WisconsinBiz 2015 by BizTimes Media

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 73

125

ON THE COVER

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGIONS

WISCONSIN’S PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE Meet 15 of Wisconsin’s most innovative, hard-working and groundbreaking individuals

Each of our nine regions has a distinct identity, lending its voice to the larger whole

126

MADRep

FEATURE 10 OUTSTANDING INNOVATORS YOU SHOULD KNOW RIGHT NOW

128

Milwaukee 7

They’re technologists, designers and mad scientists – and they’re shaping the future

130

New North

132

7 Rivers Alliance/Prosperity Southwest

FEATURE GEN Y RISING They don’t do things the way their parents did – they’re forging their own destiny

134

Momentum West/Centergy/Visions Northwest/Grow North

Eco-entrepreneur Sonya Newenhouse. (Troy Freund Photography)

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Publisher’s Note A letter from Gov. Scott Walker

WISCONSIN’S INDUSTRIES MORE THAN MANUFACTURING: Wisconsin is also an important player in both renewable resource management and bioscience

Advanced Manufacturing

Finance & Insurance

Bioscience & Healthcare

111

136

The push is on to develop a skilled and flexible workforce

Some of the world’s most significant advancements started in Wisconsin research labs

A compendium of resources for doing business in Wisconsin

EDUCATION

100

Food & Agriculture

2015 RESOURCE DIRECTORY

K-12: A renewed focus on early learning

112

102

119

138

UW-Madison’s CALS

Wisconsin Incubators & Accelerators

124

139

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITIES: adapting to serve business

104

TECHNICAL COLLEGES: developing the future workforce

107

Water

RESEARCH

INTERVIEW: Morna Foy A few words with Wisconsin’s Tech College System President

Transportation & Logistics

Tourism

12 big ideas in Wisconsin research

QUICK HIT: Wisconsin’s Inc. 5000 Companies

136

Wisconsin EDOs

Business Funding Sources

141

Private Colleges & Universities

142

State Colleges, Universities & Technical Colleges

143

Native American Tribes of Wisconsin

2015 WISCONSINBIZ SPONSORED REPORTS American Family Insurance ...................................................... FINANCE & INSURANCE 32 Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin................................................................ INNOVATION 82 Concordia University...........................................................................................RESEARCH 120 Marquette University....................................................................................... INNOVATION 80 Milwaukee School of Engineering ........................... ADVANCED MANUFACTURING 22 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee............................................................RESEARCH 122 University of Wisconsin System .................................................................. EDUCATION 64 Water Council of Wisconsin ................................................................WATER INDUSTRY 43

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

Waukesha County Technical College...................................................... INNOVATION 84 Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) ....................................................ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 9 Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) ...................................................INDUSTRY COLLABORATION 92 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board ............................................ FOOD & AGRICULTURE 52 Wisconsin Technical College System ....................................................... EDUCATION 108

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PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

DEAR READERS, 2015 marks our third annual edition of WisconsinBiz Magazine. First published in April 2013, the purpose of this publication is to offer a statewide look at Wisconsin’s business climate – its strengths, trends, opportunities and the surrounding factors that impact our economic growth. This year we turn to the people who are working hard to turn Wisconsin into an economic powerhouse. They run the gamut of professions, from biochemists, engineers and technologists to manufacturers, farmers, arts allies and more. They are Millennials, Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers – women and men, of every ethnicity and a broad spectrum of backgrounds. All share a passion for innovation, whether they work in large institutions or are trailblazing entrepreneurs. They also share a love of home – Wisconsin – and all of the treasures that abound here. I hope you enjoy this copy of WisconsinBiz 2015. Additional print copies can be requested throughout the year by calling the BizTimes Media office at 414-277-8181; you can also find these articles and a complete digital edition at wisconsinbiz.com. I would like to thank our sponsors for their continued support of this work. Our 2015 pillar sponsors (who each say a word in the pages immediately following) are Associated Bank; the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC); the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP); and the University of Wisconsin System. Our cluster sponsors this year are: Milwaukee School of Engineering; the Water Council; and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Without them, WisconsinBiz would not be possible. This year we’ve also gained a great deal of insight from reader feedback. We hope you enjoy our new features, from a more detailed table of contents to easier navigation through the book and a cleaner, more visual design and more profiles of businesses and people. If you’d like to share your own thoughts about WisconsinBiz, feel free to drop me an email at dan.meyer@biztimes.com. Thanks again for your support, DAN MEYER PUBLISHER, BIZTIMES MEDIA LLC

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

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GOVERNOR’S LETTER

WISCONSINBIZ 2015 Edition

126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403 Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.wisconsinbiz.com CIRCULATION E-MAIL: circulation@biztimes.com REPRINTS: Wrights Media, Wyndell Hamilton

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PUBLISHER:

WE ARE SEEING THE POSITIVE RESULTS OF OUR BOLD REFORMS TO SPUR WISCONSIN’S ECONOMY EVERY DAY. The state’s unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 2008 and more than 150,000 private-sector jobs have been created since we’ve taken office. More than 30,000 new businesses have started since December 2010, and a just-released Gallup ranking of state job markets has Wisconsin tied for second in the nation for best hiring climate. In 2014, Wisconsin companies exported $23.4 billion in goods worldwide – an all-time high for the state and an 18 percent jump over four years ago. We’ve also reformed state government to place a greater emphasis on job growth and economic development, and have provided more than $2 billion in tax relief to Wisconsin’s families, workers, senior citizens, and business owners. Wisconsin’s business leaders are taking note of the changes we’ve implemented – as well as the positive results of those changes. In 2010, just 10 percent of job creators surveyed by the state chamber thought Wisconsin was headed in the right direction. Today, 96 percent feel that way. I’m proud of the reforms we’ve enacted and the way in which state government is working with businesses around Wisconsin to continue moving our economy forward. In order to continue that success, the state must respond quickly to the needs and concerns of the business community, and help companies

of all sizes and all industries address the challenges of the 21st century. As I travel around the state, I hear business leaders talk about the importance of ensuring that Wisconsin continue to maintain a skilled and dedicated workforce that can fill the jobs of today and tomorrow. That’s why we’ve increased investments in working training by more than $100 million to make certain the current and future workers are qualified for the jobs that Wisconsin companies need to fill. Once again this year, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is working with BizTimes Media to showcase the state’s numerous attributes and to the highlight some of the successes we’re seeing in all segments of our economy. In addition to those stories, you will find information on the programs and resources available to help companies looking to startup, expand or relocate operations in Wisconsin, and I urge you to take advantage of those tools to help maximize your business’ success. The economic successes we’ve experienced over the last few years are in large part a result of the strong partnership that exists between state government and the business community. I look forward to continue to building upon that partnership as we work together to address the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Yours sincerely,

Daniel L. Meyer........ dan.meyer@biztimes.com BIZTIMES EXECUTIVE EDITOR:

Steve Jagler ...........steve.jagler@biztimes.com WISCONSINBIZ EDITOR:

Jon Anne Willow............jwillow@biztimes.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Martin Hintz, MaryBeth Matzek, Geri Parlin, Bridgette McCormick, Tom Held, Andrew Weiland, Alysha Schertz ART DIRECTOR:

Shelly Tabor ...........shelly.tabor@biztimes.com CREATIVE COORDINATOR:

Matt Cisz .................. matt.cisz@biztimes.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER:

Alex Schneider ....alex.schneider@biztimes.com ACCOUNT TEAM:

Linda Crawford ...linda.crawford@biztimes.com Jon Armstrong .....jon.armstrong@biztimes.com Robert Bahillo...... robert.bahillo@biztimes.com Maribeth Lynch .......... mb.lynch@biztimes.com Amber Stancer .... amber.stancer@biztimes.com DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS:

Mary Ernst .............. mary.ernst@biztimes.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT:

Sarah Sinsky..........sarah.sinsky@biztimes.com

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GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER

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MESSAGES FROM THE SPONSORS UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM

WISCONSIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

The University of Wisconsin is pleased to partner with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to celebrate what makes our state such a great place to live, work and study. With 26 campuses statewide and extension offices in all 72 counties, the UW System impacts citizens every day in ways both big and small, from training teachers in local schools to helping farmers manage drought conditions to enriching lives with on-campus dramatic productions. Wisconsin’s public university is graduating more students skilled in computer science, biotechnology and other high-growth fields, while helping more residents earn college degrees through innovative programs like the UW Flexible Option. As we look to the future, we know: »» The best Wisconsin jobs will require a college degree. »» Wisconsin businesses turn to the UW for new ideas, support and innovation. »» The UW has a strong positive impact in communities across the state, where the Wisconsin Idea is alive and well.

The number of companies that choose to expand in Wisconsin tells us we are doing something right when it comes to business development. As the state’s lead economic development agency, WEDC works with more than 600 partners to support economic growth. Together, we make certain that entrepreneurs find the support they need to succeed. We work to support the development of Wisconsin’s established and emerging sectors of strength, including manufacturing; agriculture; energy, power and control; water technology; food and beverage; and bioscience. We help existing businesses grow and reach new international markets through exporting, and we also encourage foreign direct investment in the state. Since economic success starts right here in Wisconsin, our community development programs and initiatives support vibrant communities around the state. We are thankful all this takes place against the backdrop of the state’s strong business climate, which instills confidence among job creators. We have a fully funded pension system, taxes have been reduced by $2 billion over the last four years, and 96 percent of employers are confident the state is headed in the right direction, up from 10 percent in 2010. On behalf of WEDC, I thank our many partners who are helping to move Wisconsin forward.

The vision we all share is a strong Wisconsin economy where citizens can enjoy a high quality of life. Uniquely positioned to help our residents achieve exactly that, the University of Wisconsin is a remarkable resource for current and future generations. Sincerely, RAY CROSS President, University of Wisconsin System

Sincerely, REED E. HALL Secretary and CEO Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation

ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP Five years ago, Associated faced a series of urgent challenges. While many considered it one of the darkest moments in our organization’s history, the leadership team and I knew this company could have a very strong future. We set our sights on an ambitious agenda to differentiate Associated with a vision to become the most admired Midwestern financial services company. This journey has been about transforming limitations into advantages and challenging ourselves to raise the bar on delivering value to our customers, our communities and our shareholders.

BANKING IS NOT JUST A TRANSACTIONAL BUSINESS. There is no better feeling than helping people prosper. Our commitment to business leaders begins by listening to their needs and ensuring they have access to the best solutions for their financial and business goals. Our ability to achieve this is enhanced by our status as a regional bank; we are small enough to build meaningful customer relationships, yet large enough to deliver a full suite of products to meet complex financial needs. Our values require us to make each customer connection a great experience. Every day our customers tell us we’re moving in the right direction. We hear about their positive experiences in our branches, through our online and mobile channels and through our local, industry-recognized Customer Care teams who are available anytime, day or night.

MORE OPPORTUNITY AHEAD. Becoming the most admired Midwestern financial services company is an extraordinary aspiration, and one we will continue to work hard to achieve. Sincerely, PHILIP B. FLYNN President and CEO, Associated Banc-Corp

THE WISCONSIN MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP The WMEP is proud to sponsor WisconsinBiz and bring you this collection of state resources. We appreciate our strategic partnerships with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, University of Wisconsin System, and Associated Banks. Our state provides great resources for companies that want to grow and thrive. We make leveraged public investments through the WEDC; provide terrific higher educational opportunities through the UW System and our technical college network; and create innovative approaches through the flexible resources of each of our two MEP centers. We understand how to make businesses thrive and we love to share our expertise. Both the WMEP and our sister Manufacturing Opportunity Center at UW8

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

Stout provide that help to small and medium sized manufacturers. Together we have the resources to link that expertise to practical solutions. Our connections with partners across the country bring the best thinking and practices to the state in order to help our companies succeed. These networks keep our manufacturing community strong and growing. The results speak for themselves: almost $4 billion in impact for our companies. We are proud and humble to be a part of this infrastructure. Together, we’re creating the best manufacturing environment in the world. We invite you to join us! Sincerely, BUCKLEY BRINKMAN Executive Director/CEO, Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership A product of BizTimes Media

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Today’s startup company could be tomorrow’s Epic Systems. And let’s be clear—it is innovative companies throughout Wisconsin that are creating jobs, not government agencies. The best we can do is to help companies operating here take advantage of the markets that exist for their products. And when they win, Wisconsin wins. When a company

LLA

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ACCELERATING BUSINESS GROWTH

EXPANDING GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES

In fiscal year 2014, investments by WEDC and our partners helped more than 2,000 businesses and communities create or retain an anticipated 32,689 jobs. We are proud of these results; however, job impact alone does not tell the full story of the positive outcomes—the ripple effects—that result from our state’s coordinated efforts to create new opportunities for business success.

spends millions of dollars on an expansion project, much of that money DEVELOPING THRIVING is pumped COMMUNITIES into the local economy through the purchase of materials, services and future vendor and supplier contracts.

Job creation, understandably, often serves as a shorthand metric to reflect an economy’s health. Indeed, along with the number of businesses and communities assisted, jobs impacted is a key metric the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) uses to gauge the effectiveness of the work we perform in concert with economic development partners throughout the state.

SUPPORTING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM

How does one measure the strength of a state’s business climate? Or, for that matter, the effects of economic development investments?

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W I D E PA

ADVANCING INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

Last year, WEDC invested in contracted projects that will result in more than $1.6 billion in direct capital investments in Wisconsin. These investments increase Wisconsin’s competitiveness for new business attraction, and they provide a foundation for new organic business development. Simply put, business fuels business. In the pages that follow are just a few stories of the wide-reaching and lasting outcomes that have resulted from projects WEDC has been part of.

ATTRACTING NEW BUSINESS

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EXPANDING

OPENING A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY ExporTech™ is a proven export strategy development program designed to speed a company’s “go-to-market” timeline by creating a customized international growth plan for the company’s product in target export markets.

Since 2010, 100 companies have completed the ExporTech program. In total, 20 ExporTech sessions have been held

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throughout the state,

Studies have shown that the majority of companies making a profit in the U.S. manufacturing sector are engaged in foreign sales and exporting, with exporters We now have a solid and experiencing 2.4-times faster overall executable strategy; in addition, company growth than their non-exporting we have a clear picture of the achievable results and we’re counterparts. Exporting offers small moving forward with confidence. and medium-sized companies a proven ExporTech took the mystery out of growth path.

with companies from 38

Todd Bielawa, President,

As the driving force in job creation and economic

Century Products

growth, small business expansion is critical to the

exporting.

Companies that participate in ExporTech receive access to subject matter experts; individualized coaching and consulting; customized support; and guided development of an international market strategy. The program provides a unique focus on top management success factors and aims to provide companies with early export success at a reduced risk.

EXPERIENCED PARTNERS WEDC partners with the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership and UW-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center to deliver the ExporTech Program. The program helps Wisconsin companies establish a proactive approach to export markets, whether they are new to exporting or seeking to develop a more strategic plan to reach new markets. By encouraging and supporting Wisconsin companies to pursue international growth, WEDC and its economic development partners facilitate progress toward a desired future that maximizes the potential of global markets.

of Wisconsin’s 72 counties participating. Graduates indicate an average positive financial impact of $548,390 within one year of program completion. Using that average, the estimated boost ExporTech has provided to all participating Wisconsin companies in the year following their session is nearly $55 million.

long-term health of Wisconsin’s economy. Companies engaged in international business are more stable, achieve higher growth rates and pay higher wages than those that only sell domestically.

Power Test Inc. of Sussex, Wisconsin, provides engine testing equipment to customers worldwide.

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SUPPORTING

FUELING BUSINESS STARTUPS Ideadvance, a $2 million seed fund launched by the UW System and WEDC, supports projects created at UW schools. The growth of Tali Payments leads to new market

The program’s funds help accelerate startups’ commercialization efforts by providing up to $75,000 in two stages for entrepreneurs who are working to bring their ideas to fruition, analyze markets, assess demand and tap into investment sources. This is the first gap fund in UW history.

opportunities for local main street business owners and long-term growth potential for other Wisconsin communities as Reeves’ business scales up. Tali Payments has employed 12 interns, allowing students to gain invaluable experiential learning opportunities to launch their own careers. Reeves has helped hundreds of students pursue new business ventures in Wisconsin.

One of the first Reeves and partner, Yusuf Dahl, share details of Tali Payments recipients of with a UWM professor. the Ideadvance Seed Fund grant was Tali Payments, a minority-owned business led by Carlton Reeves, a UW-Milwaukee engineering post-doctoral staff member. Tali Payments is a new twist on using smartphones to improve security and efficiency in mobile payments. Through Ideadvance’s Lean Startup training, tracking progress and distributing dollars, Reeves learned that his software could integrate with other systems and improve customer experiences.

Ideadvance has led to additional corporate engagements developing Lean Startup programming with large Wisconsin-based companies. The Ideadvance platform led to the build-out of the SBIR Advance Program, which provides $1 million in state funding to match federal Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer funding for Wisconsin’s

SEED FUND COLLABORATION: The $2 million Ideadvance Seed Fund is managed by the University of Wisconsin-Extension Center for Technology Commercialization and is funded through a $1 million UW System Economic Development Incentive Grant and $1 million from WEDC’s Capital Catalyst Program. The program is a novel mix of money, mentorship and accountability to help raise the entrepreneurial IQ in the state of Wisconsin—helping businesses commercialize complex technologies and innovative ideas more quickly.

high-tech companies. WEDC created the program to help these companies advance the

Through Ideadvance, we began to think outside of the box, and now we’re positioned to partner with a large fast-food chain in the Milwaukee area. We’ve made progress because we had to listen to customer problems and then be agile to solve those problems. Carlton Reeves

commercialization of technology.

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ATTRACTING

WISCONSIN LANDS NATION’S LARGEST ONLINE RETAILER Amazon’s decision to build two fulfillment centers in Kenosha and bring more than 1,200 jobs to the region was a key economic development win for the state, as the nation’s largest online retailer reviewed options in more than a dozen states before selecting Wisconsin.

The $300 million being spent on equipment, construction, supplies and other materials will benefit contractors and vendors throughout the state. Once the facilities are operational, its workers will patronize local restaurants and retailers. An economic modeling study using Economic Modeling

Amazon selected Kenosha due to the location’s easy access to I-94, its proximity to the Chicago metropolitan area and its expansion potential. In fact, Amazon initially had planned to construct one facility in Kenosha, but within months of that decision, it moved forward with plans for the second adjacent building.

Specialists International (EMSI) data projects the Amazon development will indirectly generate about 700 additional jobs in the region. The project will have a positive impact on the state treasury as online purchases made in Wisconsin will

A 500,000-square-foot sortation center is now operational, and construction is nearly complete on a 1,000,000-square-foot distribution facility, which is expected to be open by the end of 2015. The project represents more than 1.5 million square feet of space and a total investment of $300 million.

be subject to sales tax, a move that will generate an estimated $30 million annually for the state coffers. Direct and indirect jobs generated as a result

REGIONAL, LOCAL AND STATE PARTNERSHIPS Amazon has a very notable WEDC played a key role in landing and recognizable brand, so Amazon by authorizing the company to from that perspective, they have certainly increased awareness of receive up to $10.3 million in state tax Kenosha County and southeastern credits for the project. A development Wisconsin as a viable market for of this magnitude, however, would major logistics developments. not have been possible without the Todd Battle, President, cooperation of several key partners— Kenosha Area Business Alliance including the Kenosha Area Business Alliance, other state agencies, and the City of Kenosha, which provided $22.5 million in financial assistance for the project.

Amazon is building two fulfillment centers totaling more than 1.5 million square feet on 160 acres in Kenosha. (Photo courtesy of aerialscapes.com)

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of Amazon’s move are expected to create $22 million in state income tax revenue over the next five years.

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DEVELOPING

WISCONSIN MAIN STREET PROGRAM HELPS REVITALIZE DOWNTOWNS Anyone who has taken a walk through downtown Beloit will tell you that there is The Wisconsin Main Street something special about Program has been a huge benefit the city’s vibrant business for Downtown Beloit because it gives us the resources and tools we need district. to be successful. Many of the projects that have improved downtown may not have become a reality without the assistance and vision of the program.

Located along the banks of the Rock River, downtown Beloit hosts more than 50 days of Shauna El-Amin, events per year—from summer Executive Director, Downtown Beloit lunchtime concerts to a Saturday morning farmers market, which is considered one of the best in the state.

With its riverfront sculptures and murals as a backdrop, downtown Beloit has transformed into a thriving commercial district, now home to

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over 170 businesses and including amenities such as public art, bike paths and a canoe launch. The former Woolworth’s store underwent a significant renovation and now houses a grocery store that has become the focal point of a downtown filled with a dozen

The city’s downtown revitalization began more than 25 years ago, when Beloit became one of the first participants in the Wisconsin Main Street Program, which supports the restoration of the historic character of downtowns while pursuing strategies such as marketing, business recruitment and retention and public improvements. When the city joined the Main Street Program in 1988, the downtown had a weak business mix and plenty of vacancies. With support from the Wisconsin Main Street Program, downtown Beloit has experienced a true renaissance.

restaurants and cafés, boutiques and bookstores,

BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO HISTORIC DOWNTOWNS Beloit is one of 36 current Wisconsin Main Street communities receiving assistance from WEDC to develop strategies to breathe new life into business districts through the creative reuse of buildings, streetscape improvements, and proactive marketing and promotion efforts. Wisconsin Main Street is part of a nationwide program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has been recognized nationally for its participation, initiatives and outcomes.

Beloit’s success is being replicated in Main Street

The popular farmers market is one of dozens of events taking place year round in downtown Beloit.

museums and art galleries. Since Beloit became a Main Street community, there has been a net increase of 85 businesses and 150 new jobs. Over the last decade, there has been more than $41 million in private investment downtown and a 51 percent increase in property values.

communities throughout Wisconsin. Since 1989, those communities saw more than 3,000 businesses open their doors and create 7,100 jobs, with nearly $1 billion in private investment taking place in downtown districts.

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ACCELERATING

IN THE U.S. CHEESE MARKET, THERE’S AMPLE ROOM FOR GROWTH IN WISCONSIN Emmi Roth USA, the American arm of a vaunted Swiss company, has been producing high-end specialty cheeses for the U.S. market in Monroe for more than 30 years. In 2011, when its original creamery in Monroe reached capacity, the company launched a multi-state search for a location for its new factory. It eventually chose Platteville, a city of 11,000 in southwestern Wisconsin. The facility, Emmi Roth has a bright future which has been fully operational since in Wisconsin, and we are proud late 2013, employs 32 people full-time, to be their new home. and produces cheeses including Raclette, Larry Bierke, Fontina, GranQueso and the company’s Platteville City Manager signature Grand Cru. Continued rapid growth in demand for premium cheeses is forecast among U.S. consumers, and Emmi Roth has potential for even more expansion: the Platteville plant is at half its capacity, and there is space on adjacent land for additional buildings. As Emmi Roth also prepares to shift cheese production for its Canada and Mexico markets from Switzerland to Wisconsin, expansion in Platteville is likely.

Cheese that’s made in Wisconsin from Wisconsin milk is a major selling point for Emmi Roth’s products. Through local co-ops, the company purchases the milk of 2,400 cows on 120 farms within a 20-mile radius of Platteville. The University of Wisconsin-Platteville churns out graduates with the science and engineering knowledge needed to run the company’s sophisticated production equipment. Employees at the Platteville facility are nearly all local hires, and it was constructed by local contractors. Cardboard boxes to transport the cheese

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are made by a Platteville company. From Platteville, some of the cheese is sent elsewhere in Wisconsin for shredding and slicing.

PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS DRIVE PRIVATE SECTOR GROWTH As part of Emmi Roth’s contract with WEDC, the company agreed to make capital investments of more than $42 million in the new location. About one-quarter of this cost was offset by incentives from federal, state and local government—including $500,000 in tax credits and a $600,000 loan from WEDC. In return for these incentives, Emmi Roth established a fund that assists farmers in the transition to New Zealandstyle seasonal milking and grazing, thus expanding the ranks of grass-fed cows in Wisconsin. Entities at the various levels of government worked together effectively to create an attractive package that persuaded Emmi Roth to locate in Platteville and benefited the city, region and state.

Emmi Roth’s new facility employs 32 people and produces Raclette, Fontina, GranQueso and the company’s signature Grand Cru.

Emmi Roth sells its whey, a byproduct of the cheesemaking process, to a handful of Wisconsin whey processors, helping to meet the intense demand for this commodity for protein powders, baby food and other products.

