic National Convention. 8.
MELISSA BAXTER of the Greater Milwaukee Committee and U.S. Rep. GWEN MOORE.
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AMY LINDNER of United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County and SHARON CANTER of Milwaukee Women Inc.
10. JIM MUELLER of mueller QAAS and CARL MUELLER of Mueller Communications.
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11. NEISHA BLANDIN of Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee and CHRISTY GARCIATHOMAS of Advocate Aurora Health. 12. CARL MUELLER of Mueller Communications, PEGGY TROY of Children’s Wisconsin, and BETSY BRENNER, former president and publisher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 13. KIM STOLL of Badger Meter Inc. and TODD TESKE of Briggs & Stratton Corp.
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14. LIZ GILBERT, president of Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee, and SHIRLEY ELLIS, senior advisor and district director for U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore. Photos by Maredithe Meyer biztimes.com / 41
BizConnections VOLUME 25, NUMBER 15 | OCT 28, 2019
GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR
126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | advertising@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7100 | reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com
SALES & MARKETING
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / OWNER Kate Meyer kate.meyer@biztimes.com
EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com REPORTER Brandon Anderegg brandon.anderegg@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com
The Pfister This undated photo shows the Pfister Hotel from along East Wisconsin Avenue. The hotel opened in 1893 and cost nearly $1 million to build, around $28 million today. A 23-story guest room tower was added in the 1960s after the hotel was bought by Ben Marcus at auction in 1962. Today, the hotel has 307 guest rooms, a 275-car parking ramp and 25,000 square feet of banquet and convention facilities. — Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Museum
COMMENTARY
Big mistake to reject Strauss Brands plans ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLES of economic decline in Milwaukee’s central city is the story of A.O. Smith. Founded in 1874 as a baby carriage and bicycle parts manufacturer, A.O. Smith grew into a Fortune 500 company with a massive auto frame manufacturing complex along Capitol Drive on Milwaukee’s northwest side. A.O. Smith was also a defense contractor and at its peak had 15,000 employees at the Capitol Drive complex. The company still had 6,000 employees there in the early 1980s. In 1997, A.O. Smith sold its automotive business to Tower Automotive Inc. At that time the Capitol Drive complex still had 2,800 employees. But in 2006 Tower Automotive shut down its Milwaukee operation. At a place where thousands of people once worked, there were none. The former A.O. Smith/Tower Automotive 42 / BizTimes Milwaukee OCTOBER 28, 2019
site was acquired by the city of Milwaukee, which spent years working to transform it into a business park, which officials named Century City. It has not been easy to attract businesses to Century City Business Park. Companies are unfortunately reluctant to establish operations in low income areas with higher levels of crime. Efforts to attract businesses to Century City finally gained some momentum recently, with the return of Talgo and the addition of Good City Brewing. Talgo plans to add 63 jobs, bringing its employment at Century City to 90. Good City Brewing moved its headquarters office and warehousing, with a total of about 10 jobs, to Century City. That’s great news for Milwaukee, but Century City is still a long way away from providing the thousands of family-supporting jobs that the site once did in its A.O. Smith heyday. When Franklin-based Strauss Brands announced plans to move its headquarters and meat processing facility to Century City, starting with 250 jobs, it seemed like Century City had finally gained significant momentum in attracting employers. City officials enthusiastically backed the plans. But all of that changed when activists raised
REPORTER Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com
ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com
PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com
INTERN REPORTER Marla Hiller marla.hiller@biztimes.com
DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com
Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —
concerns about the establishment of a “slaughterhouse” in Century City, which is surrounded by residential neighborhoods. Ald. Khalif Rainey, who represents the area, suddenly did a 180, flip-flopping from Strauss Brands supporter to opponent in less than a week. Quickly the company caved too, and dropped its plans for Century City. Concerns from neighbors should absolutely be taken seriously, but it seems like nobody took the time to see if they could be addressed. A huge opportunity to bring jobs to an area that desperately needs them has been lost and a terrible message has been sent to the business community. It will take bold leadership to revitalize the central city. That was sorely lacking with the Strauss Brands plans. n
ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR
P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland
LILA ARYAN PHOTOGRAPHY
the LASTWORD
JASON LIU |
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Growth boils down to people, product and process Jason Liu has been CEO of Zywave since 2018. He says people, product and process are important for growth, but each matters in a specific way.
“When I think about business growth, it all boils down to three things: people, product and process. A solid foundation for any company is built upon its people. And while it’s essential to hire the best people, it’s equally important to continue to train, manage and mentor those individuals so they continue to grow with your business. In our fast-paced world, that’s often where employers fall short. “With the right people in place, the next priority is product. Instead of trying to specialize in
many things, in my experience, companies are most successful when they double-down on what they do best. With a clearer focus on fewer initiatives, you can put more resources behind making your company’s best products the best products in your entire industry. “Finally, to help ensure success, a growth company needs the right types and the right amount of processes in place. Too few processes leave room for ambiguity and inefficiency, while too many may become cumbersome and unpro-
Zywave Wauwatosa Industry: Insurance technology Employees: 300 local, nearly 400 globally zywave.com
ductive. Striking just the right balance will facilitate organization and communication to drive better execution. “With the best people working on your best products, and clearly defined internal processes in place, a company can be successfully positioned for long-term growth.” n biztimes.com / 43
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2019 | 7:00am - 7:25am - Registration & Networking | 7:25am - 9:30am - Breakfast & Program
MILWAUKEE HAS ARRIVED… NOW WHAT? Several significant commercial real estate developments and events have occurred, or will occur soon, in our region in recent years (the DNC in Milwaukee, major golf championships, Fiserv Forum, Foxconn, Northwestern Mutual Tower & Commons, Komatsu’s new headquarters in the Harbor District, Michels Corp.’s R1VER project in Bay View, the new Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performance center…and many others). These developments and events are bringing new excitement and attention to Milwaukee. But now what? How will the Milwaukee area capitalize on all of this activity, and what impact will it all have on the region’s commercial real estate market moving forward?
KEYNOTE: The Future of Experience Design - In the next 5-10 years, we will see changes in consumer expectations and cravings for new experiences in their spaces for living, learning, working and playing. These emerging changes may influence the physical design, services, value propositions and modes of transactions that are relevant to Real Estate developers and associated businesses. In this session, Michael Perman, CEO & founder of C’EST WHAT? LLC will first share his perspectives on how we can train our minds to perceive what is coming over the horizon. Then, Michael will share foresight and emerging innovation waves that may appeal to future participants in new spaces based on changes in culture, lifestyle, technology and design.
A panel of prominent real estate professionals will discuss the opportunities for economic growth in metro Milwaukee, as well as the significant challenges facing the region and how it will all impact the commercial real estate development in the area.
PANELISTS: 1
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Kalan R. Haywood, Sr., President, Haywood Group, LLC (1) Juli Kaufmann, President, Fix Development (2) Steve Palec, Chief Marketing Officer, Irgens (3) Blair Williams, President, WiRED (4)
MODERATOR:
Andy Hunt, Director, Marquette University Center for Real Estate (5) 4
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