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ADVANCING

GLOBAL WATER CENTER’S IMPACT ECHOES THROUGH WATER SECTOR AND BEYOND In the year-and-a-half since it opened, the Global Water Center (GWC) has become a bustling hub of water-related research and commerce. In 98,000 square feet of space spread across seven stories, 43 companies, including 14 startups, develop, test and successfully market new products and processes in water technology. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of WisconsinWhitewater also have space in the building, with researchers

Along with redevelopment of the 109-year-old GWC building, the entire Walker’s Point neighborhood is being revitalized. Zak’s Café opened in 2011, as plans for the new center were taking shape. The café now has 30 employees, a satellite location within the GWC, and a catering business supported largely by GWC meetings and events. The formerly dilapidated neighborhood now hums with activity—office workers seeking lunch, but also evening and weekend visitors headed to an ice cream parlor, a trendy restaurant, a wine bar, or a shop to purchase

Groundbreaking for the first of nine buildings planned for the 17-acre Reed Street Yards site is planned for spring 2015.

exploring topics including fluid dynamics, zooplankton behavior and the use of nanowire membranes for pollutant removal. The Water Council, the organization behind the center, has deliberately cultivated a mix of tenants whose offerings at times compete, but can also complement one another. The center’s culture of collaboration has helped establish Milwaukee as a worldwide hub for water innovation.

artisan chocolates or locally roasted coffee. A nearby architecture firm and property management firm are

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thriving with local projects. At the adjacent Reed Street Yards

TRANSNATIONAL AND CROSS-INDUSTRY SYNERGIES site, a transformed former brownfield and rail yard, Following an industry cluster model that is also ground will be broken this spring on a four-story, driving collaboration in the energy, power 80,000-square-foot office building that will provide and control sector, WEDC’s $750,000 additional space for water technology companies investment in the GWC has been now that the GWC is nearly full. That building is We started our catering business to matched many times over—the total the first of nine planned for the 17-acre site. meet the needs of The Water Council project cost reached $22 million. and Global Water Center tenants. The Water Council’s “Business. I’ve worked here three years, and Research. Entrepreneurship. In every year our business increases Wisconsin” (BREW) seed accelerator exponentially. I’ve never seen a has provided startup funding to about neighborhood develop so quickly. a dozen fledgling companies with Evan Schiefelbein, promising new technologies, and a new Manager, Zak’s Café batch will be announced soon.

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INDUSTRIES

hen most people think of Wisconsin industry, manufacturing comes immediately to mind. And while we have a proud heritage there, and in fact still employ more than 16 percent of our workers in manufacturing jobs, that number only tells part of the story.

With a fast-growing water sector, a still-substantial stake in lumber and mining and one of the nation’s finest research universities, Wisconsin is also an important player in both renewable resource management and bioscience. The pages that follow cover our state’s top seven vertical industries, and tell the stories of some of the companies making their mark on Wisconsin’s economic landscape.

www.wisconsinbiz.com

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INDUSTRIES:

Advanced Manufacturing

“ The students are being exposed to what manufacturing is like in the 21st century.” — MARK KAISER, LINDQUIST MACHINES

Bay Link students at Green Bay West High School.

MANUFACTURERS FORGE PARTNERSHIPS TO CREATE THE FUTURE WORKFORCE BY MARYBETH MATZEK

ark Kaiser, president and CEO of Lindquist Machines in Green Bay, sees the future of manufacturing in a suite of classrooms at Green Bay West High School. In rooms once reserved for shop classes, students learn the ins and outs of the manufacturing industry while running their own business, Bay Link Manufacturing. “The students are learning technical skills and, more importantly, they are learning much-needed business skills,” he said. Bay Link students, chosen from resumes submitted by students throughout the district, not only gain handson experience while serving real-world customers, they also earn high school and college credits through a partnership with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

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“It’s a three-legged stool – the school district, manufacturers and the college – all working together,” said Lori Peacock, education and counseling coordinator for the Green Bay Area Public Schools. The precision manufacturing lab, which launched at the start of the 2014-15 school year, is just one of several programs in place around the state to help train the next generation of manufacturing workers. With manufacturers struggling to find enough skilled workers to fill their current positions, combined with the looming wave of retiring baby boomers, such actions are necessary to help keep companies growing and strong, Kaiser said. “The students are being exposed to what manufacturing is like in the 21st century,” he said. “Many people

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Bay Link Manufacturing’s precision manufacturing lab.

have the wrong perception of what manufacturing is.” Convincing teens and young adults that manufacturing is a viable career is a must for the industry to succeed, Kaiser added. NEED IS REAL John Peterson of Schuette Metals in Rothschild just needs to look around at his employees to realize manufacturers face a worker shortage. “There’s a lot of baby boomers out there and not a lot of younger people,” he said. “We did some strategic planning about a year and a half ago and realized we need more young employees if we want to continue to grow.” For Peterson, the needs are greatest in welding, fabrication and machining. After talking with other central Wisconsin business owners, he realized they all faced the same problem. “We all need to work together to develop a pipeline to get younger people into this industry,” Peterson said. Peterson joined with fellow metal manufacturers to form the Central Wisconsin Metal Manufacturing Association. While the local chamber of commerce sponsored its so-called “heavy metal tour” of area manufacturers for high school seniors, Peterson’s group wanted to start reaching out to even younger students. They organized tours for 3,000 junior high schoolers of businesses from Tomahawk and Rhinelander down through Wausau and Stevens Point and west to Marshfield.

www.wisconsinbiz.com

“We got them inside our facilities and showed them what we do within our four walls,” Peterson said. “Manufacturers haven’t always done a good job of explaining what we do so we’re trying to change that.” In addition to tours, there were discussions about job opportunities, quality of pay and the necessary training and education – some of which may be covered by the employer, leaving little or no college debt. BEYOND STUDENTS Many manufacturers realize that just attracting current students to their workforce isn’t enough, Peterson said. “We need to look at other solutions, options and partnerships,”

he said. “We’re all working towards the same goal – having enough workers.” One program that fits that model is an initiative launched last summer by Miller Electric Manufacturing in Appleton and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin. The goal is to train 120 welders by this coming summer, said Ed Panelli, global managing director of the automotive segment at Miller Electric. The welding training initiative targets underemployed and unemployed men and women of all races who might otherwise be qualified for welding training programs, but lack the necessary soft skills to be successful. Training is offered at four sites in Wisconsin in cooperation with local technical colleges in Appleton, Green Bay, Wausau and Milwaukee. Program participants receive not only basic welding training, but also 60 hours of life skills training and support. An Advanced Manufacturing Training Center is also in the works in northwest Milwaukee to help 400 people gain the skills they need to land jobs in advanced manufacturing. Local development officials want to offer workforce training programs for growing companies that are looking to train their current workforce, develop new products and improve manufacturing systems. Officials estimate it will create an additional $8.2 million in wages through higher-paid jobs. “There’s a realization that manufacturers need workers with quality skills, and there are multiple programs out there trying to address those needs,” Kaiser said. “The industry’s future depends on our workforce.”

Leading Wisconsin Industries by Employment: 18% 12% 12% 8% 7%

INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT FOOD AND KINDRED PRODUCTS FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS RUBBER AND MISC. PLASTIC PRODUCTS ELECTRONICS/OTHER ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT

Largest Wisconsin Manufacturers by Employees: KOHLER CO. (KOHLER) LANDS’ END, INC. (DODGEVILLE) GREENHECK FAN CORP. (SCHOFIELD) ASHLEY FURNITURE INDUSTRIES, INC. (ARCADIA) MERCURY MARINE (FOND DU LAC)

7,300 4,000 3,700 3,500 3,100

SOURCE: 2015 WISCONSIN MANUFACTURERS REGISTER

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Advanced Manufacturing POPROTSKIY ALEXEY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

INDUSTRIES:

DIVERSIFICATION POSITIONS MIDWEST ENGINEERING SYSTEMS FOR GROWTH Maintaining a presence in diverse markets is paying off for Midwest Engineering Systems. The Waukesha-based designer of custom machines and automation services opened a 100,000-square foot corporate headquarters in October 2014. Midwest Engineering Systems employs 150 people at its main Waukesha facility, an engineering office in Beloit and a facility in Colorado. “We took some chances back in 2007 and 2008 to acquire some companies and get into new markets, and it’s really has paid off for us,” said president Scott Woida. “By being in diverse markets, we’ve found we can weather the economic ups and downs.” That diversity also sets Midwest Engineering Systems apart from its competition, he added. “Many of our competitors may be in either welding or automation, but we do both,” Woida said. “We have talented people here who can help us meet customers’ needs.” Woida said the new facility’s size, including a 20,000-squarefoot machine shop, a 40,000-square-foot high bay and a 10-ton crane to load and unload equipment, will help Midwest Engineering Systems as it continues to build larger projects for clients. “We set up everything we build. We need the space,” he said. Although it has a strong presence in Wisconsin and the Midwest, Midwest Engineering Systems serves clients around the world. “The economy is strong right now and we are seeing growth across all segments,” Woida said. “We’re sized for future growth and we know there’s a lot more potential out there for us.”

EMPLOYEES SET FOX VALLEY METAL TECH APART At Fox Valley Metal Tech, employees are the key to the Green Bay fabricator’s success. “Our outstanding employees help us stand apart,” said president John West. “We’re a job shop so we’re selling our services and our employees’ skill sets. Customers see the quality parts we produce and they come back to us. We even sometimes redo parts another company has made.” Fox Valley Metal Tech custom fabricates parts in steel, stainless steel and aluminum that go into a variety of products, including those valued by the defense industry like the littoral combat vessels made by Marinette Marine. “Our employees really take pride in their workmanship. We also have a rigorous inspection system to make sure everything we make is of the highest quality,” West said. “It’s a continuous improvement environment.” Technology plays an integral role at the company, which was founded in 1989 by a trio of metal fabricators. The shop uses a $2 million automated laser system that cuts parts more efficiently, and utilizes an updated press break area that helps reduce waste, West said. Managers hold “fast break” meetings with six employees at a time to exchange ideas and address concerns. These meetings have led to changes that boost production, such as displaying scheduling reports in real time on computer screens in the inspection and shipping department, he added. Since it’s a job shop, West said the work constantly changes, but employees thrive in the environment. “It really keeps them engaged in what they are doing,” he said. —— MARYBETH MATZEK

—— MARYBETH MATZEK

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EMBRACING “QUICK RESPONSE” BENEFITS NICOLET PLASTICS Bob MacIntosh witnessed firsthand that challenges can lead to better results. MacIntosh, president and CEO of Nicolet Plastics Inc. in Mountain, said the company, which specializes in high-precision robotic tooling and molding, was doing well until 2008, when sales suddenly slumped in the wake of the Great Recession. “Our growth from 1986 to 2008 was all unplanned. There was no strategic planning and we went with the flow,” he said. “The challenges we saw that year – we had to roll back our workforce by 22 percent – really gave us an opportunity to look at what we needed to do if we wanted to survive.” Nicolet Plastics leaders discovered the Quick Response Manufacturing philosophy and quickly embraced its tenets of reducing internal and external lead times. “That began the process of separating us from the competition. We decided to focus on low to moderate volume, and that’s hard to duplicate. You can’t send a job like that overseas – it’s not financially practical,” MacIntosh said. “By becoming more strategic in what we were doing, we became more successful.” Nicolet projected $12 million in sales for 2014, up from $5.9 million in 2009. As business increased, MacIntosh added back workers and today the company has 77 employees. “We have a broad range of customers. Most are based in Wisconsin, but since they do business all over the world, we export parts to Mexico, Germany, Ireland and elsewhere – all from little Mountain, Wisconsin,” he said. — MARYBETH MATZEK

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We’d love to tell you about our work, but we can’t.

Milwaukee School of Engineering Rapid Prototyping Center Confidentiality and world-class engineering For nearly 25 years, MSOE has been at the forefront of 3D printing/additive manufacturing. The Rapid Prototyping Center is involved in the research and development functions at companies large and small. From medical tools and implants to full size vehicles, chances are great that many of the products that you or someone you know see or use every day began as a 3D prototype at MSOE.

msoe.edu/rpc • (414) 277-7384

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3D printing improves products and processes MSOE’s Rapid Prototyping Center (RPC) offers very practical solutions for companies interested in implementing advanced manufacturing techniques, and also innovative technology to improve products and processes. Within the RPC, more than 60 companies are members of the consortium. Manufacturing companies in automotive, defense, water, medical device and health care industries have trusted the RPC for their expertise and services.

Membership in the Rapid Prototyping Consortium offers: • solutions to custom projects utilizing the leading 3D printing/additive manufacturing technologies • networking with engineers, designers, managers and technical professionals in a non-competitive environment • leading-edge product development, CAD applications, innovative processes and manufacturing technology • access to and development of new tooling techniques, materials and manufacturing methods, and structures • work with experienced engineers, researchers and employees who understand the performance expectations of world-class companies

More than 3D printing In order to create an object using 3D printing/additive manufacturing, a CAD drawing or 3D file is necessary. When those are not available, the RPC offers 3D scanning to create virtual reproductions. 3D scanning displays the difference between design intent and the dimensional accuracy of first articles. It also offers the opportunity to create interactive digital objects. The RPC was involved in the creation of the Milwaukee Public Museum’s newest exhibition: Crossroads of Civilization. RPC staff members completed a life-size scan of a replica of King Tutankhamun riding his chariot drawn by two horses. The purpose of the scan was to create an interactive, virtual display so museum visitors can view close-up details of the exhibit even though they can’t get closer than 19 feet to the real exhibit. The museum used the 3D scans to create an application for visitors to get a closer look at the clothing, jewelry and more. They can even select objects to rotate, offering a 360-degree view of the exhibit while only standing in front of it.

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Founded in 1991, the Rapid Prototyping Center at MSOE is the largest and most successful academic-based facility implementing additive manufacturing technologies in the U.S. The staff has “been there, done that,” and can offer advice. Consortium members have access to all of the leading 3D printing/additive manufacturing technologies.

In their own words… Rapid Prototyping Consortium member profiles: UL (Underwriters Laboratories)

Capitol Stampings

Q: Why did UL join the consortium?

Q: Why did Capitol Stampings join the consortium?

A: It all started with UL’s goal to partner with the additive manufacturing (AM) industry to advance innovation, safety and quality. The RPC’s unique position within the AM industry combined with their forwardthinking, collaborative approach, diverse membership and accessibility make them a perfect fit for us.

A: We joined the consortium to not only take advantage of the RPC’s technology but also for the benefit of providing learning opportunities to MSOE’s engineering students.

Q: What impact has it had on your organization? A: We realized immediate benefits from our relationship with the RPC. We’ve been able to leverage their expertise and resources to enhance our industry knowledge, sharpen our team and help our customers. We collaborated with the RPC in the development of our introductory AM training course – Foundations of 3D Printing (www. ul.com/3dprinting). The RPC was key in contributing expertise and resources to the production of our Foundations course. Q: Before you joined the consortium, how would you have done this? A: Trying to identify a level of expertise on par with the RPC would have been extremely challenging! Sheku Kamara and his team have a great passion for AM. They go above and beyond to share their knowledge and help RPC members solve their challenges. Simin Zhou, vice president, digital manufacturing technologies, UL

Q: How has the RPC helped you solve problems? A: They have helped us determine how to properly fix a part or assembly to ensure the very best quality, and have been instrumental in assisting us to solve tough manufacturing issues such as improving weld fixtures utilizing rapid prototyping methods. We also use the RPC’s scanning capabilities to help us and our customers understand how their parts are truly designed and measured when traditional CMM type measurements are in question. Q: Before you joined the consortium, how would you have done this? A: We would not have been able to accomplish any of this. Our involvement with the RPC makes us a better company and brings new technology awareness to our business. Gary Wenzel, president, Capitol Stampings Corp.

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Graduate and Professional Education that will work for you. Whether we are serving as your gateway to graduate programs or engaging you in a corporate training course, we’ll meet your learning needs with an application-oriented, value-added learning experience. MSOE’s Graduate and Professional Education (GPE) Department oﬀers public and customized training, which serves corporate needs for advancing workforce skills. Courses are designed particularly for managers, engineers and other technical professionals. Evening and online master’s degree programs are available as well. Professional education areas of study include: • Managerial and Organizational Improvement • Business Systems, Processes and Tools • Personal Development for Professional Advancement • Global Competency • Professional Engineer Re-licensure Seminars Graduate programs in: • Business • Engineering • Nursing

INDUSTRIES: Finance & Insurance

Andrew Gierczak, Henry Schwartz and Giotto Troia, founders of MobCraft Beer

WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS FINANCING, CREATIVITY IS KEY BY MARYBETH MATZEK

hen Henry Schwartz was looking for investment in his Madison-based business, MobCraft Beer, he took a unique path: equity crowdfunding. In 2014, MobCraft Beer became the first business in Wisconsin to take advantage of Act 52, a new law that encourages more people to invest relatively small amounts of money into private companies looking to start or grow. Under the new crowdfunding rules, Wisconsinbased businesses can sell up to $1 million in stock to state residents, who can each invest up to $10,000. If

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

the company makes a financial audit available, the business can raise up to $2 million. All funds are held in an accredited financial institution. “This is another great opportunity for entrepreneurs to find funding, which isn’t always easy,” Schwartz said. The idea made a lot of sense for the craft brewer. MobCraft’s business model is to solicit ideas for new brews from the public, then post them online. Customers “vote” by pre-ordering the beer they’re interested in. The winning recipes get made and shipped to those who placed the “voting” pre-orders, as well as others who

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want to give the new brew a try. “Crowdfunding is kind of an extension of what we do already,” Schwartz said. “I’m not sure if crowdfunding will work for every business, but for us, since we had a tangible process and customers who were invested in it, it worked well.” Response has been strong, with MobCraft Beer attracting both small and larger investors. It’s a strong addition to the overall mix. “This is just part of our financing piece. We’re also working with more traditional vehicles, such as SBA loans and grants,” he said. BEYOND BANK LOANS For any business, finding financing can be a daunting process. While banks have loosened their purse strings somewhat since 2008 and the Small Business Association (SBA) has taken steps to improve their offerings, securing money is still a challenge.

“I’m not sure if crowdfunding will work for every business, but for us … it worked well.” — HENRY SCHWARTZ

According to Gina Vanden Heuvel, a commercial loan representative with Fidelity Bank, well-established businesses can often obtain loans on their own merit. But for entrepreneurs, federally-guaranteed SBA loans are usually more attractive to lenders since they pose less risk. Local economic development corporations also are in place to help small businesses address their funding needs. The Madison Development Corporation offers several loan funds for earlystage businesses, said David Scholtens, vice president of lending for the organization. One is its Venture Debt Fund, www.wisconsinbiz.com

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INDUSTRIES: Finance & Insurance

Cupcakes-A-Go-Go, which received support from the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp., was featured on the Today Show.

which sets the company’s repayment schedule based on soft factors, such as predicted ability to raise additional capital or when the company expects to break even on cash flow.

“We’ve had that fund for eight years and it gets a lot of attention. It’s definitely not a traditional loan, but it’s there to help a business in a growth phase,” Scholtens said.

DAY

EVENTS

For many entrepreneurs, Scholtens said, securing funding is a lot like putting a puzzle together, pulling together a variety of sources. “We have limits on how much we

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can fund, so we can just be one part of it, although we do work partner up with other funds,” he said. Many municipalities and counties also have revolving loan programs in place. The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation helps entrepreneurs statewide, with classes to help prospective entrepreneurs get their business off the ground and a successful loan program.

“ WWBIC provides support to businesses like us who are working so hard to succeed.” — LAURA DEVRIES

Laura DeVries, owner of Cupcakes A-Go-Go in Madison, attended WWBIC classes to learn how to turn her baking hobby into a business. She also received a loan to open her shop’s doors. WWBIC “provides support to businesses like us who are working so hard to succeed,” said DeVries, who owns the business with Wade Stewart. WISCONSIN LOOKS GOOD TO INVESTORS Angel investors also give Wisconsin entrepreneurs with high-growth potential a boost. According to a 2014 report issued by Silicon Valley Bank, the Upper Midwest – including Wisconsin – received more angel investment in the first quarter than any other region – including the West. The state’s massive efforts to foster new businesses, coupled with an improving economy and Act 255 – which offers a tax credit of up to 25-percent of funds invested by angels – have likely been big factors in this surge Proof of the state’s forward progress also comes from venture capital investment in Wisconsin companies, which doubled in 2014 over 2013. According to a survey of venture capital firms by Thomsen Rueters, over $67 million in venture money came to the state in the first three quarters of the year. www.wisconsinbiz.com

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INDUSTRIES: Finance & Insurance

ASSOCIATED BANK PUTS CUSTOMERS FIRST Associated Bank’s new Haymarket Square location.

AMERICAN FAMILY VENTURES: INVESTING IN ITS INDUSTRY’S FUTURE The insurance industry and entrepreneurship don’t normally go hand-inhand, but American Family Ventures is looking to change that. “We started out in 2010 by investing in one company, but we’ve really picked up allocations in the past two years,” said Dan Reed, the fund’s managing director. “We are trying to add to American Family’s value by investing in technology or business ideas that can really shape the business’ future and help our policyholders.” The fund earmarked $50 million to invest over a five-year period, and Reed says they are on pace to do just that. In 2013 and 2014, the fund invested in 16 companies – about half of which are in Wisconsin. American Family Ventures signed on in mid-2014 to provide mentorship and optional seed funding for participants in a Seattle startup accelerator launched by Microsoft that focuses on home automation. Its first class includes Milwaukee-based Scanalytics, which makes sensor technology that monitors physical spaces and human activities. “Our investments are taken with a very systematic approach,” said Reed. “Every company has to innovate if it wants to be successful. These investments help us to innovate as well.” Reed said typical investments range from $200,000 to $2 million. Besides the infusion of capital, the fund also provides strategic guidance and tries to connect the entrepreneur with an appropriate person in American Family’s operations if there’s a good fit. “If these investments help us become a better company and create more jobs at new Wisconsin companies, that’s a huge win,” Reed said. —— MARYBETH MATZEK

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

When it comes to customers, financial institutions must strike a balance between serving in-person customers and those who bank remotely. “Research shows that one third of our customers never visit a branch,” said David Stein, executive vice president and head of retail banking Associated Bank. “They’re visiting ATMs, banking online or using mobile devices.” Headquartered in Green Bay, Associated is Wisconsin’s largest financial institution, with more than 200 branches in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. While the bank has invested in a robust online banking experience and new technology for its customers, Stein said the company is also focused on making sure the in-person banking experience is a good one. “The physical branch still matters, even for our digitally savvy customers,” he said. While online banking has been around since the 1990s, many customers still aren’t comfortable with it. Associated is updating its branches, including adding “demonstration zones” where customers can learn more about new banking technologies. Stein said Associated Bank customers can check their phone for account balances, to transfer funds and make deposits. “You can take a photo of the check – front and back – and then use the app to deposit it,” he said. Staying abreast of technology is important for Associated, and it’s looking to stay current with such additions as Apple Pay, Stein said. “But in everything we do, we stay focused on security and make sure our customers’ information is safe. That’s the top goal,” he said. —— MARYBETH MATZEK

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DELTA DENTAL PUTS CUSTOMERS FIRST More than 700,000 Wisconsin residents rely on Delta Dental of Wisconsin for their dental insurance coverage. Headquartered in Stevens Point, the company is part of the larger Delta Dental network. Nationwide, Delta Dental provides insurance to more than 60 million Americans – about one third of the total domestic market. Delta Dental of Wisconsin, which employs 227 people statewide, saw its number of policyholders jump 29 percent between 2012 and 2013. Senior vice president Denny Peterson credits the growth to strong customer service and keeping prices affordable for customers. One way the company has kept prices down is by streamlining its claim process so the average turnaround is 3.2 days. On an average day, Delta Dental of Wisconsin’s customer service reps handle 11,300 claims, and in 2013 paid Delta Dental community program out more than $466 million in benefits for Wisconsin policyholders. Delta Dental’s large network of dentists and focus on customer service differentiates it from other insurance providers, said Peterson. Delta Dental of Wisconsin was ranked No. 1 last year by the Purdue University Benchmark Portal Center of Excellence Certification in the category of call centers with less than 100 employees. That ranking was based on measuring key metrics such as how quickly calls are answered and how many calls are dropped. “We try to set ourselves apart from the competition by focusing on the customer, which means processing claims quickly and having a wide variety of dentists to choose from. Nine out of 10 Wisconsin dentists are in our network,” he said.

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FUELING INNOVATION

IN WISCONSIN (AND BEYOND) At American Family Insurance, we’re passionately committed to empowering people to fearlessly pursue their dreams, and carefully protecting them, too. That’s why we’re playing a leading role in fueling the dreams of entrepreneurs and businesses throughout Wisconsin and beyond. As Wisconsin’s largest insurance company, American Family promotes innovation that can improve safety, strengthen communities and restore confidence and well-being.

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A LEADING CATALYST FOR WHAT’S NEXT Through American Family Ventures, we invest in startups that create digital connections among individuals, vehicles, households and organizations to improve safety and the quality of life. The group also funds companies creating next-generation analytics, emerging insurance-related products and business models. Since 2013, American Family Ventures has invested in more than 20 ventures leveraging exciting disruptive technologies and pioneering new smart devices — everything from a handy app that helps family members keep tabs on each other, to home automation solutions promoting energy efficiency (and peace of mind). amfamventures.com American Family also helps bring innovative dreams to fruition as the main sponsor of gener8tor, an accelerator program for tech startups based in Madison and Milwaukee. So far, 33 ventures have received gener8tor’s crucial mentordriven programming and investment support. And that’s just the beginning. gener8tor.com We’re also helping give innovation a new home in Madison by supporting

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StartingBlock Madison’s plans to develop an entrepreneurial hub. The 50,000-squarefoot state-of-the-art space will provide a haven for next-generation companies to grow their entrepreneurial dreams. startingblockmadison.org

DRIVING INNOVATION IN THE ‘INTERNET OF THINGS’ By supporting innovation in the “Internet of Things” — networked, smart devices equipped with sensors that exchange data — American Family strives to promote safety and add value to people’s lives. As a protector of homes, we firmly believe home automation holds tremendous potential to offer additional protection benefiting customers and others. With this in mind, American Family and Microsoft Corp., through its Microsoft Ventures affiliate, forged a strategic partnership in June 2014 to launch a startup accelerator focused on home automation. The Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in partnership with American Family Insurance offered a richly immersive experience for startups anywhere,

including Wisconsin, that are developing products and services promoting safer and smarter homes. This Seattle-based accelerator was Microsoft’s first in the U.S. — it has six other accelerators around the globe — and was its first accelerator co-led with another company. microsoftventures.com/locations/seattle

INSPIRING AND EMPOWERING BUSINESS OWNERS American Family’s award-winning Business Accelerator Program delivers results-driven information and coaching to thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned business owners, at no extra cost. This online program includes articles, tips, webinars and other learning tools to anyone living the dream of being their own boss. amfambusinessaccelerator.com Our DreamBank also motivates entrepreneurs and others to pursue and achieve their dreams. Rich with resources, activities and tips, DreamBank helps people dream fearlessly and discover the courage to pursue their passions. amfam.com/dreams

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INDUSTRIES: Bioscience & Health Care

BIOSCIENCE INDUSTRY DRIVES WISCONSIN’S HEALTH CARE SERVICES BY ALYSHA SCHERTZ

isconsin is home to several top-performing health care systems that, according to a report produced by the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the UW-Madison/Extension contributed $7.3 billion in total income for the state in 2009, the most recent data available. Additionally, the state’s globally-recognized research institutions and the burgeoning biotech industry in Wisconsin continue to revolutionize the industry and help the state’s medical professionals deliver the best quality of care to Wisconsin’s patient population.

GENETIC SEQUENCING: IT’S PERSONAL For many companies in the state, that means shifting to a more patient-centric, personalized model of 34

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care that involves an increasing reliance on DNA and genetic profiling. “Personalized medicine in Wisconsin has really come full circle,” said Dr. Howard Jacob, director of the Human and Molecular Genetics Center and the Warren P. Knowles Chair of Genetics at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “We were previously only using genetics in research. Now what we’ve done is bring genetics into a clinical setting; finding a variation in the gene we think may be causing a problem and taking that variation back into the research realm to find a solution.” The Human and Molecular Genetics Center at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin serves both children and adults, and is the only center of its kind in Wisconsin, Jacob said. Access to genomic sequencing, and the shift

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INDUSTRIES: Bioscience & Health Care

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towards more personalized medicine has driven the cost of the procedure down to as low as $5,000. Currently, many of the cases reviewed in the Center are children. “The chances of finding a diagnosis for these children and parents without genetic sequencing is approximately 5 to 10 percent,” Jacob said. “With genetic sequencing, the ability to diagnose the child jumps to 25 percent or more.” In 2011, Jacob, with his team of geneticists at the Medical College of Wisconsin, was the first to successfully use genetic sequencing. With it, they were able to diagnose – and save – then-six-year-old Nicholas Volker. While insurance companies try to catch up with technology, and decide what should be covered and for whom, Jacob sees the potential for genetic testing to become a standard of care. “There’s a fundamental shift in how we practice medicine,” he said. “As genetic sequencing becomes more accessible and less costly, we can utilize the information to prescribe medication, dosages, and even run lab tests based on the person’s medical history.” The genome, according to Jacob, is documentation of our family history. Genetic sequencing could identify, without a doubt, what risks patients have. The Center is currently servicing more than 500 internal patients and external customers. Jacob expects that number to continue to increase.

Wisconsin Bioscience-Related Patents – 2009–2013: 442 614 617 698 677

Madison 608.257.5321 Milwaukee 414.272.8788

findorff.com

COMMERCIALIZATION: A TREASURE TROVE Wisconsin has continued to develop as a bioscience hub. The industry landscape includes companies dedicated to personalized pharmaceuticals, genetic sequencing and the manufacturing of medical devices designed to improve the lives of patients. In Wisconsin, industry employment grew by 8.2 percent from 2007-2012, a time frame that included the national recession and the early years of recovery. Research institutions, including the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, the

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

SOURCE: U.S. PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE DATA FROM THOMSON REUTERS DELPHION PATENT ANALYSIS DATABASE

Wisconsin Bioscience/Bioengineering by the numbers: NSF FUNDS AWARDED NATIONAL RANKING IN NSF FUNDS NSF-FUNDED INSTITUTIONS NSF GRANTS AWARDED GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

$127 MILLION 15TH 37 452 92 SOURCE: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, FY 2012

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University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center, the Morgridge Institute for Research at UW-Madison, the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery (UWMilwaukee) and the southeast Wisconsin Applied Chemistry Center of Excellence at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Parkside are not only driving advancements in the field of personalized medicine, they are spawning innovation, commercializing companies and patents – and creating economic impact in the process. According to a 2014 report published by Battelle/BIO, 70 percent of all academic research in the state in 2012 was focused on the bioscience industry. The report also indicated that since 2009, Wisconsin inventors have received more than 3,000 bioscience-related patents – most with a focus on surgical and medical devices, biochemistry, drugs and pharmaceuticals. “There is a great appreciation for the value of our research capabilities and how they can be leveraged for economic development in the state,” said Douglas Stafford, director of the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery and the southeastern Wisconsin Applied Chemistry Center of Excellence. “Our goal here is to solve problems of the industry, adjust to new trends in the marketplace and come up with new products that can lead to new businesses for the state.”

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INDUSTRIES: Bioscience & Health Care PATIENT CARE DRIVES PRODUCT DESIGN AT MORTARA INSTRUMENT Milwaukee-based Mortara Instrument Inc., has always been focused on patient care. For more than 30 years, the company has served as a leading designer and manufacturer of non-invasive cardiology devices

and technologies. “It all starts with the patient experience,” said Justin Mortara, chief executive officer. “It’s much bigger than us, or the [electrocardiogram] procedure. It has to do with how we as an industry are taking care of patients, and our willingness to step outside ourselves.” Over the past five years, much of Mortara’s growth has come from its focus on developing new ways for its products to be more patient-centered and user-friendly. Mortara cited better integration with electronic medical records, a more inherently sanitary product and a more intuitive user experience as examples. This focus is highlighted in the company’s new ELI 380, its flagship resting electrocardiograph. It integrates with most electronic medical record systems, with an easy-to-clean glass keyboard and a more intuitive design. “It’s more efficient, and thus allows the clinician more time to focus on the patient rather than the machine,” he said. The product was officially released in mid-November. “It’s about recognizing a problem, and coming up with solutions to that problem that nobody else has done before,” he said. “It’s us working together to improve the quality and efficiency of our products so that we can help be a part of the solution that delivers better care to patients.” — ALYSHA SCHERTZ

SHINE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES: LOW-ENRICHED MO-99 COULD MEET THE NATION’S NEEDS Molybdenum-99 is the most commonly used radioisotope on the planet. The tracer and its variants are used in imaging procedures to help diagnose heart disease and cancer in patients worldwide. Traditionally, medical professionals have struggled with global shortages of Molybdenum-99. Using state-of-the-art research from UWMadison, Shine Medical Technologies in Monona, hopes to drive economic development, and revolutionize the production of tracers used in thousands of medical image procedures daily, by manufacturing Mo-99 right here. “The U.S. is one of the biggest users of Mo-99 in the world, but we currently source all of our supply from foreign sources,” said Katrina Pitas, vice president of development for Shine. The current production process is complicated and relies on aging facilities that utilize nuclear reactors and highly enriched uranium, she said.

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

The U.S. has implemented regulations that will require manufacturers to eliminate the use of highly enriched uranium in the Mo-99 manufacturing process by 2019. In response, several plants, including two in Canada, have already made the decision to shut down. Shine Technologies utilizes a proprietary procedure to manufacture Mo-99 using lowenriched uranium. “Since our process was designed to use lowenriched uranium from the beginning, we don’t have the same inefficiencies as current facilities trying to make those changes now,” she said. The process does not use a nuclear reactor, and does not create the nuclear waste byproduct currently seen in the existing process. The company hopes to complete fundraising and start construction on a brand new manufacturing facility in Janesville before 2016. —— ALYSHA SCHERTZ

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PREVENTION GENETICS SEEKS TO USE GENETIC TESTING TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE

BIOFORWARD WELCOMES NEW CEO Lisa Johnson will be the new chief executive officer of BioForward Inc., beginning May 4, 2015. BioForward is the member-driven Wisconsin affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed). Johnson has served since 2011 as vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). “Lisa’s extensive experience and passion for improving Wisconsin’s life science economy position her well to have an immediate impact. She brings a deep understanding of Wisconsin’s life science industry, and a strong track record building the industry at its base in Madison, as well as expanding it throughout the state,” said Joe Hammer, BioForward board chair. “I’m excited and ready to continue BioForward’s mission of connecting, educating and advocating for Wisconsin’s life science economy,” Johnson said. “A key to our success will be promoting our broad base of industry and university assets and collaborating across our other leading (industry) sectors. We must demonstrate the power and value of our assets to provide opportunities to our companies and bring investments into the state.” Prior to joining the WEDC, Johnson spent 22 years in the biotech industry where she held executive business development and operational roles with Novagen Inc., a successful life science tools company started in Madison and later acquired by Merck KGaA/EMD. During her 10 years with Merck she traveled extensively, developing global partnerships for EMD-Novagen.

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Dr. James Weber believed that many diseases could be prevented through genetic testing. In 2004 he founded Marshfield-based Prevention Genetics to make his belief a reality. “Genetic testing should enhance the quality of clinical care for the patient,” said Weber. After graduating with a B.S. in chemistry from UW-Madison, Weber earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from UC-Berkeley. In 1986, he joined the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation to serve as senior research scientist, director of the Center for Medical Genetics and director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Mammalian Genotyping Service. He was a major contributor to the Human Genome Project and advanced the field through the creation of the Marshfield Maps of the human genome. Today, Prevention Genetics offers low-cost clinical DNA testing on more than 1,000 genes for physicians, genetic counselors and health care professionals; it also offers DNA banking services. Tests are available for a wide array of diagnoses, from epilepsy to anemia, and many forms of cancer. The company serves health care providers from around the globe, with samples being sent for testing from more than 65 countries. According to Weber, Prevention Genetics is committed to doing its part to lower health care costs across the country, and maintains some of the lowest cost for genetic testing in the industry, while remaining focused on quality. Each available test is listed on the company’s website, along with its associated cost. — ALYSHA SCHERTZ

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INDUSTRIES: Water

THE BREW BATCH II FROM LEFT: Randy Mueller, director of business relations and development of Cadens LLC; Brad James, CEO of PHinding Solutions; Eric James, director of Hydro-Lite; and Marian Singer, CEO of Wellntel, share a laugh during a brainstorming session at the Global Water Center.

WISCONSIN SETS ITS SIGHTS ON GLOBAL WATER LEADERSHIP BY TOM HELD

ean Amhaus describes the goal of The Water Council and the region’s water industry with a matter-offact tone that tempers a hint of hyperbole. “We’re actually after world domination,” said Amhaus, president and CEO of the council, which launched in 2009. In practical terms, that means building the region into the world leader in water research and innovation, the place where solutions to deadly water shortages and contamination are found and industries create new products and jobs. POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS Building on the foundation established by existing industry leaders, including A.O. Smith Corp. and Badger Meter Inc., the region is advancing toward its goal

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through a focus on entrepreneurship and collaboration with universities in Milwaukee and beyond. The UW-Whitewater Institute for Water Business became part of the council’s Global Water Center when it opened in 2013, in a seven-story building in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. In June 2014, the UW-Milwaukee expanded its School of Freshwater Sciences nearby, on the shore of the city’s inner harbor, and faculty and students conduct research on the Global Water Center’s top floor. In 2015, Marquette University will fill the sixth floor with researchers and students working in its Water Quality Center. “Water research is among the clusters of excellence Milwaukee is developing, and it is exciting to know that when there are water-related challenges around the

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world, leaders will turn to Marquette and its many partners in Milwaukee for solutions,” said Mike Lovell, the university president. Bringing the schools into a building that houses two dozen water industry businesses and organizations will expose students to the possibilities of work in the field, even those from seemingly unrelated disciplines, according to Linda Reid, director of the UWWhitewater Institute for Water Business. “The water industry faces an aging workforce, which is forecast to worsen over the next 15 years,” she said. “As a result, federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, and educational institutions are working together to promote the water sector and ensure that there is a pool of qualified water professionals to meet current and future needs.” Students will become the workers in existing companies and those developing in the Global Water Center’s accelerator program, The BREW (Business, Research, and Entrepreneurship in Wisconsin).

“The strongest economies in the world are knowledge or capacity-building economies,” Reid said. “It’s great that we have a strong manufacturing base here, but if there are a group of people in a cluster focusing intellectually on the same issue and pushing the envelope on ideas, it creates an environment where companies are willing to grow and expand, maybe take a little more risk on new ideas.” Some of those new ideas include the well monitoring system that Wellntell will put on the market in 2015, hydro-power automation developed by Cadens LLC and portable water storage and treatment containers developed by Stonehouse Water Technologies. The research being done will also will be important to established businesses,

according to Daniel Zomiter, an engineering professor and director of Marquette’s Water Quality Center. “We certainly want to help the entrepreneurs and work with them,” Zomiter said. “But you work with a company like A.O. Smith that has an organized research team, and there’s a lot that you can do with them.” With the 98,000-square-foot Global Water Center nearly full, the water hub will start construction in 2015 on the first building in the Reed Street Yards, a technology park along the South Menomonee Canal. The buildings in the park will house water-related businesses, some that may be fermenting now in The BREW. It may not represent world domination, but it significantly advances that goal.

Did you know? FOSTERING WATER’S FUTURE LEADERS Every week, Elizabeth Thelen fields calls from companies and researchers around the world, people asking how to become part of The Council and its business accelerator. “They need a little cocoon, where people understand their technology and what it’s like to be a startup,” said Thelen, director of entrepreneurship and talent at The Water Council. The first five companies graduated from the year-long program in 2013, and another half-dozen joined them in 2014. Another six will be selected in 2015. Participants receive low-cost office and development space, mentoring in business management, $50,000 in seed money and connections to experts. “They have really good business leaders that chat with us on specific products,” said Sunit Mohindroo, a co-founder of WatrHub and 2014 BREW participant. “We feed off each other. It was a bulls-eye of what we wanted to be part of.” WatrHub compiles and analyzes data on water quantity and quality. Mohindroo moved the business from Toronto to Milwaukee in 2014, one example of the magnet-like draw of the water center.

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FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS, UW-MILWAUKEE HAS MAINTAINED THE LARGEST ACADEMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON THE GREAT LAKES. SOURCE: UW-MILWAUKEE

Wisconsin water industry at a glance 200+ 250,000 $56 BILLION

WATER-RELATED COMPANIES WATER-RELATED EMPLOYMENT WATER-RELATED COMPANIES COMBINED ANNUAL REVENUE

SOURCE: DUN AND BRADSTREET

Wisconsin colleges and universities offer 36 water-focused academic programs on 17 campuses, including: UW-MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF FRESHWATER SCIENCES – THE NATION’S ONLY GRADUATE-LEVEL INSTITUTION DEDICATED SOLELY TO FRESH WATER MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY, WATER QUALITY CENTER UW-WHITEWATER, WATER INSTITUTE FOR WATER BUSINESS UW-STEVENS POINT, WATER ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS LAB WAUKESHA COUNTY TECHNICAL COLLEGE – AUTOMATION SYSTEMS AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY (A.A.) GATEWAY TECHNICAL COLLEGE – CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, FRESHWATER RESOURCES MORAINE PARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE – WATER QUALITY TECHNOLOGY (A.A.) AND STATEWIDE DNR CERTIFICATION MILWAUKEE AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE – ADVANCED WASTE WATER (A.A.) AND 3+ WATER TECHNICAL DIPLOMAS/CERTIFICATES SOURCE: WISCONSIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

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INDUSTRIES: Water WELLNTEL WILL MAKE GROUNDWATER SMARTER A trip to the Netherlands in 2011 inspired Marian Singer and Nicholas Hayes to transform themselves from business consultants to entrepreneurs. No other country in the world, including the United States, could match the volume of groundwater information captured by the European nation, and Singer and Hayes saw an opportunity. “Everywhere in the world, there are areas of high water risk,” Singer said. “You have to measure it and quantify it.” Singer and Hayes, who operated the Five Twelve Group in Milwaukee for a dozen years, left that business behind and launched WellnTel in 2013, after developing their technology with a team of experts. Their well monitoring system uses a digital signal that creates a picture of the water level, the well infrastructure and any changes taking place. The information is sent to a website that tracks changes in water levels and alerts well owners to looming problems. “We can help them avoid risky failures,” said Hayden, the chief technology officer. “A dry well on a farm makes it impossible to produce a crop.” Hayden and Singer project sales of the $500 units will total roughly 8,000 in 2015, with the potential for rapid growth. Singer said there are 12 million residential and agricultural wells in the U.S. Each one of them with a Wellntel sensor will become a groundwater monitoring station for the associated region, helping track changes in groundwater vital to water agencies and municipal officials. —— TOM HELD

Wellntel founders Marian Singer and Nicholas Hayes.

WatrHub founders Ahmed Badruddin and Sunit Mohindroo.

WATRHUB DISTILLS DATA INTO WATER SOLUTIONS Like many entrepreneurs in the water field, Sunit Mohindroo focuses on gathering, filtering and distributing. But it’s data, not water, that Mohindroo processes to help other businesses and utilities solve problems around the world. He and his partner, Ahmed Badruddin, launched WatrHub in 2011, and moved the business from Toronto to Milwaukee in 2014 to join the BREW – Business, Research and Entrepreneurship – in the Global Water Center. “It’s been a great experience to help us accelerate,” Mohindro said. “We have opportunities to talk to clients, and schedule meetings with industry or municipal partners. It brings people together to talk about policy and high-level views.” Mohindroo and Badruddin, both Canadian, met while working for Microsoft in Seattle. Their affinity for software and data analysis, coupled with a desire to make an environmental impact, spurred the launch of WatrHub. They saw a need to consolidate the volumes of data produced by the water industry, measuring quantity and quality and the results of treatment technology. Businesses and municipal utilities contract with WatrHub to provide data that informs their decision-making. “There are regional and local problems that are hard to solve,” Mohindroo said. “We believe data can play a role in turning those challenges into opportunities.” He said WatrHub has generated more than a dozen customers and roughly $1 million in angel investment. The creators plan to expand their data and customer base in 2015, boosted by the support in the BREW and a win in the 2014 Imagine H2O business plan competition. —— TOM HELD

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| WATER INDUSTRY

WHY WATER? WHY HERE? WHY NOW? The essential role of water in shaping the world’s civilizations past and present is readily apparent. Looking forward, water will take center stage. The world’s economy will reorganize itself and water will be a crucial pivot point as the forces of global economic growth continue to collide with the forces of global resource scarcity. Those places that lead in innovating new water technologies - and master the complex blend of expertise needed to efficiently clean, store, process, distribute, and use water - will have the foundations to gain strong positions in the global economy.

ABOUT THE WATER COUNCIL

The Water Council Global Water Center 247 W. Freshwater Way, Suite 500 Milwaukee, WI 53204 USA 1.414.988.8750

Created by leaders in both business and education, The Water Council is convening the world’s existing water companies and research clusters, developing education programs to train talent, and building partnerships that cut across all sectors and geographic boundaries. From its very beginning in 2009, The Water Council has been a private-sector driven economic development organization that arose through the leadership of corporate citizens dedicated to supporting water technology business growth in Southeast Wisconsin. Along with city and regional economic development officials, these leaders recognized Milwaukee’s unique assets in the water industry sector and became believers in the idea that water could be an economic growth engine for the region and the state. Today The Water Council is on the cusp of elevating the Milwaukee, Wisconsin water cluster to the next level and has the opportunity to not only be a powerful force of business and economic development, but an agent of global change that can help improve the human condition around the world.

World Water Hub Momentum

“A rising tide lifts all boats” (According to an old saying made famous by John F. Kennedy)

• $10.5 billion market (4% of the world’s water industry)

The Water Council experienced dynamic expansion in 2014 as the tide definitely began to rise. The Office of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker reported a 7.4% increase in exports of water technology-related products, demonstrating a growing water economy in the state. At the same time The Water Council positioned the organization for future growth by setting in motion a new Leadership Strategic Vision, providing a framework for the growing and changing opportunities, roles, and responsibilities as the Epicenter of the Global Water Industry.

An Inspirational Ecosystem The Global Water Center is a state-of-the-art water business and research accelerator located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the heart of the most densely populated water-technology business cluster in the United States. The Center houses water-centric research facilities for universities, existing water-related companies and accelerator space for new, emerging water technology companies. In 2014, the building neared capacity and continued to be a magnet for foreign dignitaries, water technology businesses, economic development organizations and students from all levels.

• Home to more than 150 water technology companies employing approximately 20,000 workers

• Home to the nation’s only School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee • Designation as a United Nations Global Compact City, recognized internationally as a center of freshwater expertise • North American Headquarters for the Alliance for Water Stewardship • Home to the Institute for Water Business at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater • Over 100 academic scientists and researchers focused on water solutions

Global Water Center 2014 Facts

• Strengthened partnerships with over 15 organizations from around the world, many include a Memoranda of Understanding

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN 2015 Increasing the ripples of discovery and progress Center of Excellence for Water Innovation & Small Business Development The U.S. Small Business Administration awarded The Water Council one of four Regional Innovation Cluster contracts for FY2014. Under the SBA contract, The Council created a Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Innovation & Small Business Development to promote the growth and development of small and medium-sized businesses operating in the water technology sector across the United States. The CoE is officially open, providing small business services including technology transfer, export training, matchmaking, connections to capital, and mentorship.

Matching Capital with Water Innovation The Water Council was selected as one of 10 participants in the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Small Business Forward program, a national, five-year $30 million grant program designed to boost small business support networks that help growing enterprises in specific industries. This partnership will match the investment community with water technology entrepreneurs in order to increase the amount of capital in water innovation. The Water Council will launch their first-ever Water Investment Conference in 2015.

Green Meets Blue at Water Technology Business Park Reed Street Yards (RSY) is one of Wisconsin’s first Eco-Industrial Parks, a concept that seeks to balance natural resources and economic development with multiple green and blue infrastructure technologies incorporated into the overall design. RSY furthered its transformation from a brownfield to a 17 acre/6.9 hectares water technology business park with the completion of the infrastructure and revealing of plans for Water Tech One, a LEED® Platinum certified building breaking ground in 2015.

Water Research Pilot Project In 2015, The Water Council, through a Wells Fargo Clean Technology & Innovation grant, launched the Pilot Project, a new initiative to support the progression of cutting edge water technologies from the lab to demonstration sites for practical application. This project will provide researchers, entrepreneurs and water technology companies with access to resources needed to scale-up and reach full commercialization potential. Stonehouse Water Technologies, LLC was selected by The Water Council to be the first participant of the Pilot Project, focusing on their mini water treatment node called Water POD.

“The Global Water Center is encouraging collaboration between top-flight research, education and cutting edge business development, creating a magnet for talent and positioning southeastern Wisconsin to be the Silicon Valley of freshwater.” - Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Senator

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THE BREW ACCELERATOR, A PROGRAM OF THE WATER COUNCIL Business. Research. Entrepreneurship. in Wisconsin. With its debut in 2013, The BREW is the world’s first place-based seed accelerator focused on solving global freshwater challenges. In partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, startups with commercialization potential will receive up to $50,000 in investments in exchange for a small percent of equity. In its second year, space in the accelerator expanded to include six winning startups and two runnersup. Winners of Batch III will be announced at the Water Summit in Milwaukee on June 24.

During the twelve month accelerator program, winning entrepreneurs receive: • A suite in the Global Water Center for 12 months • Business model and operations training through The Water Council and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW) Institute for Water Business • Access to faculty and students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) School for Freshwater Sciences and Marquette University • Access to the Global Water Center’s Flow Lab • Mentorship from dozens of area water technology experts plus direct access to BREW Preferred Partners, including: WIPFLI, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, University of WisconsinMadison Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic and Global Water Center Executive in Residence • Attendance to conferences and pitch sessions with The Water Council • Access to investment capital funding sources • Access to Pilot Project funding • One year membership to The Water Council providing access to the water technology network

2014 Batch II Winners

Cadens A Wisconsin based company who assists in the design, manufacture, installation and operation of economical small and micro-scale hydropower systems. They apply modern turbine design software, advanced materials and additive manufacturing / 3D printing. cadensllc.com

pHinding Solutions pHinding Solutions is a biotechnology company that creates new, innovative technologies by working directly with researchers to assess their individual needs inside and outside the laboratory. phindingsolutions.wordpress.com

WatrHub WatrHub Inc. is an award-winning Data-Mining & Analytics company that matches water technologies & solutions with the needs of water & wastewater systems.Their cutting edge datamining software and data-sourcing expertise provides the most

comprehensive and in-depth view into municipal water systems and water-regulated industrial plants across U.S. and Canada. WatrHub.com WelIntel

WelIntel develops simple, smart technologies and information systems to help homeowners, farmers and communities learn about and sustainably manage their groundwater. wellntel.com Pellucid Water Pellucid Water has developed a simple low energy water decontamination technology using Dense-Medium Plasma. Unlike conventional water treatment technologies, DenseMedium Plasma does not require chemical additives, membrane filters or ion exchangers.

Hydro-Lite Hydro-lite is a water sterilization device that uses UV light and hand powered electrical source requiring no batteries, filters or chemicals. Designed for individual use, it is an ideal handheld product for anyone without access to clean drinking water. neverest.com

(from left to right): Nick Hayes and Marian Marion Singer, Wellntel; Sunit Mohindroo, WatrHub; Randy Mueller, Cadens; Eric James, Hydro-Lite; Brad James, pHinding Solutions; Mark Raabe, Pellucid Water.

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NEW PARTNERSHIP MAKES HISTORY An alliance between water and time In 2014, The Water Council formed a new partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) to document the water renaissance happening in Wisconsin they believe will shape the economic future of the state. It was decided that the significance of the water movement being spearheaded by The Water Council would one day be viewed as a part of Wisconsin’s history and should thus be well documented now, while the individuals responsible for The Water Council

are still around, and able to contribute to that process. WHS will make available their extensive waterrelated research collections, including maps, images and primary sources that tell the story of the western Great Lakes and Wisconsin’s water resources. This collection of documents paired with current Water Council accomplishments will detail the evolution of Milwaukee’s growth into the Epicenter of the Global Water Industry.

2014 Awards Received by The Water Council

Water Council accomplishments to date are helping to write a compelling story to tell the world

The Water Council Global Water Center 247 W. Freshwater Way, Suite 500 Milwaukee, WI 53204 USA 1.414.988.8750

• Milwaukee Business Journal Eureka Award • Milwaukee Business Journal Real Estate Award - Best Public/Private Partnership for Global Water Center • American Institute of Architects, Wisconsin Chapter - Merit Award for Global Water Center • Wisconsin Innovation Award • BizTimes Nonprofit Excellence Award - Social Enterprise of the Year

“We are proud to support the efforts of The Water Council to develop the water technology industry in Wisconsin.”

the water council advertorial content sponsored by:

INDUSTRIES: Food & Agriculture

Arlington Agricultural Research Station in Arlington, WI.

FEEDING THE WORLD: WISCONSIN AG EXPORTS ON THE RISE BY MARTIN HINTZ

ost Wisconsin farmers smiled broadly at the end of 2014. Among the reasons: mostly good weather in mid-to-late summer resulting in high yields. However, the outlook for 2015 is a mixed bag. Early data released by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) shows that consumers around the world continue to buy more Wisconsin foods and agricultural products. Wisconsin farms and agribusinesses exported nearly $2.8 billion worth of agricultural products to 138 countries in the first nine months of 2014, a 17 percent increase over the same period in 2013. According to the DATCP, Wisconsin held its position as the No. 12 state for agricultural exports. The value of the state’s top five agricultural products increased, as did the value of sales to each of Wisconsin’s top five agricultural

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export markets, compared to the first three quarters of 2013. “Wisconsin’s agricultural sector continues to respond to worldwide demand for safe, high-quality food and products,” explains DATCP secretary Ben Brancel. “When these companies move into new markets, they strengthen their businesses, strengthen Wisconsin’s economy and help feed the world.” AGRICULTURE EXPORTS ON THE RISE Exports of dairy products, including dairy derivatives such as lactose and casein, are valued at $392 million, a 19 percent increase compared with the first three quarters of 2013. Wisconsin ranks third among the states in the export of these products. Brancel says that part of the growth in dairy exports 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

INDUSTRIES: Food & Agriculture can be attributed to $88.7 million in exports to Mexico, a 29 percent increase, and $55.3 million in exports to China, a 77 percent increase, compared to the same time last year. In Mexico, the products showing the most growth are milk concentrate, whey protein, cheese, butter, oils and buttermilk. China has been an active purchaser of whey, sweet concentrated milk, cream, cheese and curd, as demonstrated by DATCP figures. Wisconsin ranks first among all states exporting bovine genetics, whey, ginseng, processed sweet corn, mink fur skins and processed cranberries. The Cheese State ranks second in cheese exports, helping make the U.S. the fastest-growing international cheese exporter since 2009, according to Daniel Workman of World’s Top Exports (WTEx), a website that tracks commodities worldwide. “We are pleased to see this growth, but there are still plenty of opportunities for Wisconsin companies to export their products to other countries,” Brancel says, citing the hard work by members of DATCP’s International Trade Team. The group provides technical assistance and resources to both new and expanding Wisconsin farms and agribusinesses. MIXED FORECAST FOR 2015 In 2015, the costs for growing alfalfa, corn, soybeans and wheat in Wisconsin are predicted to be mixed, according to Ken Barnett, UW-Extension educator emeritus.

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

Crop prices are forecasted to be lower, he says, with slightly higher fertilizer prices and pesticide prices. Fuel prices should be lower, Barnett explains, with seed prices expected to be stable to lower. Wisconsin’s dairy and grain farmers, however, may not see an uptick in 2015, warns Stephen Freese, chief administrative officer for the WFBF. “Prices paid for corn and soybeans already fell this year, after hitting record highs,” he says in an agricultural overview for the Wisconsin Bankers Association’ annual economic report released early in January. He goes on

to say that a downturn in dairy prices and profits is nearly certain in 2015. Even so, Freese projects Wisconsin farmers will be able to handle a drop in earnings in 2015 because several good years have let them pay off debts and stash savings. “Most farmers’ financial bottom lines are strong,” he asserts. “Farmers enjoyed exceptional weather conditions (in the 2014) growing season,” says risk management specialist Joe Camp of AgriVisor. The firm provides marketing, research and pricing strategies for ag-related businesses. “It was almost as if market analysts were competing with one another to report the highest crop yield estimates, with each week marked by loftier forecasts,” he adds. EVERYONE IS PART OF THE “FOOD MOVEMENT” “We are all part of the food movement,” asserts Beaver Dam corn grower Nancy Kavazanjian, chair of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance board of directors. In a guest column in this January’s “Rural Route,” the WFBF’s membership magazine, she writes that the state’s farmers, ranchers and other industry partners have a lot in common with the burgeoning food movement. “We may have different ideas on how to achieve these goals. That’s okay,” Kavazanjian says. “We need big and small farms, conventional and organic, and rural and urban farmers at the table working together.” For 2015 and beyond, Kavazanjian sees the Wisconsin farm community moving forward “in the quest for ever healthier, more affordable, increasingly efficiently raised food for all.” A product of BizTimes Media

INDUSTRIES: Food & Agriculture ANGELIC BAKEHOUSE: HEAVENLY BREAD

At work in the GMO-free kitchen at Angelic Bakehouse.

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

Angelic Bakehouse’s James and Jenny Marino know their dough. A former hedge fund manager, he acts as chief operating officer and she is president and CEO of the Cudahy company, a Women Owned Business certified through The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. The couple has operated Angelic for five years, after purchasing Cybros, a 45-year-old Waukesha bakery. They updated, revamped and rebranded the product line. Since then, the company has grown fivefold. The firm has expanded distribution, built a new state-of-the-art facility, improved the quality of its ingredients (it is now totally GMO free) and increased staff. Angelic uses freshly-ground sprouted grains instead of processed flour, a process involving much trial and error to get to required quality levels, according to Jenny. In addition to a superior product, hard work, patience and creativity, Angelic is successful because of “it is a fun, approachable brand,” says Jenny. In a time where there is such a huge demand for transparency in food, with consumers wanting to know what they are putting into their bodies, Angelic breads play perfectly. According to Jenny, “Angelic is both healthy and approachable, hitting a sweet spot that resonates with consumers.” Angelic is found from coast to coast in an ever-growing number of retailers, including Milwaukee’s Outpost Natural Foods, as well as Whole Foods, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers Markets and several smaller chains. The bakery annually produces approximately 1,500 tons of hearty ediblesor about three million loaves of bread. Customer favorites are the sliced sprouted seven-grain bread, hamburger buns and Flatzza pizza crusts. Research is important in keeping Angelic on top of the bread game, with the Marinos working with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and UW-Madison. James spent time at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s cereal grain research facility at UW-Madison, studying germination techniques to ensure that Angelic gets top quality ingredients. The couple also continually monitors consumer trends from both a marketing and product development standpoint. The firm will continue to build its national brand by adding more stores and accounts, asserts James. Premium sprouted seven-grain wrap and frozen heat ‘n serve dinner rolls are to be launched in 2015. —— MARTIN HINTZ A product of BizTimes Media

WISCO POP! SODA AU NATURAL

Zach Mathes, Austin Ashley and Hallie Ashley of Wisco Pop!

For one Wisconsin firm, the soda manufacturing business is snap, crackle and … Wisco Pop! The Viroqua-based company, founded by Ashley Austin and his wife, Hallie, launched their firm in July, 2012. They now produce their beverages out of the Food Enterprise Center, a 100,000-square-foot business incubator in Viroqua.

At first, the Ashleys sold their beverages at Madisonarea farmers’ markets, accepting much-appreciated feedback. They started with traditional soda recipes, made without processed corn syrup or artificial flavorings. Instead, fresh fruit juices lend their own subtle touches, with honey as a sweetener. In 2013, the Ashleys were joined by Zac Mathes of HomeGrown Pizza, a wood-fired pizza catering firm and food cart in Viroqua. Mathes now acts as production manager, with Hallie handling office operations. In addition to sales, the company earned a $15,000 Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grant to pay for staff compensation costs, along with a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $24,000. In addition, Wisco Pop! received a $1,500 loan from the Viroqua Food Coop for packaging inventory. The Vernon Economic Development Association also assisted in securing several grants to purchase bottling equipment, including one for $43,500 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition to supplying the high-end beverages, Wisco Pop supports the area’s agricultural community, annually purchasing $22,000 worth of honey from nearby suppliers, projected to double in 2015. Wisco Pop! produces about 150 gallons a week of Ginger Brew, Cherry Bomb and Root Beer. The sodas are currently sold on tap, with the next step packing in bottles and a product launch set for early 2015. —— MARTIN HINTZ

HEARTLAND FARMS: NO SMALL POTATOES Heartland Farms is no small potatoes when it comes to tubers; the company produces more than 450 million pounds of spuds a year. Heartland, a fifth-generation facility, ships out of Almond, Amherst Junction, Hancock and Plainfield. Currently, it farms approximately 15,000 irrigated acres and has storage capacity for more than 175,000 tons of chipping and supermarket style potatoes. Shipping capacity is about 60 truckloads per day. The farm also grows sweet corn, canning peas, soybeans and green beans. For Jeremie Pavelski, president of Heartland Farms, agricultural research plays a vital role in his day-to-day operations, determining the best growing practices. Through research, he’s learned: • How and when to irrigate and apply nutrients efficiently. • What crop protectants work for certain crops, what is safe to use, and when you need to apply them. • Whether new nutrient sources or additives can help ensure that both the crop’s needs and environmental needs are met. • How to store crops to ensure excellent quality and minimal loss. In addition, the farm continually looks at the latest technological advances to improve water efficiency, provide better yields with less nutrients and crop protectants, as well as to devise new storage techniques. As a board member of the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, Pavelski explains that his organization has teamed up with the University of Wisconsin on numerous projects. Among these team efforts is the new storage research center at the UW-Hancock Research Station. — MARTIN HINTZ www.wisconsinbiz.com

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WHO’S GOT THE CHEESE? Notable Wisconsinites share their favorite fromage

THEY’LL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT! Behind the scenes at the 2015 Championship Cheese Contest

Ben Brancel

Madison, Secretary, Wisconsin Dept. Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

“My favorite Wisconsin cheese depends on the occasion; Brie as an appetizer, Provolone on a sub, American on a cheeseburger, Blue on a salad or Swiss on a grilled cheese at the World Dairy Expo.”

Jim Holte

Elk Mound, president, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation

“I enjoy many kinds of cheese but my favorite would be mozzarella. I like it on salads, on pizza and just for snacking.”

udging cheese is described as a sensual experience involving taste, touch and smell. But the stone-faced judges at the 2015 United States Championship Cheese Contest in Milwaukee gave no indication of their ultimate decision. There are no yummy noises from the arbitrators, no indication of which of the 1,888 entries from 28 states will capture a medal in a record 90 classes. Held in mid-March, the biannual event was hosted this year by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) in downtown Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Center. Thirty-two expressionless judges using IPads to score worked in teams of two at 18 tables. Each tasted one cheese, butter or yogurt at a time. The top three entries in each class eventually earned gold, silver and bronze medals. Judges worked with IPads to quickly grade the cheese and post the results. Leading the judging team were Chief Judge Robert Aschebrock from Stratford, emeritus chief judge Bill Schlinsog of Middleton and assistant chief judges Stan Dietsche with Oshkosh Cheese Sales & Storage, Agropur’s Tim Czmowski in Appleton, Sandy Toney from Masters Gallery Foods in Plymouth and consultant Jim Mueller, a dairy consultant from Green Bay. More than 150 dairy industry volunteers led by Brian Eggebrecht of Welcome Dairy in Colby provided support as judges evaluated more than 30,000 pounds of cheese, butter and yogurt entries. “These experts have rare credentials and the extraordinary ability to discern the subtle flavor, body and texture differences in a variety of cheeses, butter and yogurt,” says Jim Umhoefer, WCMA executive director.

Sandra Toney

Plymouth, Vice President-Corporate Quality & Product Development, Masters Gallery Food

“I will never stop eating cheese. It is in my daily diet and tasting is in a normal days work. My favorite cheese would be a 2-4 year old cheddar accompanied by an awesome bottle of red wine.”

It takes more than an expert palate, however, Umhoefer points out. “Judges must be fully familiar with dozens of cheese varieties and conversant in the special language of product quality judging. They must understand what perfect aged Gouda cheese should taste like,” he adds. The judges hunt for any flaws in a contest entry, deducting tenths of a point from a perfect starting score of 100 points. Winning cheese with

few defects often score in the 98 to 99 point range in competitions, according to Umhoefer. At the Milwaukee cheese competition, Bill Schlinsog, jaunty in his red cap, is still going strong on the competition circuit at age 87. He’s been judging for about four decades. As such, Schlinsog is no stranger to cheese. His dad Harry had a cheese factory in Loyal, where his lifetime love affair with fromage was launched. As longtime head cheese judge at the Wisconsin State Fair, Schlinsog travels the state and has judged in Germany, Italy and Switzerland. For judge Sandy Toney, vice president of corporate quality and product development at Masters Gallery Foods, a great judge is an individual who has a passion for cheese and the desire to give each product equal opportunity to be the champion. “The best part is having the pleasure of tasting some of the best cheese in the world, and meeting some of the most knowledgeable individuals in the industry. The friendships that develop between the judges are incredible” she says. Growing up on a dairy farm and graduating from the

2015 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest Wisconsin dominated the show, winning more awards than 27 other states combined. WISCONSIN 158 Awards 150 125 100 75 50 25

New York 22 Awards

Vermont 18 Awards

California 16 Awards

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Final day of judging and awards ceremony for the 2015 United States Cheese Championship Contest being at the Hyatt Hotel, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. March 19, 2015.

WHO’S GOT THE CHEESE?

PHOTO BY GARY PORTER

Notable Wisconsinites share their favorite fromage

food science program at Fond du Lac’s Moraine Park Technical College, Toney knows her cheese. Quality milk is the key, she says, lending to a robust smell, clean flavor, characteristics notes, a firm body, creamy texture and no residual after-flavors.

“My favorite is a Wisconsin cheddar aged seven years or longer served with crackers and a New Glarus Spotted Cow beer, the origin of which was inspired by a visit to Old World Wisconsin!”

2015 U.S. CHAMPION Team Guggisberg Sugarcreek Guggisberg Swiss Cheese Millersburg, OH • Champion Round Score: 98.496

2015 FIRST RUNNER UP

“And there’s the need to have more,” she laughs. “I will never stop eating cheese. It is in my daily diet and tasting is in a normal day’s work.

John (Randy) Pitman Mill Creek Cheese • Arena, WI Brick Cheese • Champion Round Score: 98.389

Steve Ehlers, of Larry’s Market, an iconic cheese shop in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, has been involved with cheese since the 1970s. He’s been judging cheese for the past decade, and volunteered at this year’s U.S. competition. “Having experience and a good palette” are the keys to being a successful judge, he says.

Kiel Production Team Land 0’ Lakes, Inc. • Kiel, WI Medium Cheddar • Champion Round Score: 98.337

“You observe the aroma, texture, appearance and smell, using all the senses in judging a cheese,” he indicates. Ehlers notes that these factors are common to all cheese varieties. “If you’ve been around long enough, you know how each conforms to the base qualities of a great cheese.”

Daniel J. Freas

Eagle, Director, Old World Wisconsin

2015 SECOND RUNNER UP

Jen Ede

publisher/editor, Edible Milwaukee magazine

“It’s nearly impossible to choose one cheese I like best, so let me just mention one I’m looking forward to. This summer, I can’t wait to get my hands on Hook’s 20-year cheddar.”

EHLERS

It should be no surprise that Wisconsin cheesemakers dominated this year’s competition, winning two of the top three overall U.S. Championship awards. ◆

Jamie Lamonde

Madison, president, Heirloom Marketing + Media publisher/editor, Edible Madison magazine

“One of my favorite cheeses is Marieke Gouda from Thorp because it is made with milk produced right on their farm, handcrafted and delicious.”

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WHO’S GOT THE CHEESE?

Cory Geiger

Fort Atkinson, managing editor, Hoard’s Dairyman

“Sharp Aged Cheddar followed closely by Blue Cheese. For those who really like cheese, both Sharp Aged Cheddar and Blue Cheese offer some zip for one’s pallet on the cheese tray and pair nicely with a number of wines and beers. Both are conversation starters whenever we host a party.”

Final day of judging and awards ceremony for the 2015 United States Cheese Championship Contest being at the Hyatt Hotel, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. March 19, 2015.

WISCONSIN CHEESE FACTS!

Terese Allen

Madison, food expert/cookbook author “I can only tell you my current favorite Wisconsin cheese because there are so many superb ones that my ‘favorite’ changes. Tony and Julie Hook, of Hook’s Cheese in Mineral Point, make an aged sheep’s milk gouda, called Duda Gouda, that is downright righteous. It has sweetness and tang, a slight crumbliness, and just the right touch of edgy funk. Very imaginative, yet well-balanced. When I serve it ‘anonymously’ on a cheese platter, people also say, ‘What IS this? It’s fantastic!’”

Rep. Lee Nerison

Westby, chair, Wisconsin Legislature’s agriculture committee

“The former dairy farmer in me would say that every type of cheese is the best! But if I have to make a pick, it’s fresh mozzarella. There is nothing better than fresh mozzarella on a cheeseburger – that’s pretty much the only thing I order when I get lunch on session days at the Capitol.”

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Wisconsin is the nation’s top producer of cheddar, provolone, parmesan, Romano, Muenster, feta, cold pack and limburger cheeses

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Over the last 20 years, per capita cheese consumption has increased by 30 percent from 26.0 pounds in 1993 to 33.7 pounds in 2013

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Wisconsin cheese is the shining star in the state’s dairy industry’s economic engine which, in total, serves up $43.4 billion a year for our state.

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About 90% of Wisconsin dairy farmers’ milk is transformed into world-class, award-winning Wisconsin cheese

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Cheese dates back to at least 6000 BC, according to archeologists, who have found evidence that early Mesopotamians enjoyed both cow and goat milk cheeses.

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There are more than 2,000 varieties of cheese available worldwide. Mozzarella is the global favorite.

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If Wisconsin’s cheese production was counted alone, it would be the fourth largest cheesemaker in the world following the U.S., Germany and France and just ahead of Italy.

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Wisconsin produces more than 600 varieties, types and styles of cheese.

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Consumed in moderation, cheese is an excellent source of protein, calcium, and phosphorus.

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Approximately 10 pounds of milk is required to make one pound of cheese.

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Some varieties of cheese, like mozzarella, cheddar, Swiss and American, help prevent tooth decay by promoting the flow of saliva, which helps to eliminate sugar and acids from the mouth.

•

Cheese also helps protect tooth enamel and has an antibacterial effect.

PHOTO BY GARY PORTER

Notable Wisconsinites share their favorite fromage

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TH HE E P PO OW WE ER R O OF F W W II S SC CO ON NS S II N N D DA A II R RY Y T [[ or Dairy Business Business ]] or Why Why Wisconsin Wisconsin is is the the Best Best Place Place to to Grow Grow Your Your Dairy

10,000 dairy dairy farmers farmers including including aa

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200+ processing plants plants 200+ cheese, cheese, butter, butter, milk milk and and dairy dairy processing 120+ 120+ ag ag colleges, colleges, research research stations, stations, Discovery Discovery Farms Farms and Extension offices and Extension offices World-renowned World-renowned Center Center for for Dairy Dairy Research Research & & The The Center for Dairy Profitability, both based at the Center for Dairy Profitability, both based at the prestigious prestigious University University of of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin-Madison

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Brought to you by the dairy farm families of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Brought to you by the dairy farm families of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

INDUSTRIES: Transportation & Logistics

Uline corporate headquarters expansion, scheduled to open in 2016. (Contributed)

LOCATION: THE KEY TO STATE’S FAST-GROWING LOGISTICS INDUSTRY BY MARYBETH MATZEK

ooking at a map of the United States, Wisconsin doesn’t jump out as a transportation and logistics hot spot, but appearances can be deceiving. Even though it’s bordered by two Great Lakes, the Badger State is well-known throughout the country for its strong ground transportation companies and their ability to get products quickly to customers. The word is definitely getting out: internet giant Amazon, super-sized discount grocer Meijer, Rust-OLeum, Gordon Food Service, Uline, Affiliated Foods and others are opening distribution centers in southeastern Wisconsin, concentrated around the I-94 corridor near the Illinois border.

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Amazon has opened its first 500,000-square-foot facility already, with an additional 1 million square-feet opening soon. In all, almost 5 million square-feet of distribution space is operating, planned or under construction, with an estimated 2,500 jobs to be created or retained, according to Heather Wessling Grosz, vice president of economic development with the Kenosha Area Business Alliance. Grosz said logistics companies locating in Kenosha County is nothing new. “Chicago is a huge market for logistics, and we’re a sub-market. For many companies, we’re a low-cost alternative,” she said. “We have lower taxes, lower cost-per-square-foot, and it’s easy access to I-94 without so much traffic.”

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TRANSPORTATION: BUILT ON HISTORY AND HARD WORK Proximity to Chicago’s rail hub and the state’s strong highway network have both been essential in attracting companies, said Tom Vandenberg, general counsel for Schneider National in Green Bay. “Amazon was looking to be within a oneday drive to most of its customers, and being in Kenosha puts them in good reach of the Chicago, Milwaukee and Twin Cities’ markets,” he said. “Wisconsin also has a strong work ethic and positive business climate.” Vandenberg should know. Schneider National is a national leader in the transportation industry, taking full advantage of Wisconsin highways and the railways. Manufacturing gave birth to its strong transportation industry, he added. “We always had a strong work ethic and manufacturing base, with lots of factories that needed raw materials brought in and finished products taken out,” Vandenberg said. “Transportation entrepreneurs were able to then grow their business here.” Construction along I-94 in recent years between Kenosha and Milwaukee only makes the area more attractive to logistic companies, Grosz said. “These improvements make getting around so much easier.” Vandenberg agreed, adding the state’s highway system – which includes not only I-94, but

FUTUR

TE A T S R INTE

41 www.wisconsinbiz.com

Amazon Fulfillment Center in Kenosha. (Andrew Weiland)

also I-90, I-43 and I-39 – is well developed, making it easier to get products across the state. Highway 41 between Milwaukee and Green Bay is in the process of becoming an interstate, too. The many railroad tracks crossing the state also help get products from Point A to Point B, Vandenberg said. “Transportation companies can’t work in a vacuum. We work with other carriers and railways to make sure customers can get their products to their destinations,” Van-

denberg said. “We put in three million miles every day on the rails, as we put our trailers on rail cars and then get them to where they are put on trucks.” At the other end of the state – just off I-94 near the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, logistics businesses are also setting up shop, said Steve Jahn, executive director of Momentum West, an economic development group in western Wisconsin. United Foods International, for example, is building a $37.8 million logistics facility in Prescott.

FUTURE 41 Work on transforming Highway 41 – between the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee and the city of Green Bay – into an interstate began 10 years ago. Today, the process is almost complete. When completed, the designation will raise the status of the roadway from well-known regional highway to national transportation corridor. Economic development authorities expect the conversion to spur economic growth along the route as, historically, distribution companies and other large businesses prefer to be located along interstates over highways. Last year, Congress approved legislation that grandfathered trucks currently using the state road -- but which are over the federal highway weight limit -- to continue using Highway 41 once it officially becomes an interstate. Federal weight limits are lower than current state highway limits, but the roads were built to handle the higher state weight limit. Right now, an estimated 10 to 20 percent of all trucks using 41 are over the federal limit -- most of them hauling raw materials to area manufacturers. Early this year, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will begin changing signage from the current Highway 41 to Interstate 41.

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INDUSTRIES: Transportation & Logistics J.J. KELLER ADAPTS TO INDUSTRY EVOLUTION When Jack Keller began J.J. Keller & Associates in 1953, the transportation industry looked very different than it does today. Keller’s first product was a paper log book to help truck drivers track their mileage. Today, the Neenah-based company still provides those paper log books, in addition to an electronic logging solution. But it does a lot more – providing educational and training information for all parts of the transportation industry through publications, consulting and online management tools that address safety, HR issues and more. “Paper logs are still a primary tool for drivers, but there’s also electronic logging devices,” said Rustin Keller, J.J. Keller’s executive vice president and chief operating officer – and Jack’s grandson. “Technology validates what you’re doing.” Major advances in technology since the Neenah company first opened its doors also help carriers stay abreast of regulations. “It’s a sophisticated, regulated profession and drivers are scrutinized with drug tests, medical exams, lots of inspections and more,” Keller said. J.J. Keller is heavily involved with training the future workforce through its investment in programs at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton. Jack Keller himself received his interstate commerce license from FVTC, and the company has supported its educational offerings for the truck driving industry through the years, including the college’s driving range, a driver simulator, a training facility and student scholarships. “FVTC is so involved with the training of professionals for our industry” Keller said. “They’re important partners for us.” — MARYBETH MATZEK

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

WOW LOGISTICS’ CHEESE-HANDLING SETS IT APART Cheese production doesn’t end when it leaves a manufacturing plant; it needs to go somewhere to age. Chance are, the cheese in your refrigerator right now spent time in a WOW Logistics refrigerated warehouse. Based in Appleton, WOW is a national leader in third-party logistics, specializing in the storing and handling of food-grade products. Randy Radtke, director of marketing for WOW Logistics, said it’s the only third-party logistics provider that has all of its warehouses audited by the ASI Food Safety Consultants at the food processor level. “We consistently score above 90 percent,” he said. Beyond storing physical products, WOW also provides trade financing, Radtke said. The company pre-pays for received product so business owners don’t need to worry about having assets tied up on warehouse shelves, as during

cheese’s aging process. “We’re one of the world’s largest private financers of dairy products and have extended the program into paper and other inventory items,” he said. The company has 6 million square feet of warehouse space, including 22 million cubic feet of refrigerated space at its 20 locations in Wisconsin and Idaho. The company employs more than 200. “Our ability to offer a wide range of supply chain solutions makes WOW Logistics uniquely qualified to meet all of our customers’ need,” Radtke said. “In addition, our food-grade product expertise, in-house engineering, I.T. support, and an organization-wide commitment to excellent customer service put our company ahead of the competition.” — MARYBETH MATZEK

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INDUSTRIES: Tourism

Kayaking at Madeline Island.

DESTINATION WISCONSIN: THE WORLD AT YOUR FEET BY BRIDGETTE MCCORMICK

ife is crowded, and a vacation is often first thing to be pushed aside. But what if that change of scenery you crave is closer than you think? Between family attractions in the Dells, cultural outings in Madison and Milwaukee, and shopping destinations such as Minocqua, Pleasant Prairie and Johnson Creek, there is no shortage of vacation options in Wisconsin. This is an incredibly biodiverse and beautiful state, where new wilderness adventures await with each turn of the season. Here are just a few of the amazing experiences available within a few hours’ drive from where ever you are. THE SEA AND ICE CAVES OF THE APOSTLE ISLANDS This chain of islands on Lake Superior is a protected National Lakeshore and offers gorgeous hiking along

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the red sandstone cliffs and pristine waters. Madeline Island is accessible by ferry with a quaint, walkable downtown whose galleries brim with the work of local artists. In summer, don’t miss the breathtaking Apostle Island sea caves by kayak; take a guided tour with Living Adventures. In winter, those sea caves transform into equally stunning ice caves. Bayfield hosts an annual Dog Sled Race: adventurers can book their own mushing experience with Wolfsong Adventures. FISHING THE WORLD’S LARGEST CHAIN OF INLAND FRESHWATER LAKES Anglers catch about 67 million fish each year in Wisconsin. For nearly undisturbed waters, get your bait and head up to the 28 interconnected lakes of Eagle River and Three Lakes. One of the most productive musky fish201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

INDUSTRIES: Tourism eries, you’ll also find walleye, bluegill, northern pike, catfish, and large and smallmouth bass in these waters. Winter fishing is easily accessible along the 500 miles of groomed snowmobile trails nearby. There are guided fishing opportunities, like Musky Mastery or Ryan Bock’s Guide Service, which guarantees you’ll catch a walleye or your trip is free! THE MAJESTY OF BIG MANITOU FALLS Emerald forests, blooming flowers, the thunderous roar of water cascading down

a cliff side, Big Manitou Falls is a gem of northern Wisconsin. Located 13 miles south of Superior in Pattison State Park, the Falls tumble 165 feet into the Black River below, making them the tallest waterfall in the state. Black River’s dark waters wind through dense forest, creating an especially beautiful fall backdrop. For a waterfall excursion, extend your trip to include nearby Little Manitou Falls, or drive 20 miles northeast and explore Amnicon Falls State Park for more family-friendly swimming holes on hot summer days.

Little Manitou Falls.

CCC Bridge at Pattison.

Black River entering Interfalls Lake.

Pattison arched bridge in winter.

FRESHWATER SURFING IN SHEBOYGAN Lake Michigan, dubbed the Malibu of the Midwest, is actually the world’s freshwater surf capital. Sheboygan offers some of the best surfing on the lake; natural coastal formations on a 5-mile stretch of the city’s shoreline result in 22 breaks, where surfable waves can form. The best waves can be found between September and April, and usually require winds of 15-25 mph. Labor Day launches the season, and it’s one of the busiest beach days for the city. If you’re just getting your feet wet, summer is a great time to practice on smaller waves. Find lessons, rentals and gear at EOS, Wisconsin’s only surf shop. The shop often hosts surf community events from their downtown S heboygan location. 60

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WAUSAU’S WHITEWATER RAPIDS AND EDIBLE HIKING TRAILS One of only two urban whitewater kayaking courses in America is located in the heart of Wisconsin, in downtown Wausau. A practice area for Olympians in training, this course can be challenging for beginners. If need be, get started with an intro class, like those offered by Divepoint Scuba & Paddle Adventure Center, with locations in Wausau and Steven’s Point. If your sense of adventure includes culinary exploration in the wild, head about an hour north and west to the shores of Lake Hultman. There you’ll find the Standish Price Interpretive Trail, marked to help hikers identify the edible foliage along the way. Open May through October, it features 118 edible plants, including over 71 different species. Pick up the guidebook at Holiday Hills Campground and spend a few hours exploring flavors you may already be growing in your own backyard, plus a few brand new tastes to expand your gastronomic vocabulary. BIRDWATCHING AT HORICON MARSH Less than an hour from Milwaukee sits the world’s largest cattail marsh, and one of the nation’s most important wetlands. Designated a National Wildlife Refuge, Horicon Marsh encompasses 32,000 acres of protected wetland. The marsh is home to over 305 different species of birds, drawing tens of thousands during spring and fall migration. In 2014, CNN named Horicon Marsh among America’s top 50 best natural wonders. Discover the variety of other wildlife residing in these wetlands by hiking, biking, or canoeing the trails. In winter, strap on your cross country skis. Book a charming stay at Mayville’s historic Audubon Inn, where packages include a champagne flight over the marsh in a private plane. Horicon Marsh Educational Centers offer unique events year round, like Movies at the Marsh.

Mayville’s historic Audubon Inn.

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INDUSTRIES: Tourism

ABOVE: Whistling Straits with clubhouse. INSET: Wanamaker Trophy.

GOLFERS’ PARADISE: WISCONSIN TO HOST 2015 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP The best golfers in the world will return to Wisconsin in 2015 when the state hosts the PGA Championship, August 13-16 at Whistling Straits. It will be the third time that Whistling Straits, owned by the Kohler Company and located along Lake Michigan north of Sheboygan, will host the event. The PGA Championship was also held at Whistling Straits in 2004 and 2010. The course hosted the U.S. Senior Open in 2007 and will host the Ryder Cup in 2020. Whistling Straits is regularly rated one of the best golf courses in the world. The Straits Course at Whistling Straits is ranked #2 on Golf Digest’s latest list of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.” The Irish Course at Whistling Straits ranks #39. Despite the state’s cold winter weather, Wisconsin has some of the best golf courses in the nation. In addition to Whistling Straits, several others make the Golf Digest “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” list. Erin Hills ranks #10. Located on the undulat-

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

ing landscape of southwest Washington County, Erin Hills will host the 2017 U.S. Open. The course was also the site of the 2011 U.S. Amateur. The River Course at Blackwolf Run in Kohler ranks #14. The Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf Run ranks #62. Also owned by the Kohler Company, Blackwolf Run was the site of the 1998 and 2012 U.S. Women’s Open. The Bull in Sheboygan Falls, designed by Jack Nicklaus, ranks #77. Other top-notch golf courses in Wisconsin include: Milwaukee Country Club in River Hills, Blue Mound Golf & Country Club in Wauwatosa, Pine Hills Country Club in Sheboygan and the recently renovated SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point, well-known for its “flower hole.” Excitement is building for yet another highend golf development in Wisconsin. Mike Keiser, who developed the renowned Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, is building a multicourse resort near Wisconsin Rapids. Sand Valley Golf Resort is being built on a 1,400-acre

sand barren site, and could eventually have up to five courses. The first, which already is under construction and expected to open in spring 2017, will have 18 holes. Keiser has hired some of the best golf course architects in the world for Sand Valley. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw are designing the first one and David McLay Kidd the second. If the Sand Valley project is ultimately of similar quality to Bandon Dunes, Wisconsin’s status as a destination for first-rate golf will only grow. Not to be outdone by Keiser, Kohler Company is working on plans for another golf course, for a site along Lake Michigan south of Sheboygan. While all of the high-end championship caliber courses in the state grab so much attention, less-skilled golfers need not fret. There are more than 600 golf courses in the state, many owned by local public parks systems, providing suitable challenges for players of all skill levels. — ANDREW WEILAND

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Whether you are hosting an intimate get-together or a conference for 1,000 guests, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino has exquisite rooms to meet your every need. And, our professional catering managers are ready to help you create an event that perfectly suits your style. The addition of our 381-room hotel will make planning your event that much easier. Visit paysbig.com or call 414-847-8600 to see how we can help bring your vision to life. 1721 WEST CANAL STREET • MILWAUKEE, WI 53233 • 1-800-PAYSBIG • PAYSBIG.COM • AGE RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY • MANAGEMENT RESERVES ALL RIGHTS ©2015 FOREST COUNTY POTAWATOMI COMMUNITY, WISCONSIN

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KNOWLEDGE POWERS WISCONSIN’S WORKFORCE

| EDUCATION

MORE THAN 36,000 NEW UW GRADUATES WILL ENTER THE WORKFORCE THIS YEAR, ready to put their talent and entrepreneurial spirit to work. They are prepared for careers in finance, engineering, science, nursing, information systems and many other fields. UW grads communicate clearly, solve problems creatively and work well in teams. They will complete their degrees on campus and online, in numbers that top national averages. They are Wisconsin’s strong workforce for tomorrow.

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In an economy driven by knowledge and innovation, the University of Wisconsin System is preparing a stronger workforce to fuel business success. With enrollment at nearly 180,000 students, UW System institutions offer a rich menu of educational options, including 300 undergraduate degree programs and more than 350 graduate degree programs. These include a growing number of fully online and accelerated degree programs, as well as collaborative degrees tailored to specific industries and emerging workforce needs. Beginning in January 2014, the first degrees were offered via the UW Flexible Option – a competency-based degree platform designed for adult students who come to college (or back to college) with substantial knowledge and experience. UW campuses and online degree programs now confer more than 36,000 degrees per year – a 49% increase over the past 35 years. Business, finance, management and related fields remain the most popular areas of study, and more than onequarter of UW undergraduate degrees are conferred in critical STEM and health-related fields. Over the past 20 years,

“A big part of my job now is thinking strategically and mapping out plans, mapping out goals and how we’re going to operate. Going to school as a communication major at UW-Green Bay prepared me to use these skills in a real-world setting, and that has been really helpful as I continue to grow professionally.” Ryan Hartwig Content Developer, Green Bay Packers Media Group

the number of degrees in STEM disciplines has increased by 50% and in health-related fields by 36%. The majority of UW degree-holders stay in Wisconsin after graduation. Regardless of where they choose to live, however, UW alumni speak highly of their educational experiences. In fact, 85% of UW graduates say they were “effectively prepared with the knowledge and skills they needed” to succeed in the workplace. Today’s college students are mobile, and it’s easier than ever for them to begin at one campus and finish at another. More than 16,000 transfer students enrolled somewhere in the UW System during the 2013-14 year, and UW’s Transfer Information System (TIS) offers an interactive online “wizard” to help create seamless educational experiences. Because employers want college graduates to be adaptable and flexible, every UW degree is built on a set of shared learning goals. In addition to technical knowledge and skills, UW students learn to think critically, write clearly, speak persuasively, and understand and appreciate diversity. They work in teams and bring a sense of informed citizenship to their lives – and to their jobs.•

“Kohl’s hires UW-Whitewater interns and graduates because they are well-educated and professional. They understand our vision and show a specific interest in working for us.” Jamila Hudson Recruiter, Kohl’s Department Stores

“We have a great relationship with the university; 35 percent of our workers are UW-Eau Claire graduates.” Zach Halmstad Founder, JAMF Software Alumnus, UW-Eau Claire (music major, computer science minor)

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Knowledge powers wisconsin Business

the Uw systeM is well-Positioned to helP create More well-Paying jobs. That’s happening now – through research and development, technology transfer, business outreach, and public-private partnerships. UW Small Business Development Centers are counseling and training entrepreneurs. University laboratories are spawning new ideas that will find their way into manufacturing plants, biotechnology companies and other growth businesses, healthcare facilities, and agricultural enterprises. University research parks are nurturing start-ups and serving as magnets for community economic development. In today’s knowledge economy, our public colleges, universities, and extension networks are a source of strength for Wisconsin businesses.

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Educating people for career success is a vital part of UW System’s mission. Our colleges, universities, and extension networks are also working to create stronger businesses – and new jobs – to employ those UW graduates.

Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network (WEN) works alongside campus-based Small Business Development Centers to help new and established businesses find the expertise they need.

Initiatives to bolster regional economies are under way at all UW institutions. A growing partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will help coordinate these statewide activities and leverage the UW System’s education and research assets.

Scientific research at UW campuses is itself a key ingredient to job growth. Academic research and development now represents a $1.1-billion industry in Wisconsin – one that has created over 38,000 jobs all across the state, according to the Wisconsin Technology Council. One tangible example of this success is found at the University Research Park in Madison, where more than 126 companies employ over 3,500 people at an average annual salary of $63,000. Many of those businesses grew out of UW-Madison research, while others were attracted by the climate of uncommon innovation. This model is being replicated at other campuses, including the Whitewater University Technology Park, which leverages UW-Whitewater’s strengths in information technology and entrepreneurship. Likewise, businesses at the Stout Technology and Business Park in Menomonie capitalize on UW-Stout’s expertise in packaging, plastics, and industrial technology. •

Manufacturing remains a cornerstone of Wisconsin’s economy, and the UW is a strong partner. From supply chain management and e-business to transportation logistics and paper science, our public universities devote more than $50 million to manufacturing research, education, and outreach every year. Another staple industry – agriculture – remains a top UW priority, as evidenced by world-class research and specialized degrees in agricultural business, animal science, biochemistry, genetics, and food science. Looking toward the future, most new jobs will come from small businesses. To support that growth, UW-Extension’s

“Strathmore Artist Papers™ benefited from our partnership with UW-Stevens Point. We began with an idea for a new line of artist paper, and within a short amount of time had a fantastic series of new products that are being used by artists throughout the country. It is truly a Wisconsin story as the development and manufacturing were all done by organizations here in Wisconsin, including the RiverPoint Paper which is made right on campus.” Matthew P. Meszaros New Product Development Manager, Strathmore Artist Papers™

“A friend of mine said, ‘go to Colleen Merrill. She makes magic happen.’ Colleen (a business counselor from SBDC, UW-Extension) understood what I was trying to accomplish. She worked up numbers and business concepts, and told us what we should expect. She cut every piece of red tape imaginable. Within a month I had a $90,000 loan to complete the project. I can’t imagine doing all that on my own.” Ray Reinders Owner, Link Computing Solutions, Oshkosh

“The UW Online Sustainable Management degree set me up for success in a career in business, which is something I didn’t expect when I started it. I really learned how to phrase my arguments in a way that makes business sense and achieves the social outcomes I am looking for.” Margaret Becker Facilities Program Analyst, American Family Insurance Alumna, UW Online Sustainable Management degree program, a collaboration of UW-Extension, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, UW-Superior, UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Parkside

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Knowledge powers wisconsin communities

across the state, Uw caMPUses are hUbs of edUcation, enrichMent, and entertainMent. Athletic events put Wisconsin pride on a national stage. Theatrical productions and art exhibits inspire creativity, while planetariums and laboratories cultivate big ideas and bold aspirations. Trusted UW-Extension educators help revitalize downtown business districts, while UW research promotes public health, cleaner water, and better K-12 schools. Vibrant communities are the fertile ground where engaged citizens and successful businesses take root and grow, and the UW System is fueling that growth.

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KNOWLEDGE POWERS WISCONSIN COMMUNITIES

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Communities across Wisconsin share common challenges, working to boost business growth, protect environmental resources, promote public health, and sustain a high quality of life. These communities also share an invaluable resource – the University of Wisconsin System.

outside the classroom. In fact, 65% of UW seniors report participating in some type of community service. These experiences yield immediate benefits to communities while students are enrolled, and build a foundation for lifelong civic involvement of graduates.

By engaging with communities, UW institutions have positive impacts in every corner of the state.

Even before they enter college, Wisconsin’s young people visit campuses to learn about everything from astronomy to zoology. They attend theatrical performances, participate in sports camps, hone their musical skills, and learn from hands-on scientific experiments.

Public radio and television networks deliver information and education throughout the state. Continuing education programs on each of the 26 UW campuses provide lifelong learning and personal enrichment opportunities. Cooperative Extension educators in every county offer programs that serve everyone from families and youth to agricultural producers and Main Street business owners.

The UW System works with and for communities all around Wisconsin to enrich daily life and bring about positive change. •

Scientific research often reaches far beyond the university laboratory. By applying that knowledge to real-world problems, UW researchers help businesses improve productivity. They help protect clean water and safe food supplies. Part of the college experience at any UW campus is the opportunity to learn valuable lessons through hands-on work

“UW-Parkside, and the entire UW System, is committed to providing affordable and innovative access to quality education and thereby creating economic opportunity for individuals and our communities.” Tim Mahone President, Mahone Strategies

A college education is shown to lead to much higher earnings over a lifetime. A more educated workforce also means greater tax revenue, which supports better standards of living. Studies consistently show that higher education is linked to increased civic engagement, from voting to volunteerism, and greater understanding of people from diverse backgrounds and opinions.

“UW-Platteville is the economic engine that drives the community of Platteville. As our largest employer, UW-Platteville provides access to the arts and culture that we would not otherwise be able to enjoy. The many programs and performances offered through the Center for the Arts also make us a destination for others in the region.”

“Our family is eager to help UW-Milwaukee create a vibrant research community at Innovation Campus for both the public and private sectors. We value this opportunity to partner with UWM to create jobs for the region through the establishment of new companies and provide unique educational opportunities for students.”

Kathy Kopp

Lynn Nicholas

Executive Director, Platteville Regional Chamber

President, Nicholas Family Foundation

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UNIVERSITY OF UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM The University of Wisconsin System is one of the largest, most efficient, and most respected systems of higher education in the country. It is an academic, cultural, and economic resource for the entire state, and home to the “Wisconsin Idea”—education for people wherever they live and work.

AN EFFICIENT, COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, the state’s largest campuses, offer doctoral and professional programs, as well as undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Eleven comprehensive four-year campuses offer baccalaureate and master’s programs. The 13 UW Colleges offer a freshman-sophomore liberal arts foundation in an affordable, accessible format, and guarantee that students can transfer to any four-year UW campus. In addition, UW-Extension works in partnership with Wisconsin’s 72 counties to provide lifelong learning and applied research to every corner of the state. The UW System’s administrative overhead costs are less than half of what you’ll find at the average public university in America. That efficiency saves Wisconsin taxpayers and students some $227 million every year, by comparison.

MORE GRADUATES, MORE DEGREE PROGRAMS The UW System is finding new ways to maintain this efficiency while also boosting productivity. The number of enrolled students and degrees conferred continue to reach record, or near-record, levels. Retention and graduation rates are also climbing, exceeding national averages. Achievement and access go hand in hand at UW. Each year, about one-third of Wisconsin high school graduates enroll the following fall at a UW campus, and about 94 out of every 100 freshman applicants from Wisconsin are admitted to at least one UW institution where they applied. To meet the needs of working adults, non-traditional students and businesses, a growing number of these degrees are offered in fully online formats, with new

“Flexible Option” degrees now under development. An array of collaborative degrees meet emerging workforce needs by leveraging the existing resources of multiple UW campuses. Partnerships with Wisconsin’s Technical Colleges open up new pathways to a college degree.

A VISION FOR WISCONSIN’S FUTURE The UW System is expanding scientific research that stimulates job creation and business growth. In addition to supporting Wisconsin’s staple industries such as agriculture and manufacturing, our universities are graduating more students in computer science, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and other high-growth fields. While UW-Madison is known worldwide for numerous scientific breakthroughs, UWMilwaukee is expanding its research capacity to develop a highly skilled and diverse workforce in the state’s largest urban area. Similar initiatives to bolster regional economies and build ties with local businesses and communities are under way at other UW System campuses.

UW SYSTEM: AT A GLANCE Enrollment: About 180,000

Institutions: • 13 four-year universities • 13 freshman-sophomore UW Colleges campuses • Statewide UW-Extension

Annual Budget: $6.1 billion

State Funding: $1.2 billion

Gifts, Grants and Contracts: $1.5 billion

Economic Impact: $15+ billion annually

Degrees Awarded: 36,000 annually

Learn More: www.wisconsin.edu UWPowersWI.com

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WISCONSIN SYSTEM “The demand for nurses is growing, particularly for those with a bachelor of science in nursing. The UW Flexible Option RN to BSN program allows working nurses with busy lives an opportunity to seamlessly move forward in their careers. At the same time, they’re bringing new ideas to their workplace. It’s a win-win.”

UW SYSTEM STUDENT HEADCOUNT FALL 2004 – FALL 2014

170,000 –

180,979

182,090

180,969

169,706

180,000 –

166,245

HEADCOUNT

190,000 –

175,056

200,000 –

Mary Beth Kingston

160,000 – 150,000 –

Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee 2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

FALL TERM

Mary Beth Kingston

DEGREES CONFERRED

40,000 –

35,000 –

32,189

30,000 –

30,703

32,475

33,442

07/08

09/10

35,708

36,009

11/12

13/14

25,000 – 20,000 – 15,000 – 10,000 – 5,000 – 0–

03/04

ASSOCIATE

05/06

BACHELOR’S

GRADUATE OR PROFESSIONAL

“Why does Schneider hire UW-Madison grads? Simply put, they are some of the most intelligent and self-motivated students around. UW does a superior job of preparing their students for the real world and what it takes to deliver value to the organizations they join. We are fortunate as a company to be able to attract and hire individuals of the caliber that graduate from the University of Wisconsin.” Todd Jadin Senior Vice President, Talent Management and Associate Relations, Schneider

Todd Jadin

UW FLEXIBLE OPTION Wisconsin’s workforce has a new convenient, affordable option for earning a degree or certificate from the same University of Wisconsin institutions that employers recognize and respect.

UW-Milwaukee

The UW System and UW-Extension created the UW Flexible Option to bridge the gap between what adults know today and the degree or certificate they need to advance their careers tomorrow.

• Bachelor of Science in Information Science and Technology

Educational leaders, including the American Council on Education president, have called the new UW Flexible Option “visionary” because of important differences from traditional and even online instruction.

• Global Skills certificate

These differences include the ability to:

• UW-Madison

• Start and complete your education when you want--a schedule that fits your busy life. • Set your own pace. When you’ve mastered a subject, you move on to new material right away.

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing, RN to BSN degree completion • Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences Diagnostic Imaging degree completion • Business and Technical Communication certificate UW-Parkside • Sales certificate Additional programs starting in 2015-16 include: - Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse counseling certificate • UW-Stevens Point - Master of Science in Geographical Information System

• Complete your degree sooner by mastering a subject based on knowledge you already have.

Programs to support economic growth and workforce development include: UW Colleges • General education and liberal arts courses in core fields such as biology, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, business, English, geography, and others leading to an Associate of Arts and Science degree

Find Find out if this option fits your needs. Visit flex.wisconsin.edu.

Got Your 6

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t the core of every human relationship is the foundation of trust. Whether it’s the transactional activities of people in organizations, team players in sports, or the intimate relationship between two people, it is all based on a sense of trust. On a human scale, trust is where emotional engagement exists, and this is the important difference maker. Intuitively, we understand what trust is. But what is it really? In its best form, what does it look like? When will we know we have it, and how do we sustain trust with one another? The dictionary defines trust as the belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, and effective. Trust in one another manifests itself based on an inner core of integrity, character, strength, and ability. Simply put, you have confidence in knowing the other person has “got your 6” (the non-military version of this expression means “I’ve got you covered” or “I’m backing you up”, and by extension, you’re expected to have this person’s back as well).

Commitment Precedes Action

In the book, The Soft Edge, author Rick Karlgaard states, “When we trust, we feel comfortable that the other party will serve our needs fairly and completely. There is no guarantee our trust will be returned. (But) trust is the risk we must take to move ahead. Trust is the key to relationship building. Trust is the price we pay when we want to enable engagement, creativity, and great work.”

All Hands on Deck

In an organization, trust begins with the strength of relationships between people, the values they share, and the culture that supports and perpetuates this behavior. Organizations that make the list of Best Places to Work, do so based on a genuine level of mutual trust. What evolves out of this results in higher employee and customer satisfaction and retention, improved

productivity, greater innovation, and measurable real-world returns. Being a great organization to work for also makes it a great organization to work with. And when things go wrong, as sometimes will happen, colleagues and customers believe you’ll do the right thing because of the trust earned along the way.

Naked and Unafraid

We are all imperfect. We do have blind spots and we make mistakes. But when we work together, we become stronger, smarter, and we make each other better. When information between people flows well, and is expected to flow well, trust builds. Together, we have a shared fate, which increases accountability, dedication, creativity, and effort. If we’re emotionally engaged with one another on a meaningful level, we all care. We have a genuine interest in the mutual success of each other, with no strings attached. The best approach to overcoming your “blind spots” is to broaden your base of contacts and industry thought leaders. And, for presidents and CEO’s, this is exactly what TEC (The Executive Committee) is all about. Uniquely, TEC is the safe harbor where cap-

tains of industry can go to collaborate with other trusted and collegial professionals, each helping one another “see” the truth and find simplicity in solving vexing problems.

Let the Flowers Bloom

Trust is a soft attribute within an organization, or between two people, but its impact is profound. It’s almost a magical quality that distinguishes enduring organizations from those lacking authenticity in word and deed. Make no mistake, excelling at building a team and a culture imbued with the strong sense of trust is not easy, which is why only the best organizations achieve it in a real and lasting way. —By George Satula, Chairman, TEC

TEC serves over 650 CEOs throughout Wisconsin and Western Michigan Contact info: 262-821-3340 | tec@tecmidwest.com Website: tecmidwest.com

PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

n many ways, Wisconsin resembles its neighboring Midwestern states. Economically, we all rely on both agriculture and the production of goods to form the base of our economy. We all have similar high school graduation rates, median incomes and strong public universities. We even share our “Midwestern values.”

What sets Wisconsin apart, besides the Green Bay Packers (yes, that’s a humorous aside), is its people. In the pages that follow, you’ll meet 15 of Wisconsin’s most innovative, hard-working and ground-breaking individuals. Whether disrupting the status quo for health care delivery or applying unfailing energy to revitalizing their communities, those featured here have one thing in common – a love of Wisconsin and a commitment to its future.

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PEOPLE

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

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INNOVATORS YOU

SHOULD KNOW RIGHT NOW

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? That’s a question this dynamic group of Wisconsin-based innovators has never stopped asking. They have taken imagination, curiosity and research in different directions. They’ve created sculptures, innovated health care delivery and found ways to incorporate sustainability into the way we live. Hop aboard and see what a design architect has created; take a walk through a data mining operation; check out new ways to diagnose your tennis elbow and more efficient ways to take care of it. Meet some of the innovators working in Wisconsin today.

SONYA NEWENHOUSE Sustainability Sage

TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY

www.wisconsinbizz www.wisconsinbiz.com

LONG THE WAY to a career in restaurant and hotel management, Sonya Newenhouse fell in love with sustainability. Goodbye hospitality, hello save the environment. After earning her first degree at Michigan State, she moved to Madison for the interdisciplinary program at the Nelson Institute at UW-Madison and ended up earning her doctorate. She founded the Madison Environmental Group in 1998, then started Community Car, Madison’s first carsharing service, in 2003. Same purpose, different method. She liked the combination of business and the environment, “so I knit my talents and passions together.” From the beginning, real estate has financed her business ventures. She bought her first house in Madison for $30,000 and then took out a loan against it.

“I lived in the living room and I rented out the bedroom so my mortgage was covered.” Every new venture begins with lots of R&D. She loves to research, Newenhouse said, so she’s always up on the newest sustainability ideas. That’s how she came to start Community Car. “It’s an hourly car rental company for members only,” Newenhouse said. Membership costs $35 per year, which gives members access to an online rental system. Typically, someone who normally rides the bus or uses a bike would rent a car to do a big grocery shopping trip. Empty nesters who might not want the hassle of car upkeep use Community Car when they need to drive. Now that she’s got transportation taken care of, Newenhouse has moved on to sustainable homes. She’s living in the prototype of one of her kit houses, and said she was toasty warm during

last winter’s below zero days. Her company, NewenHouse, will offer super-insulated, sustainable kit home plans that call for the use of 18-inch-thick walls, heavy insulation and triple-pane windows. They are air-tight and use a heat recovery ventilation unit. With NewenHouse, she is combining the small-home movement, the green building movement and the sustainable lifestyle movement. Kits will be offered beginning January 2016. To tour the NewenHouse prototype in Viroqua, contact Newenhouse at 608220-8029 for now, while the company’s website is still under construction. Once she launches NewenHouse, she will likely move on to the next big idea in sustainability, whatever that might be. “The ideas percolate through reading and learning from people. My dad always saw the future. He was telling us about CDs and DVDs 10 years before they came out.” –GERI PARLIN 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

PEOPLE

JOE SCANLIN

Data Detective

TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY

OE SCANLIN HAS ALWAYS looked for the next big thing. In high school, that was The Neighbor Kids, which he ran with his best friend, Matt McCoy. They were building patios and retaining walls while their classmates were participating in show choir and band. But after high school, the friends went in different directions – McCoy to the University of Wisconsin to study film and marketing and Scanlin to UW-Whitewater to study Organizational Theory and receive further education in Data Science and Machine Learning. But along the way to his career, he took a break to join the U.S. Marines. Then he resumed his studies, e ventually reconnecting with McCoy to form their company, Scanalytics Inc. What they do is monitor people’s foot traffic patterns and mine that data for intelligence about their actions and habits. Scanalytics offers a patented, sensor-based engagement platform built into conventional flooring that can track where a person’s feet go and how long they stay there. That information can then be used to trigger tailored actions. For example, standing in front of a television at a big box retailer for more than a minute could trigger the floor sensors to change the content on the TV to give you more information about the TV itself. “When I got out of the Marine Corps,” said Scanlin, “my idea was to create something to understand human behavior, similar to understanding how people surf the internet.” The answer came to him while he was on a shopping trip. “I wondered what kind of data I was giving up by my behavior, and I realized I was giving up a lot through my feet. So I ran home to rip open a video game that you control by dancing. I got quite a bit more utility out of it by ripping it apart and re-engineering it.” He figured retailers would pay to get that information. “That helped me reconnect with Matt because he understood the customer.” So they combined McCoy’s retail marketing experience with Scanlin’s idea, and Scanalytics Inc. was born in 2012. They now employ 16 people, and their technology is extending beyond retail. “It’s pretty exciting. We have companies who are using these sensors to monitor people who are elderly, so you know if grandma falls.” Scanlin said he is doing exactly what he envisioned. “I wanted to work in technology and, ideally, create my own technology that would make a big impact. I just didn’t know it would grow so fast.” –GERI PARLIN

GRETCHEN GILBERTSON Design Disruptor The ability to take a company and grow it from a local business to an internationally-recognized luxury brand is no small feat. Gretchen Gilbertson, who co-founded Séura with her husband, Tim, has done just that. Séura sells visual home amenities for the design-savvy consumer, offering a unique way to incorporate home technology without making it the forefront of the design of the space. Their television line features sets masked within mirrors, waterproof TVs and, more recently, a weatherproof model able to withstand temperatures between -30 and -140 degrees Fahrenheit – ideally suited for outdoor entertaining spaces. For an example of their handiwork, take a look around Lambeau Field in their hometown of Green Bay, where 330 of their Storm line of televisions were introduced in 2013. Gilbertson’s background in product design may have helped her navigate the industry and form key connections, but it’s her consistent innovation, attention to detail and the care that goes into all of the company’s products that’s pushed Séura from an incredible idea to an established brand. –BRIDGETTE MCCORMICK 76

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

A product of BizTimes Media

PATRICK FERRON PHOTOGRAPHY

MATTHEW GONNERING Eudaimonia Advocate

JOHN TOUSSAINT Health Care Hero

ELIVER BETTER CARE at a lower cost. If Toyota can do it with cars, why can’t the health care companies of America do the same for their patients? That’s what propelled John Toussaint, CEO of ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value, to start this nonprofit that helps management teams in the health care industry become more efficient. Think of your doctor as a cog in the health care machine; the better that machine functions, the less it will cost and the better care you will receive. That’s the reason behind Toussaint’s center. If process improvement could help Toyota create a cheaper, better-built car, he reasoned, then it could also help health CEOs create a more cost-effective and efficient delivery system for health care. Toussaint’s goal is to fine-tune the machinery of these systems so they operate better. “We’re an education institute for health systems and doctor groups around the world that leads them to operational excellence,” he said. “We’ve been applying the Toyota production syswww.wisconsinbiz.com

tem principles for many years (at ThedaCare).” That company is an integrated delivery system that runs hospitals, clinics and the gamut of health care, so Toussaint already knew it would work when he stepped down as CEO of that northeast Wisconsin company to create the center. “We’re a mission-based organization, a not-forprofit. Our interest is in changing healthcare delivery across the world. We are seeing some really good results.” The center works with CEOs and senior executives; those teams then take what they’ve learned back to their facilities. They also learn from each other, Toussaint said. Once his team passes along the tools, the CEOs themselves are in charge of using them to change the culture where they work. “We’re trying to create a culture of continuous improvement, a framework that we have used over the years to get people started,” Toussaint said. With those building blocks, he added, they can continue to build improvements into their work culture. –GERI PARLIN

Change is natural, and necessary for survival. Matthew Gonnering embraced this as the CEO of Widen Enterprises when he navigated the company through the transition from its former pre-media domain to a thriving marketing technology company. The transition “required shifts in the entire structure – things as trivial as the location of the Christmas party to how we were internally storing our information,” admitted Gonnering. But it was successful: Widen Enterprises is now an established leader in Digital Asset Management, and works with more than 400 globally recognized brands. The changes included redefining the company’s culture to include eudaimonia. “It’s an ethical framework for our company. If the overall wellness of a person is improved and satisfaction is achieved across their life, we’ll reap the rewards of that across many dimensions of the organization,” Gonnering said. It’s working. “Culturally, we shifted and saw significant moves in our satisfaction within our company,” says Gonnering. They’ve been surveying their employees since 2010, when 48 percent of employees reported being satisfied with their employment. In 2014, 98 percent reported being satisfied. –BRIDGETTE MCCORMICK 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

PEOPLE

PATRICK ARENDT In the middle of Wisconsin, Patrick Arendt and his business partner have created a technology with global ramifications. Their low-temperature drying method refines the separation and stabilization of waste products, allowing the dehydration of cells without rupturing. This could dramatically change the way blood is stored and preserved. The process also works for food, including cranberries. Waste products on cranberry lines include skin, seeds and fiber. “This technology can stabilize it into a powder, resulting in a wonderful preservative and food additive,” explained Arendt. Arendt’s pet project is farming white-tailed deer, who eat the dried cranberry product. “When used in a feed formula, the most impactful parasites are reduced without killing the gut flora in the animal, allowing existing genes to flourish.” This breakthrough technology has generated a lot of interest, mostly internationally. Arendt would like to see it developed locally. “There’s a substantial amount of intellectual capital in the community that can be captured and commercialized.” –BRIDGETTE MCCORMICK

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

PAUL MATTEK

TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY

Dehydration Domo

Brilliant Builder

F YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A GUY IN A SUIT, sitting in an office, doing things by the book, you’re probably not looking for Paul Mattek of Design Fugitives in Milwaukee. Mattek was never that guy. In order to become the unorthodox entrepreneur he is today, “I had to reconnect with my childhood.” That childhood included the barn on his grandpa’s farm on Highway 43 near Manitowoc. In there, Mattek was allowed to tinker, build and dream. “I was this high-energy kid who couldn’t sit still, but I could do this for hours.” He tucked that restless energy away to get through school, he said, disciplining himself to sit still and focus on his education. It wasn’t until he hit grad school that he tapped back into his own natural resources and started focusing on how best to use his talents. Along with six other architecture school buddies, he started Design Fugitives. But in “the messy-but-upward progression” that has defined the company’s history, four of those original partners departed for other work, leaving Mattek with Justin White and Tuan Tran. “I have the two best partners I could imagine.” The three of them learn what they need to accomplish a project, Mattek said, often doing the design and the fabrication on site. But he had

some advantages going in, having worked construction for many years. “I learned that architects don’t get to make stuff that much. The reality is there’s a lot of nitty gritty and project management.” Instead, Design Fugitives gives the partners a chance to design and build things that are a bit out of the ordinary – such as a light project for Johnson Controls, Inc. that measured 40- by 40- by 15-feet with more than 2,000 pieces. They also design things as small as coasters, as for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The partners bring different skills to the company. Mattek has the construction background, Tran is interested in computers and technology and White has a background in sculpture and graphic design. “And he’s been working on cars since he was crawling.” The first few years were lean, Mattek said. “We knew it was going to be messy. I had no visions of instant success.” But he also knew this was worth the risk. “It’s love of discovery. We really look for those problems where an ordinary option can’t be available. We want to inspire people to connect to something deeper, to pause a little bit and reflect on what they’re seeing. It’s our most scarce resource these days.” –GERI PARLIN A product of BizTimes Media

JEFF DALSIN

Discount Diagnostician

TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY

OU CAN’T ARGUE with the numbers. “There are 18 million sprain and strain injuries every year, and that’s a $92 billion load on the health care system,” said Jeff Dalsin. What those numbers mean to Dalsin, CEO of Echometrix, is a big market for his company’s diagnostic equipment for musculoskeletal conditions, or MSK. “We know the market is very large and there are a great deal of inefficiencies.” You may have suffered through some of those inefficiencies if you’ve ever seen a doctor for tennis elbow. After that initial visit, Dalsin said, the doctor may recommend therapy. But without having seen what’s really going on inside, that’s an educated guess. The diagnostic equipment from Echometrix cuts down on the guesswork and allows doctors to get an accurate diagnosis using ultrasound, which is cheaper than an MRI. “It’s primarily diagnostic, but we believe we can also use it to judge the efficacy of treatments,” said Dalsin. Echometrix, located in Fitchburg, grew out of research on MSK being done at UW-Madison. The company was founded in 2009, with Dalsin joining in 2013. Before that, he co-invented a surgical glue that cuts down on the use of staples and stitches. Dalsin originally intended to attend medical school, but discovered research along the way. He earned a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering and life sciences, then a master’s and PhD in biomedical engineering. What he’s doing now is just what the cumbersome health care system needs – finding a way to improve patient care at a lower cost. MSK diagnostics will do that, he said. “It’s quicker and cheaper, with fewer touches.” But it’s a long road from the drawing board to the doctor’s office, so while he and his partners await FDA approval, they are launching similar diagnostic software for veterinarians. “It’s a good way to generate revenue while we wait.” –GERI PARLIN

NORRIE DAROGA

GREG WRIGHT

Avatar Inventor

Arts Ally

Daily interaction with artificial intelligence may seem like science fiction, but to Norrie Daroga, CEO of Geppetto Avatars, it is the answer to scaling current health care practices from one patient conversation to tens of thousands. “That you can talk to a machine and it can understand you was a pretty fanciful idea, but it’s time for it to come,” said Daroga. Regular monitoring of patients with chronic illnesses – like asthma or diabetes, for example – can result in earlier treatment and fewer hospitalizations. Currently, a daily checkup isn’t typically feasible. Daroga’s team is creating a personable, knowledgeable health care avatar for patients to check in with instead. “Fundamentally, what we’re building is the ability for people to converse with machines. We’re letting you talk to something that actually understands you.” Daroga clarifies, “We’re not going to replace what the brain does, but we can help highly skilled individuals by taking the administrative burden off and doing assessments, reading reports, sending communications.” –BRIDGETTE MCCORMICK

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It’s too seldom that art and business successfully intersect, but Greg Wright, executive director of Arts Alliance, is getting it right with CREATE Portage County. “Businesses foster and support a community, and the arts make it a better place to live,” he explained. “We realized the business community benefits from increased access to intellectual capital and creative professionals, and that artists benefit from the opportunity to develop their business acumen,” said Wright. The heart of the project is the Center for Entrepreneurship and Creativity, a business incubator that is soon to be located in a recently-restored vaudeville theater in downtown Stevens Point. Wright hopes to expand the space to include communal workspace, a business resource center, a makerspace and a product lab. “You don’t see this kind of work happening in rural areas,” said Wright. “We are hoping to create a model replicable for smaller communities everywhere.” –BRIDGETTE MCCORMICK

201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

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| INNOVATION

M A R Q U E T T E I N N O V AT I O N

mARquETTE is spARki kiNg iNNovATioN ThRough ough CoLLAboRATioN When he became Marquette’s 24th president in July 2014, Dr. Michael R. Lovell found many examples of faculty, staff and students working to advance knowledge and address critical human and community needs. He also found many outstanding ideas waiting to be put into action. Now, under Lovell’s leadership, Marquette is unleashing this pent-up ingenuity through a range of efforts promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. Having a particularly catalytic effect is a new $6 million Strategic Innovation Fund providing seed money for new ventures that advance priorities in Marquette’s strategic plan. Just months after the fund’s creation, members of the university community and their partners have already submitted 275 ideas for preliminary consideration and review by a new Innovation Council. Explore the submissions at marquettte.edu/innovation. As new projects launch at Marquette, innovation and entrepreneurial activity are already flourishing in promising ways.

Dr. Michael R. Lovell President, Marquette University

CLEAN WATER

solutions to the world’s water needs. New activity at this world water hub builds on momentum already established in the field of clean water, including:

• MeterHero, a startup launched at Marquette that is working to 1 Marquette will soon occupy change how the world conthe sixth floor of Milwaukee’s serves water, one person Global Water Center. The at a time. MeterHero space will be custom de• A partnership with signed for faculty, staff and Badger Meter Inc. to students as they partner license efficient with leading water technolwater-flow ogy companies to pursue metering

technology developed by a Marquette professor. • Research projects exploring the use of electricity and bio-organisms to treat wastewater; improved detection of water-borne contaminants; and the accumulation of common household chemicals in the environment and their possible role encouraging antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

ENTREpRENEuRship 2 To support the boost in campuswide creativity, the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship is expanding beyond its traditional base in the College of Business

Administration with added resources and programming and a planned move to a campus location that’s accessible to all members of the Marquette community and their partners. • Marquette Law School’s new Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic will be the first program in the Milwaukee area to offer free legal services to startup businesses and entrepreneurs, with a focus on clients who can’t afford qualified legal counsel. The clinic will be staffed by Marquette law students who receive handson training in business law under the supervision of a licensed attorney and member of the faculty.

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impRovEd physiCAL ANd mENTAL hEALTh 3 More than 100 Marquette researchers have joined partners from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and other institutions in work turning biomedical science into improved patient care through the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin. To facilitate similar partnerships with leading institutions and firms, Marquette will grow its presence at UW– Milwaukee’s Innovation Campus. • Supported by more than $7.5 million in federal awards in the past 18 months for research into neuropsychiatric disorders, Marquette biomedical sciences faculty are making

Marquette a leading center for better understanding addictions, depression, schizophrenia and related disorders — and for pursuing improved treatments. Particularly promising are trials being conducted by two pharmaceutical companies launched at Marquette, Avi-Med and Promentis. Fellow biomedical scientists are researching potential remedies for spinal cord damage. Complementing these efforts will be a newly announced mental health research center, made possible by a $5 million grant from the Charles E. Kubly Foundation. • The Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Engineering Center supports research and development projects generating technologies for children with orthopaedic disabilities, caregiving adjustments for spinal cord injury, rehabilitation research training and other advances. The center is supported by more than $7 million in extramural funding.

| INNOVATION

• Obesity, autism and stroke are additional challenges around which Marquette faculty collaborate on research, treatments, app development and robot-assisted therapies.

iNNovATioN EvERyWhERE 4 A fresh approach to academic inquiry and beyondcampus engagement can be found in every corner of campus: • Through $2.6 million in support from the Templeton Religious Trust — Marquette’s largest humanities grant to date — the university has become a center for study of the role virtue plays in human identity and endeavors. Bringing together scholars from around the world for conferences and interdisciplinary research, this virtue project extends

Marquette’s Catholic, Jesuit educational traditions. • Through a new collaboration — the Near West Side Partners — Marquette, Harley-Davidson, the Potawatomi Business Development Corp., MillerCoors, Aurora Health Care and other stakeholders are focusing on housing, commercial development and safety on Milwaukee’s Near West Side. The partners envision this neighborhood becoming the kind of place where employees choose to work, live, shop and become members of the community. • Marquette is planning a world-class facility supporting intercollegiate and professional athletics, academic research, and campus health and wellness initiatives. Created in partnership with the Milwaukee Bucks, the new facility and its research activities will help athletes from near and far perform at the highest possible levels in their sports.

NExT NoW.

WhAT’s is WhAT’s hAppENiNg

At Marquette, we embrace innovation and collaboration, challenging our community to explore new ideas, discover new solutions and deliver truly meaningful results. It’s happening now, across campus and with partners in the community — ideas are being generated and information shared. Here, an idea will become something greater. It will Be The Difference. Learn more about innovation at Marquette: marquette.edu/innovation.

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| INNOVATION

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin – A Precious Community Asset During Wisconsin’s infancy in the late 1800s, seven women believed children needed better care than what could be found at an adult hospital. At the same time, a minister with a vision of helping poor and orphaned children throughout the state began his work. Those early community leaders built the state’s first children’s hospital in a small row house, and laid the groundwork for what became Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin. What began in the 1890s today is the No. 4 pediatric hospital in the nation and the state’s most comprehensive health and social service system dedicated to one single purpose: making Wisconsin’s kids the healthiest in the nation. The vast majority of Wisconsinites will tell you their lives have been touched in some way by Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin: 7 in 10 families in southeastern Wisconsin have chosen Children’s at least once, and the reach of Children’s touches families from every county – whether at the hospitals in Neenah and Milwaukee, through the community health and child advocacy programs offered in the state, by accessing emergency service through the statewide poison hotline, or at any one of Children’s 40-plus locations in Wisconsin.

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN BY THE NUMBERS

No. 4 pediatric hospital in the nation

or something as serious as heart

How did Wisconsin come to build the

specifically designed for their unique

No. 4 pediatric hospital in the United

needs. Their still growing bodies, need

States, despite having the smallest

for pediatric anesthesia, and overall

population base of any top-ranked

smaller and more fragile anatomy make

children’s hospital in the nation? The

treating children a far more specialized

answer lies in community partnerships.

skill. “Kids are just not the same as little

The business community, community

adults,” Troy said.

surgery, kids require expert resources

leaders and every major medical system in Wisconsin partners with Children’s to

100% focused on kids

be sure Wisconsin kids get the very

Troy, who also serves as the board

best care possible.

president of the Children’s Hospital Association, representing more than

“By caring for families from all around

220 children’s hospitals nationwide,

the state and the region, we are able

noted that nationally only about 10

to sustain the volume necessary to

percent of the nation’s health care

operate one of the best pediatric hospital

dollars are spent on children. Because

systems in the nation,” said Peggy Troy,

kids don’t mean as much in terms of

chief executive officer of Children’s

health care spending, doing what’s

Hospital of Wisconsin. “Families don’t

best for them can be overlooked as the

have to leave the state when their child

health care landscape changes.

needs lifesaving care. We have the nation’s leading experts right here.”

With a health system that is 100 percent dedicated to pediatric

Having a 100 percent focus on kids is

care, rather than simply a service line

vital. Whether for routine ear tubes

in an adult-centric system, Wisconsin’s

#1*

NICU in the country

#4*

Pediatric hospital in the country

Top 10

Ranked in every major specialty by U.S. News & World Report

40+ Locations throughout the state 60,000

Kids treated at Children’s Emergency Room/Level I Trauma Center each year

50,000

Kids served by e-learning programs

332,000

Visits each year at Children’s outpatient clinics and urgent care sites

241,000

Visits at Children’s 20+ primary care sites

52%

Percentage of care provided through Medicaid

186

Physicians listed on the 2013 Best Doctors© in America list * As rated by Parents magazine

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| INNOVATION

kids get the benefit of groundbreaking care and prevention: • Children’s heart surgery program, the only one of its breadth and depth in the state, was recently awarded three stars from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons – the highest possible rating – recognizing that kids treated at Children’s for heart defects beat the odds more often than those treated elsewhere. • Kids who participate in Children’s statewide e-learning programs for health prevention report better attitudes and behaviors about healthy foods, bullying awareness and overall safety. • New clinics in the central city of Milwaukee help solve issues of health care access for kids, while also contributing to neighborhood revitalization. “Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s expertise also translates into our ability to more efficiently manage costs,” Troy said. “In a recent analysis, kids cared for

In 2014, former Green Bay Packer Donald Driver teamed up with Children’s to promote healthy lifestyles for kids and families throughout the state through the Driven to Better Health program.

by a Children’s pediatrician have a lower

and health education programs to

overall cost of care than kids managed

teachers, families and kids. Children’s

by other health systems – as much as

is also making significant investments

20 percent less when adjusted for risk.

in mental health and dental care for

Children’s has a unique understanding

children – two of the areas that are most

of how to best and most efficiently help

needed by Wisconsin’s kids.

kids heal and get back to the business of being a kid.”

The future Health care competition in Wisconsin

Beyond the hospital walls

is stronger than ever. Protecting the

Targeting the 90 percent of factors

mission and reach of Children’s is a

outside of the doctor’s office that affect

shared priority.

a child’s health and well-being, such as his or her living conditions, family

“Our goal is that Wisconsin’s kids are

history and choices about food, exercise

the healthiest in the nation,” Troy said.

and healthy behaviors, is a vital – yet

“Every day we make groundbreaking

often overlooked – preventive measure.

strides toward achieving that goal, but

Children’s is a staunch child protection

we will only be truly successful with

advocate, serving more than 13,000

the continued support of adult hospital

at-risk children and families throughout

systems, business owners, community

the state at seven Child Advocacy

leaders, parents and other advocates

Centers. Children’s community navigators

throughout the state.” u

work with families in Milwaukee’s most troubled neighborhoods, providing connections to housing, employment and health care resources. Children’s provides nine full-time registered school nurses The Children’s NICU is ranked #1 in the country by Parents magazine. In 2014, doctors at Children’s performed the state’s first in-utero surgical repair of a baby diagnosed with spina bifida.

free of charge to care for students in Milwaukee Public Schools and, in schools throughout the state, offers e-learning

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| INNOVATION

CENTER FOR BUSINESS PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS: Helping Business move from Cliché to Vitality

ncreasing demands for existing resources, losses in workforce due to promotions, transfers, and retirements, and unplanned growth have lead to a pervasive business mantra: “Doing more with less.” Eventually, all will come to realize that doing more with less is not a sustainable business strategy. While most would agree that the intention of the approach was to inspire leadership to identify efficiencies and innovations that would lead to organizational viability, few will actually experience long-term, predictable success as a result of embracing this mantra. In fact, history has demonstrated that organizations which promote a doingmore-with-less culture, realize short term affects followed by increased challenges due to employee burnout and turnover, increased waste, challenges in quality, and increasingly dissatisfied customers.

Understanding deployment irony Most leaders pride themselves on the ability to effectively recognize shifts in business performance and respond effectively to changing needs. When faced with bottom line shortfalls, they often seek to minimize losses while enhancing productivity measures.

While these are common efficiency goals of any organization, implemented specifically in response to disruption can have negative long-term effect on the organizational system. As mid-level managers are asked to deploy responsive efficiency strategies, focus generally shifts to methods that will increase productivity by engaging people within the organization to work harder. Implementing these tactics requires creating a sense of urgency among employees and increased awareness of the opportunities to increase productivity (e.g., working harder, working longer, staying on task).

Frontline challenges Creating and maintaining an expectation that employees can improve productivity without additional resources will eventually erode a culture of continuous improvement. While most employees can respond to increased demand for a defined period, there are limitations in our ability to sustain attention to the task over time. The opportunity for improved efficiency comes as a result of a more knowledgeable and capable workforce. Doing more with less requires the engage

ment of employees at the point of process in conversation around improving efficiency and decreasing waste. These conversations will be met with limited success if there is not appropriate investment in the development and empowerment of employees toward achieving clearly defined expectations.

A vital resource for businesses The Center for Business Performance Solutions (CBPS) has supported business growth in southeastern Wisconsin for more than 30 years. As the training arm of Waukesha County Technical College, CBPS engages in the strategic conversations focusing on solutions to business challenges extending well beyond the technical level. Its approach provides for in-depth discovery of root cause challenges, leading to a shared understanding of not only “why” it is worth solving, but the “how” to resolve and control for future disruption. It utilizes its extensive resources and capabilities to provide customized solutions unique to the business at hand.

Building a career www.dreamitdoitwi.com

A PLAN

KNOWLEDGE

AND DESIRE

PATRICK FERRON PHOTOGRAPHY

PEOPLE

GEN Y RISING BY GERI PARLIN

EET TODAY’S YOUNG PROFESSIONALS. They don’t do things the way their parents did them. They are forging a new path, working in careers that might not have even been available in their parents’ day. They work at credit unions and for nonprofit organizations. They are fully digital, and are willing to run the show at a young age. They are even rethinking how they want to live in the business world the Baby Boomers are just beginning to leave behind. This is Generation Y, in Wisconsin and across the country. They’re working hard to have the life they’ve imagined, and a career that is both profitable and meaningful.

ALLYSON WATSON

Executive Director, Definitely De Pere

LLYSON WATSON is big on collaboration. It fuels her job as executive director of Definitely De Pere, and as the only paid employee, she relies on volunteers. “I stumbled onto the program through the local college, St. Norbert. I moved to Wisconsin from New York.” Watson was working on her master’s degree in public and nonprofit administration from Marist College in Poughkeepsie when she got an internship with Definitely De Pere. “I worked as an intern for six months. I helped restructure the pro-

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

gram,” she said. When it came time to hire a director, she was in the right place at the right time, with the right experience. “We rely heavily on volunteers,” she said, and that works because the business community is willing to pitch in to promote itself. Because De Pere is a Wisconsin Main Street Community, it works within the committee structure of promotions and marketing, organization, economic development, and beautification. “We’ve recruited for each of those committees, and those are our go-to people.” A product of BizTimes Media

MAURICE CHEEKS

Director, Wisconsin Innovation Network

TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY

AURICE CHEEKS is a digital native. “Technology is how I think of everything.” So his position as director of the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) is a good fit. He knows not everybody embraces technology, but you might as well give in, he said, because there is no escaping it. If you’re operating a company in today’s world, “You’re a technology company whether you like it or not.” He moved to Madison in 2007 to work in education sales for Apple. That background made him a natural for the job at WIN, where he gets to preach the gospel of technology. “My territory is the whole state. “ WIN is part of the Wisconsin Technology Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advisory board to the governor and state legislature on how to grow the high-tech economy in Wisconsin. It’s Cheeks' job to bring businesses and technology together so business leaders can figure out the best ways to make technology work for them and grow their businesses. “One of the key offerings we provide to our members is the informational and networking luncheons we host. The subject changes every month. Recently, we highlighted a cluster of video game development companies. There are about a dozen game studios in Madison, and there are four of medium-to-large size. All of them are currently hiring. The gaming industry is the largest entertainment industry in the world. It’s kind of a big deal, and it’s starting to gain traction.” In his role as director of WIN, Cheeks said he gets to meet some of the most ambitious people in the state and connect them to other movers and shakers. Cheeks himself is becoming a mover

and shaker as a member of the Madison City Council. He ran for office, he said, because it’s another way to give back to the community he now thinks of as home. “I love it here. It’s been a great joy to get plugged into Wisconsin. My wife and I were high school sweethearts, both from the Chicago area,” he said. In Madison, they’ve found the right fit. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve had opportuni-

This year, Watson and Definitely De Pere worked on increasing connections to St. Norbert. They were on campus for orientation with gift bags and representatives. “Instead of just focusing on students, we made welcome gift bags for parents,” Watson said. “Before, we never had a presence on campus.” Watson’s family moved to Wisconsin while she was in college, but she says she wouldn’t have stayed if the right job had not come along. “I had no idea, honestly, what I was going to do. I had an undergrad degree in economics. I had't realized in advance how not-very-useful

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ties to volunteer. I tutor algebra in schools, I helped get a small neighborhood school off the ground and I’ve volunteered on other campaigns. I just want to serve my neighbors.” At 30, he’s one of the youngest members on the Council, and he thinks that’s a good thing to bring to the table. “I have the perspective of being a young professional who has moved to Wisconsin, who chose to make this my home.”

that was. I wasn’t able to find a career.” So she went back to earn her master’s, thinking she would end up working in government. Instead, she is working alongside it, and Watson says that feels like a good fit for now. “I am 26 years old, and more than anything else, this job offer was integral to me staying in Wisconsin. Now I’m passionate about the community I’m in. If you asked me five years ago where I was going to be, it wouldn’t have been De Pere. But I’m very happy in my role, and I’ve been very happy here as a young professional.” 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

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PEOPLE

HEATHER WESSLEY

Senior Business Development Officer, Fox Communities Credit Union

EATHER WESSLEY ran the fast track early in her career. And because of that, she said, she now feels like she can dial back the intensity a little and focus on her family. She has worked for credit unions, beginning with KimCentral Credit Union in Neenah, since she was 16. After five years there as a teller, she moved to Fox Communities Credit Union and became head teller. But that wasn’t enough for her, Wessley said. “I didn’t want to be a teller the rest of my life.” When she was offered the business development job, she jumped at the opportunity, and she’s been on the run ever since. 88

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As senior business development officer for Fox Communities Credit Union in Appleton, she’s responsible for seeking new commercial clients, marketing and being the face of the credit union in the broader community. This used-to-be-introvert says she loved the fast-paced life she was living. But two years ago, at age 34, she got married. A year later, she had a baby and today she’s got another on the way. Now she’s back at work, but she’s cut down to 25 hours a week. “I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am. I was worried about gearing down to part-time. I worked really hard for the position I’m in.”

Luckily, she said, her employer is “very family-oriented. They said absolutely no problem.” Of course, it’s not perfect. “I’m taking a 50-hour week and cramming it into 25,” said Wessley. But this is what works for her. “My dream growing up was to be a stay-athome mom. But I’ve realized I’m not cut out to be home with my kids every day of the week.” Her biggest challenge now is leaving work at the office, something she hasn’t quite mastered. “I’m just not wired to shut stuff off. But I am learning that the time goes by really, really fast as a new mom. Work will wait until I get back into the office. My family comes first for now.” A product of BizTimes Media

CORRY JOE BIDDLE Executive Director, FUEL Milwaukee

www.wisconsinbiz.com

TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY

ORRY JOE BIDDLE knows what it’s like to feel insulated. Growing up on the mostly African American north side of Milwaukee, she stuck to her own neighborhood, never experiencing the scope of what multi-cultural, multi-faceted Milwaukee had to offer. But that’s all changed. Today, she’s the executive director of FUEL Milwaukee, a group sponsored and backed by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC). FUEL’s focus is retaining high-quality young professionals in Milwaukee. At 35, she herself is one of them, and eager to show newcomers all that Milwaukee has to offer. “I studied English and business in college. Once I graduated, my first job was as a corporate proposal writer for Manpower. But it didn’t suit my personality,” she said, because she didn’t have enough contact with other people. From there, she went to America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, eventually becoming the executive director. But she’s found her true calling at FUEL, and she got the job by doing the kind of networking she recommends to FUEL members. “I went back to Manpower after I left the Holocaust Museum, asking around for suggestions. Every job I’ve ever gotten has been through a conversation.” She just didn’t realize that she was networking. “In college, networking was talked about as a scholarly term. It was a nebulous concept to me. What is networking, and how do you do it?” Now that she knows, she tells FUEL members to worry about relationships and the networking will happen from there. “Come to our mixers and put your business card away, have a drink, have a conversation. Networking happens by you being in a room with other people.” FUEL also focuses on professional development, volunteering and civic engagement. “We’re helping young professionals knit themselves into the fabric of Milwaukee. We’re going to make it hard for them to leave.” That’s a tough job, Biddle said, because, “They don’t have property, they don’t have kids. They can go anywhere and find a great job.” One of the best qualities she brings to FUEL, Biddle said, is her own story and her own viewpoint. “I was born and raised in Milwaukee,” she said, “but didn’t realize what was always in front of me. I have really come to appreciate it. As much as I’ve been exposing our members to the city, I was also exposing myself. It’s worked on me, too.”

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PEOPLE

WILL KRATT

Civil Engineer, I & S Group

“It’s a broad field,” he said, and civil engineering allows him to use the math and science that come naturally to him. “We work very closely with architects – on the structural side – to make the structure stand up, essentially. Civils like me are more involved with transportation design, parking, landscaping and the streets around it.” After graduating from UW-Madison, Kratt took a job with a firm in Madison. But he felt a strong calling to focus on the community he came from, so he accepted a job with I & S in November 2012 and moved home. “We’re a full-service design firm, from planning and design through construction. I & S Group really has a focus on our communities. That’s one of the things I really enjoyed when I first started talking to folks about working here. Being active in the community is basically expected of us.”

TROY FREUND PHOTOGRAPHY

HEN THE BRIDGE you’re driving over holds the weight of your car, thank a civil engineer. When underground utilities function as they should, delivering water, gas and electricity to your house, do the same. Civil engineers make sure structures do what they’re supposed to do, and from the time he was in high school, Will Kratt knew that’s what he wanted to do for a living. “I have an appreciation for the built environment and gaining an understanding of how it works.” Now the 33-year-old La Crosse native is back home, working for I & S Group.

He chose to focus his community-based effort on Downtown Mainstreet, Inc., which works for the economic redevelopment and revitalization of downtown La Crosse. “I could see good things happening with DMI. The pieces are falling into place,” he said. What amazes him, he said, is La Crosse’s ability to reinvent itself. “From logging town to blue collar industrial, and now it’s a center for education and health. In another 10 years it’s going to be completely different than it is today. You’re going to see a lot more people living downtown, and more mixed used developments.” Robin Moses, executive director of DMI, said Kratt is a natural fit with their design committee and has helped put together a parklets project, using parking spaces to become temporary outdoor common spaces. “It’s like a house with a deck that runs flush with the curb to create more green and common space,” she said, and they were already considering the concept when Kratt joined with his own ideas to make that happen. “He’s got some really great, innovative ideas,” Moses said. “He’s up and coming. He wants to make a difference in downtown and the community as a whole.” “I’m somebody who wants to be challenged and wants to solve problems,” Kratt said. “I think that’s pretty natural for an engineer.”

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WORLD TRADE ASSOCIATION

WISCONSIN INTERNATIONAL TRADE CONFERENCE

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We’re here for manufacturers We’re here for the makers, for the creators, for the craftsmen. For the visionaries. For those who work late nights and early mornings. For those who sweat every detail to make sure that what they make is perfect every time. We’re here to help businesses become more competitive. More efficient. More powerful. We’re here to help companies grow, creating more jobs and providing a stable base for their communities. We’re here to share our knowledge. We’ve been inside hundreds of companies. We’ve developed solutions for thousands of problems. We’ve helped align processes, find and develop talent, improve efficiency, reduce waste and increase profits. We’re here to make Wisconsin manufacturing companies get better everyday. We’re here to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Because we know it’s not enough to have ideas. You have to act. We’re here to help you find just one thing: Success

SUCCESS

We’re here to help make Wisconsin manufacturing companies the best in the world.

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Growth from Certification

From Skeptic to Proponent

Bel Brands’ certification experience After overcoming initial reluctance, the team at Bel Brands USA in Little Chute turned to food safety certification in its journey to become a world-class operation. Bel Brands recently embarked on a comprehensive certification process resulting in the Little Chute operation receiving the Foundation for Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000. Chicago-based Bel Brands USA is the U.S. subsidiary of Fromageries Bel, a worldwide leader in branded cheeses with headquarters in Paris. The 144,000-square-foot Little Chute plant operates as a cheese converter and produces cold-pack and gourmet cheese spreads, cheese logs and balls, and sandwich spreads. Brands include WisPride, Kaukauna, Boursin and Merkts. The facility employs about 200 workers and produces more than 25 million pounds of cheese per year.

The company made upgrades in its plant and invested about $2 million in equipment, systems and technology improvements during the certification process and an equal amount since that time. The company also instituted a variety of training programs.

“It was exciting to see the increased employee involvement and the interaction between departments grow throughout the process,” said Judy Sullivan, a food safety services specialist at the WMEP.

The company’s European plants already had undergone the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) process for food safety when Bel Brands USA decided to pursue FSSC certification. FSSC 22000 certification demonstrates to consumers that a company has a robust Food Safety Management System in place. Bel Brands decided that FSSC 22000 would best suit its needs since it is focused on business process improvement along with food safety. “We knew that’s where we needed to go,” plant director Ed Blascak said. Bel Brands management contacted the WMEP a short time later.

“Everyone got involved and the facility made great strides, not just in food safety but in all aspects of continual improvement.” The investment in the certification process has had a variety of paybacks, including improved efficiency and tighter inventories. Product quality also improved and consumer complaints dropped significantly according to Blascak.

“The WMEP put on us on the right track,” Blascak said. “We had a lot of programs, policies and procedures but they needed to be brought to the next level.”

“We were skeptical at first about the tangible benefits of certification,” he said. “I’m a proponent of certification and I wasn’t before. It solidifies the business and we feel better about the future,” he said.

As it got deeper into the certification process, Bel Brands discovered a business advantage to FSSC 22000.

Blascak credited the WMEP for its vital assistance in the process.

“It is huge. It changes how you look at your business,” Blascak said. “You are trying to bring it to world class. It is not one of those programs that you start and stop, it is all about continuous improvement.”

“We’ve been very satisfied with the partnership,” he said. “You can’t do this by yourself.” Call today to find out how certification can help open doors to new business opportunities: 877.856.8588.

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Committed to constantly upgrading its capabilities, Kirsh continues to invest in innovative ways to serve the ever-increasing and changing demands of its customers.

“We have witnessed Kirsh’s transformation from one of many foundries in Wisconsin to one that stands out in the state because of its desire to be better,” said Joe Brown, senior manufacturing specialist at the WMEP. “The assistance provided by the WMEP position Kirsh’s business to be more competitive in the marketplace.” Kirsh invested about $240,000 in a core-making machine, which creates an internal passage in the casting, as part of its involvement in the PSI. The new high-tech machine reduces set-up time and gas usage while improving cycle time. According to Paul the investment has made the plant more environmentally friendly while also improving the company’s bottom line. Kirsh is spending upwards of $1 million to move its core room closer to where castings are produced. This will allow the company to streamline the department and make room for another department to move from a separate building.

Efficiency Gains from Profitable Sustainability:

Kirsh Foundry Profits from Sustainability

After a period of time where many foundries struggled to survive or disappeared, Kirsh Foundry in Beaver Dam is going strong and continues to invest in its operations. Kirsh is a manufacturer of high quality, engineered iron castings and serves many of the country’s world-class manufacturers, including Caterpillar, Ingersoll-Rand, and John Deere. The deep recession had a particularly damaging effect on foundries. Many disappeared or reduced operations, and according to Kevin Paul, vice president of operations at Kirsh several continue to struggle. Contrary to this market performance, Kirsh is making some aggressive moves and continues to thrive. The WMEP and Kirsh have forged a decade-long relationship. Through the partnership, the WMEP worked with Kirsh on ISO certification, Value Stream Mapping, the Profitable Sustainability Initiative (PSI), and employee training. About the impact of these initiatives, Paul said: “We’ve made some really good savings in the plant.” Founded in 1937, Kirsh is an iron jobbing foundry run by Jim Kirsh Jr. and Steve Kirsh, grandsons of the founder. The company has about 100 employees, including 85 hourly production workers, and the capacity to pour 2,400 tons per month in grey, ductile or malleable iron.

Another ongoing initiative has been the consolidation of Kirsh’s operations into a single building in Beaver Dam which lowers heating and cooling costs.“The goal is to reduce our footprint,” Paul said. “We will be more efficient and in a smaller space.” Kirsh also plans to invest in its molding area and will add a cooling conveyor, giving it a continuous flow of castings between departments. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015. Contact WMEP to discover how Profitable Sustainability can improve your efficiency and profits: 877.856.8588.

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PARTNERS IN SUCCESS Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re successful because we want the same things you do. Cost and Efficiency How can you make your business more profitable and efficient? Increasing profitability through waste reduction, downtime reduction, improved resource utilization, operations improvement, grant utilization and enhanced financial systems.

Certification and Compliance How can you meet the regulatory requirements for your industry and differentiate your business through certification? Pursuing the certification that sets a company apart as well as the certification needed to fulfill local, state, national and international qualifications and to achieve awards and grants.

Growth Where are the greatest growth opportunities for your company and how do you best pursue these opportunities? Growing revenues by reaching new customers and markets, developing successful new products, exporting, adding capabilities through strategic hires, and improving employee productivity.

Winning Culture How can you best attract and engage talent? Developing an environment and processes that attract and retain talent, grow employees capabilities, and create an empowered workforce. Collaborating for mutual benefit within the industry and educating the next generation on job opportunities in manufacturing.

If you want your business to grow or become more profitable call WMEP today to find out how we can partner for your success.

877.856.8588 visit: WMEP.org

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Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve helped thousands of Wisconsin Manufacturers increase profits, improve efficiencies and expand their markets. How can we help you? Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) offers expert advisors focusing on the needs of small and medium sized manufacturers in Wisconsin as well as the OEMs they serve.

No other organization has worked directly with as many Wisconsin manufacturers as we have on projects ranging from lean and Six Sigma to strategic planning, new product development and leadership advancement.

877.856.8588 visit: WMEP.org

At the intersection of your legal hurdles and your objectives is a law firm rooted in Wisconsin and understanding of your needs. With experience in every Wisconsin industry cluster and the span of corporate law services, Davis & Kuelthau, s.c. is well-positioned to help you succeedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whether a sole proprietorship or a multinational Fortune 500 company.

EDUCATION

DUCATION PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN WISCONSIN’S FUTURE.

Nationally, Wisconsin is recognized for its long tradition of great education. In recent years, the role of our state’s education system – from the elementary through college levels – has expanded to meet the needs of both students and businesses. Universities and technical college systems here have established collaborative working relationships with other educational institutions, community organizations and businesses to address specifically what businesses need from the state’s future workforce. Stakeholders across the state have been brought together to discuss the roles everyone can play in addressing the skills gap, the production of an employable workforce and how to benefit Wisconsin’s economy as a whole.

www.wisconsinbiz.com

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EDUCATION

GPS Education Partners student Antonio at work at National Technologies.

Back to school

WISCONSIN RENEWS FOCUS ON K-12 EDUCATION BY ALYSHA SCHERTZ

isconsin is a national leader in high school graduation rates, ACT scores and Advanced Placement results. On the other side of the coin, the state also has high dropout rates for minority children, while businesses and legislators continue to beat the drum about the shortage of Wisconsin workers who have the skills necessary to compete in a global marketplace. Wisconsin’s issues aren’t unique; states across the country have taken new approaches to address similar challenges. Here, both public and private schools and organizations are utilizing programs and initiatives designed for students at the K-12 level. 100

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PUBLIC SCHOOLS SWING FOR THE FENCE Tony Evers, Wisconsin’s superintendent of public instruction, has outlined his vision for education in the state as “Every Child a Graduate, College and Career Ready.” Since his election in 2009, Evers has worked with Wisconsin’s public school districts and legislators to adopt new academic standards, reform and modernize student testing, reinvigorate career and technical education and expand dual enrollment programs between high schools and the state’s colleges and universities. The National Center for Education Statis-

tics indicates Wisconsin is home to 2,489 high schools, which includes 1,701 public or public charter schools and 788 private schools. By 2017, Evers aims to increase state graduation rates from 85.7 percent to 92 percent, and college and career readiness from 32 percent to nearly 70 percent. “While core content like reading, math and science will always be essential, opportunities in fine arts, physical education and sports, career and technical education, world languages, school clubs and more are equally important in preparing our kids to be college and career ready,” Evers said in his state of education address.

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ABOVE: High school and postsecondary students collaborate as part of the La Crosse Health Sciences Academy, made possible through a wide-ranging collaboration of the local school district, UW campus, local health care providers and other stakeholders. (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)

LEFT: Corey G. and his mentor reviewing blueprints for welding work at Generac.

PREPARING FOR WORK IN SCHOOL According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, more than 90,000 Wisconsin high school students are currently taking career and technical education courses. Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program was formed in 1991 and continues to expand to meet the needs of the state. The program is part of the statewide School-to-Work Initiative, designed for high school students who want hands-on learning at a worksite in addition to classroom instruction. Program offerings vary depending on geographical region, but career tracks include agriculture, natural resources, architecture, construction, technology, communications, finance, health care, hospitality and tourism, information technology, manufacturing, STEM careers, transportation, distribution and even logistics. There are 33 active Youth Apprenticeship Consortiums serving students and school districts across the state. Enrollment reached a 10-year high during the 2013-2014 school year, with 2,469 students at 279 school districts and 1,639 employers. Founded in 2000, Butler-based nonprofit GPS Education Partners works within several consortiums, and independently in other parts of the state, to offer an immersive education model that prepares students for the technical and manufacturing workforce. The organization currently works with more than 100 businesses and 45 high

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schools throughout the state, including several in areas that overlap with the Youth Apprenticeship program. GPS has more than 300 graduates to date, with over 200 students currently enrolled in its program. “In addition to earning their high school diploma, many students earn career and technical college credits from their work experience,” said Stephanie Borowski, GPS president. DUAL ENROLLMENT GAINS MOMENTUM The Wisconsin Technical College System has offered dual enrollment credits for 20

“Dual enrollment credits can come in many different forms, but it’s a pretty big venture for us,” Foy said. “Our mission is to find out how we can scale up our dual enrollment activities so that everybody in Wisconsin has access to that opportunity.” According to Foy, over the past five years dual credit participation has doubled with more than 21,000 students having earned technical college credits while still in high school. Continued partnerships between Wisconsin high schools and WTCS continue to prepare students for college, while providing cost savings and access to an accelerated career path, she said.

“ We need every child to graduate from high school prepared for success in college or career.” — TONY EVERS

years, but has renewed its focus on K-12 education, said Morna Foy, president of WTCS. All 16 of Wisconsin’s technical college districts offer dual credit opportunities for high school students in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, business, health care, culinary arts, agriculture and more.

“We need every child to graduate from high school prepared for success in college or career,” said Evers. “Dual credit programs allow kids to earn college credit at their high schools at no cost to their families, while gaining valuable skills that serve local communities and businesses well.” 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

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EDUCATION

ABOVE: UW-Milwaukee engineering senior Brent Aussprung developed a prototype skate for speed skating that improves performance. His idea was one of 10 that won 2014’s Student Startup Challenge. (UW-Milwaukee Photo Services)

LEFT: Art and engineering students team up to build product prototypes. Some are those proposed by winners in the Student Startup Challenge. (UW-Milwaukee Photo Services)

Wisconsin universities and colleges

ADAPTING TO SERVE BUSINESS BY ALYSHA SCHERTZ

s Wisconsin’s education policy priorities increasingly focus on direct workforce development, state universities – especially public institutions – have adapted curriculum accordingly. “Here at UWSP and several other institutions, there is a new focus on real-world industry awareness,” said Paul Fowler, executive director of the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology at UW-Stevens Point. “That started with Kevin Reilly, and is being reinforced by Ray Cross. There’s a strong push for change system-wide, and the state’s economy benefits.” Kevin Reilly stepped down as president of the UW System in December 2013; Ray Cross was named his successor in January of 2014. Prior to Reilly’s departure, the UW Board of Regents announced plans to dedicate $22.5 million over two years to drive educa102

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tional initiatives and research that supports Wisconsin industries. INCENTIVE GRANT ADVANCES PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS The one-time funds, available through the system’s Economic Development Incentive Grant program, are available in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. The program has funded a total of 12 projects based at UW institutions across the state. According to Tim Higgins, UW System regent and chair of the Research, Economic Development and Innovation Committee of the board, the program represents an important strategic initiative to align UW campus collaborations with economic and workforce development. Participating colleges include UW-Stevens Point, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Green Bay, UWWhitewater, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside,

UW-Madison, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and the UW-Extension system. “We are investing university resources to address key state priorities with grants that will help drive regional economic development and advance traditional and emerging Wisconsin industries,” Higgins said. “Collectively, these efforts will provide direct benefit to businesses and communities statewide and create new and expanded opportunities for our students and faculty.” BEYOND INTERNSHIPS Wisconsin’s public and private universities and colleges are working with businesses to adapt curriculum and establish internship and apprenticeship programs to better prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce. Concordia University of Wisconsin in Mequon offers students in its marketing, hos-

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pitality and sports marketing departments a unique, hands-on opportunity at Kapco Park, a baseball stadium for the Lakeshore Chinooks amateur/college baseball team. A small full-time staff and more than 50 students operate the stadium year-round. The goal is to provide development and learning opportunities for students on and off the field. At Lakeland College in Sheboygan, accounting students gain real-world experience with actual clients through VITA, a program sponsored by Guaranty Bank and Schenck SC. VITA provides free tax-return services for lower-income citizens. In 2014, students handled 371 state returns and 332 federal returns. The program has collected nearly $10 million in tax refunds in its first 10 years. In 2009, UW-Milwaukee formed the Advanced Manufacturing and Design Laboratory (AMDL) under the department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The lab is focused on solving industry challenges and providing analysis and research for its business partners in the community. “The area of projects we are tackling is pretty broad,” said Ilya Avdeev, director of the lab as well as founder of the UW-Milwaukee Student Startup Challenge and assistant professor in the Department of Engineering. Avdeev and his students currently work with GE Healthcare as well as Johnson Controls Inc. and Rexnord, among others. Students in the program include both graduate and undergraduate students who learn the value of research and applied knowledge, Avdeev said. The lab continues to spawn additional changes to UW-Milwaukee’s advanced manufacturing and applied science curriculum through both the Student Startup Challenge, which has awarded thousands of dollars to student entrepreneurs at UW-Milwaukee, and the undergraduate Product Realization course. The course, offered each semester, partners with local companies that pose a product design challenge. Students from the engineering program and design majors from the Peck School of the Arts form teams to work on one semester-long project. With a team budget of $2,500, students take their assigned problem all the way to the building of a physical prototype.

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Ilya Avdeev (left) and his grad students at work in the ADML lab. (UW-Milwaukee Photo Services)

Similar partnerships with companies in the water industry have formed at UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences and the UW-Whitewater Institute for Water Business. UW-River Falls partners with agricultural companies throughout the state, and curriculum at UW-Madison is closely tied to the state’s bioscience and health care industries. UW-Stevens Point has developed curriculum and research to support central Wisconsin’s paper, bioscience and renewable

energy industries. “Our pledge as a university is to be more responsive to community needs and more relevant to community issues,” said Bernie Patterson, chancellor of UW-Stevens Point. Avdeev sees it a little differently. “Companies have started to realize that they cannot do business as usual,” he said. “In order to compete in the global marketplace it’s to their advantage to work with educational institutions.” 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

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EDUCATION

MSTC students on campus. (Mid-State Technical College)

Tech college system

DEVELOPING WISCONSIN’S FUTURE WORKFORCE BY ALYSHA SCHERTZ

eeks after his historic re-election as governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker visited several technical college campuses throughout the state, emphasizing the System’s vital role in creating more manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin. But in addition to manufacturing jobs, the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) is focused on working with business leaders throughout Wisconsin communities to provide advanced curriculum and ongoing training in a variety of industries important to the state’s economy. According to system president Morna Foy, WTCS is uniquely positioned to serve 104

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and develop individuals at every stage of their academic and professional careers. WTCS has helped deliver tens of thousands of skilled professionals to industries including manufacturing, but also engineering, business, information technology, health care, hospitality, tourism, culinary arts, food processing and renewable energies. MEETING MANY NEEDS WTCS is divided into 16 districts, with 49 campuses and additional outreach facilities designed to work with local communities. Each year, WTCS serves more than 360,000

individuals seeking two-year associate degrees, technical diplomas and certificates. In addition to providing traditional classroom and online educational opportunities to Wisconsin residents age 16 and older, WTCS also offers customized business solutions and technical assistance to employers. “Our partnerships within the community are stronger and more important than ever,” Foy said. “It’s not just in manufacturing or IT where you would expect these partnerships. It’s partnerships with the Wisconsin Baker’s Association and food production facilities; it’s partnerships with local farms and hospitality institutions where we can learn from

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ABOVE: The IT Innovation Lab at Nicolet College. (Nicolet College)

BELOW: MSTC Stainless Steel Welding student (Marshfield campus). (Mid-State Technical College)

ABOVE: The HVAC laboratory at ECAM is a national training and certifying facility for Testing Adjusting and Balancing Bureau and National Energy Management Institute contractors and technicians.

them and design our curriculum to become the best business solutions.” WTCS works with business to design its curriculum in ways that address real-world needs and meets with an advisory committee to reassess and retool the curriculum to determine effectiveness, Foy said. “This happens in each district and at the state level,” she said. “The system is a very well-oiled machine.” CUSTOM PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS Waukesha County Technical College’s Center for Business Performance Solutions was established primarily to support local business growth and development through customized training, organizational performance analysis and restructuring expertise. “We work directly with businesses to position them for success,” said Joseph Weitzer, dean of the center. “There’s a greater demand among businesses for a more highly skilled workforce. We’re able to make a customized, high-intensity training program designed specifically around what our client companies need.” In the past five years, the center has

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served more than 35,000 workers from more than 1,200 employers in the Waukesha area. Client companies often come from manufacturing, education, government and the food service industry, reflecting Waukesha County’s industry mix. Similar centers exist at several of the

graphic design and culinary careers. “Our region is comprised of a few large businesses and a lot of smaller businesses with fewer than 30 employees,” said Kenneth Urban, interim president of Nicolet College. “It’s our responsibility to serve all of them. We work very closely with Grow

“ We’re able to make a customized, high-intensity training program designed specifically around what our client companies need.” — JOESEPH WEITZER

WTCS campuses, each set up to serve the industries in their respective communities. CUSTOM TRAINING FOR STUDENTS Nicolet College serves a population of approximately 84,000 people in northern Wisconsin and has six technical labs dedicated to education and training in industries including automotive, welding, health care,

North, our region’s economic development corporation, to determine the needs of our community and respond directly with the services we offer.” The aging workforce is a growing concern among all employers in the region, but manufacturers have expressed significant concern, Urban said. Nicolet College has worked directly with companies to develop training programs and 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

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ABOVE: Governor Scott Walker toured ECAM after announcing a Wisconsin Fast Forward grant award of $2.5 million for MATC to train up to 546 workers for high-demand fields. (Milwaukee Area Technical College)

LEFT: Mid-State Technical College student relaxes on campus. (Mid-State Technical College)

education curriculum for students in a variety of industries. In 2012, the college worked with local companies to identify a specific need for electro-industrial mechanics. They developed the curriculum with local companies and started offering classes in October. Nicolet just graduated its first class in December of 2014. “Companies are impressed with the skills students have coming out of our programs,” Urban said. “They work with us on a continuous basis, and we regularly tweak or revise classes and curriculum to better meet their needs. Our industry advisors help us keep these classes on the cutting edge.” Nine out of every 10 graduates from Nicolet get hired immediately, Urban said. Approximately 88 percent are hired within six months, and some even see a 50 percent increase in salary after five years with a company. “Employers don’t make those kinds of commitments if the employees aren’t compe106

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tent and meeting the needs of their employer,” Urban said. Similar successes have been seen with Mid-State Technical College’s stainless steel welding certificate. The program, offered at Mid-State’s Marshfield campus, takes about four months to complete, and some students receive job offers while still in the program. Milwaukee Area Technical College’s (MATC) Center for Energy Conservation and Advanced Manufacturing (ECAM) has worked closely with companies like P&H Mining, Caterpillar and Johnson Controls to establish a top-notch curriculum around advanced manufacturing, tool & die, CNC programming and energy. Dorothy Walker, dean of MATC’s School of Technology and Applied Sciences, says there’s no other lab like ECAM in the state. “Students here are training on state-ofthe-art systems,” Walker said. “The whole reason for developing the center was to adequately meet the existing needs of local

industries that need to upgrade their workforce or fill hiring gaps. Having the right facility and equipment to do that is important.” MEASURABLE BOTTOM-LINE IMPACT In 2007, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance conducted a study that found the total economic impact of WTCS on the state was approximately $6.9 billion, or 3.2 percent of the state’s total output for the prior year. More recent data is not available, though Weitzer suggests that research indicates a better-educated workforce translates into more economic development opportunities as a whole. “In addition to increased salaries and spending opportunities for employees with more employable skills, businesses will locate to regions dedicated to workforce training and development,” Weitzer said. “The reality is that talent is our best investment, as businesses, as individuals and as a state.” A product of BizTimes Media

Tech College System President

FOCUSED ON CREATING SKILLED AND FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE BY ALYSHA SCHERTZ

he Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) is no longer the state’s best-kept secret. The system’s 49 campuses serving 16 colleges have always been rooted in local relationships, but now, says system president Morna Foy, WTCS operates from a much more high profile position in state government. Foy, who was named the system’s first female president in 2013, has held various positions within the system since the late 1990s. She has more than 25 years of experience in higher education policy development and leadership. She holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Political Science from UW-Madison, an MPA in Finance and Policy from Indiana University, and is nearing completion of a doctorate at UW-Madison in Education Leadership and Policy. During her first 10 years with WTCS, the system’s state funding never changed. “As long as it’s working you don’t need to think about it,” Foy said. “We were always valued in our local communities, but we were not a part of the statewide discourse on economic development and workforce advancement.” Today, WTCS is positioned to address

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economic development issues head on, and Foy has made addressing Wisconsin’s skills gap and educating tomorrow’s workforce her top priorities as president. “We exist to serve the needs of our two cus-

inventory, delivery systems and sales processes, and they are continuously under pressure to do that, and do that quickly,” Foy said. “At the same time, having a workforce that is able to adjust, learn and retool at the same speed has become even more important.” Public transparency is important to Foy. “We want to know what the public’s perception of our System is, and learn from our graduates what we’ve done well and can do better.” WTCS has a 90 percent satisfaction rate from graduating students. The system serves more than 360,000 students ages 16 and older every year, and creates and adapts its curriculum based on feedback provided by industry leaders repre-

“ We want to know what the public’s perception of our System is, and learn from our graduates what we’ve done well and can do better.” — MORNA FOY

tomer bases; students and employers,” Foy said. Students today are much more mobile, and demand mobility and advanced technology from their learning environment, said Foy, and the speed at which businesses and employers conduct their business has accelerated 10-fold in the past 15-20 years. “(Businesses) have to change products,

senting every sector of Wisconsin’s economy. “Those relationships are crucial for us,” Foy said. “Employers in our local communities serve on our advisory committees and help us evaluate our array of offerings to make sure our curriculum adequately reflects how the state’s industry sectors are growing and changing.” 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

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wisconsin's technical colleges

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WISCONSIN TECH CONNECT PROVIDES FREE JOB PLACEMENT SUPPORT, CONNECTING GRADUATES TO EMPLOYERS

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Providing skills

EMPLOYERS NEED Wisconsin's Technical Colleges are delivering the state’s next generation of workers. Guided by instructors with industry expertise and academic accomplishments, graduates arrive with the specialized skills you seek, and the soft skills that position them for career growth and success. We provide unrivaled services beyond jobready employees; you can also recruit using TechConnect, a free online service connecting the students and graduates to your job openings. We also offer employer solutions with the hallmarks of our flexible customized training.

“We have hired such great technical college graduates. They come ready and raring to work and have great longevity in their jobs. That’s what we like to see.” Ernestine Daugherty, Health Unit Coordinator, Froedert Hospital

“We needed to bring skill levels and skill sets to a higher level, to promote quality and productivity. That’s why we turned to the technical college.” Chuck Floyd, HR/Training Coordinator, Fisher Barton Specialty Products.

Visit http://www.wistechcolleges.org/employer-resources/employer-training-contacts

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2016 EDITION

RESEARCH W I S C O N S I N

ome of the world’s most significant advancements in health, medicine, genetics, agriculture and advanced manufacturing have come from researchers at Wisconsin companies and institutions. UW-Madison ranks as one of the most prolific research universities in the world, but it’s not the only

birthplace of innovation in Wisconsin. Thanks to new initiatives dedicated to idea-sharing, and a renewed focus on industry partnerships and commercialization, other institutions in the UW System – along with businesses and organizations throughout the state – are making their mark as well.

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IN WISCONSIN

MCW RESEARCHERS COULD CHANGE THE WORLD OF ORGAN TRANSPLANTS

Dr. Michael Mitchell, professor and researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a pediatric heart surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, is leading the charge in new research that could revolutionize organ transplants. Mitchell, in partnership with Mats Hidestrand, assistant professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at MCW, is pioneering a new, less invasive and more cost-effective way to detect the possibility of transplant rejections. Mitchell, who works with heart transplant patients at Children’s Hospital and across the globe, originally started the work in 2004 with his wife, Aoy Tomita-Mitchell, also a researcher at MCW. At the time, the two were working in Kentucky, focused on non-invasive prenatal testing, but their work evolved on arrival at MCW in 2006. Patients who undergo a heart transplant must also endure between eight and 12 biop112

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sies per year to monitor for potential transplant rejections, Mitchell said. “Frequent biopsies to detect rejection are not only painful and expensive, they can also be dangerous for patients,” he said. “In some children, they are actually impossible to conduct because the vessels are just too small.” Rejections occur in approximately 15 percent of patients. Mitchell’s research utilizes a blood test to detect donor DNA in the patient’s blood. “Higher levels of donor DNA in the patient’s blood stream can indicate rejection,” Mitchell said. In a 2012 study conducted at Children’s Hospital, the new method was proven to be 100 percent accurate in identifying early signs of transplant rejection days before the patient displayed any symptoms, Mitchell said. A new five-year, $3.27 million grant from the National Institutes of Health is funding a longitudinal

Dr. Michael Mitchell MD

study to test the method with 480 adult and pediatric heart transplant patients at five hospitals around the country. Early detection allows the patient to be treated with oral steroids at home for approximately $6.22 a day, compared to the thousands of dollars it would cost for multiple biopsies, or a new transplant. “This is the holy grail of the field,” Mitchell said. “And its potential, if proven as sensitive as we think it is, will literally get us to the next level in terms of outcomes.” The process could potentially become the standard of care and replace most biopsies in two to four years.

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IDEAS RESEARCH

B Y

DRS LANDS NAVY CONTRACT TO MODIFY THE USS JIMMY CARTER SUBMARINE Milwaukee-based DRS Power & Control Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of DRS Technologies in Virginia, lives to serve. The company regularly supplies power conversion, instrumentation and control systems to the U.S. Navy’s combat fleet. DRS, an innovator in nautical systems for the military, was recently awarded a contract valued at nearly $18 million to modify and redesign the propulsion unit motor on the USS Jimmy Carter submarine. All work for the contract will be conducted in Milwaukee, and is expected to be complete by November 2015.

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A LY S H A

S C H E R T Z

The USS Jimmy Carter is the third and last of the Seawolf class submarines. (U.S. Navy - Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Elizabeth Williams)

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AT UW-WHITEWATER, ART RESEARCH ADVANCES U.S. FOUNDRIES

Dr. Harry Whelan

LIGHT TECHNOLOGY COULD MEAN SURVIVAL FOR BRAIN TUMOR PATIENTS

Dr. Harry Whelan, Bleser professor of neurology and pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin, is working to shine a light on the treatment of malignant, recurrent brain tumors. A near infrared LED light, to be exact. The treatment utilizes photo-sensitizing drugs injected into the bloodstream. The drug accumulates in the cancer cells, where it is activated by contact with an infrared laser. “The drug is chemically engineered to attack the cancer cells once it comes in contact with the light,” Whelan said. With traditional chemotherapy, negative side effects can occur when healthy cells are inadvertently attacked by the drugs given to kill the cancer. Sometimes, cancer cells survive. Too often, they grow into another tumor. Whelan has worked with photobiology and the medical applications of infrared light for more than 25 years. “Our research allows us to target specific cells in a given region,” Whelan said. “Particularly in an area like the brain, where you have several healthy cells responsible for very eloquent human functions, it becomes even more useful to only attack the cancer cells.” Clinical trials on adult patients with recurrent, malignant brain tumors demonstrated long-term survival of 40 to 50 percent, Whelan said. Those patients were previously given a survivability rate measured in months, not years. If the new treatment proves successful, it will save lives. It could also mean a whole new market for pharmaceutical and device manufacturers in Wisconsin. The team has already started working with local engineers on the light technology. “The potential exists for this technology to be applied to other types of tumors as well,” Whelan said. “As we continue to understand the chemistry and refine the technology, this has the potential to be a one-anddone procedure that could replace costly traditional chemotherapy sessions in certain patients.” 114

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An art professor is making Wisconsin foundries better, faster and more efficient. Dan McGuire, art professor at UWWhitewater and Whitewater Incubation Program fellow, and his team, were recent recipents of a $25,000 grant from the UWExtension Ideadvance Seed Fund. McGuire’s teammates include Choton Basu, director of the Incubation Program’s Innovation Hub; and Jeff Vanevenhoven, entrepreneurship program coordinator and director of the introductory student business incubation initiative. The three have founded Innovative Foundry Technologies, which is focused on creating foundry-related inventions.

If the team completes the first stage, it will be eligible for a second round of funding worth up to $50,000. The grants are given to faculty, staff and students who are part of the UW System or affiliated with WiSys Technology System or the UW-Milwaukee Research Foundation. In 2000, McGuire co-founded Foundry Solutions, headquartered in the Whitewater Technology Park. Foundry Solutions grew out of research originally conducted by McGuire as a method for his art students to more rapidly produce material for their metal sculptures. Today, the company utilizes 3D printing to produce molds for foundries.

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ABOVE: Dan McGuire is shown with a 3D powder printer and a handful of “step pins” made with the printer at the Whitewater Innovation Center. (UW-Whitewater/Craig Schreiner)

RIGHT: A Computer Aided Design program used in 3D powder printing of foundry molds at the Whitewater Innovation Center. (UW-Whitewater/Craig Schreiner)

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MARSHFIELD CLINIC LAUNCHES REVOLUTIONARY LUNG CANCER TREATMENT TRIAL

Seizing the idea that personalized medicine is the future of health care, the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation has embarked on a new clinical trial that utilizes genetics to treat patients with lung cancer. In partnership with Gundersen Health System of La Crosse and St. Vincent Cancer Center of Green Bay, researchers have started to enroll patients diagnosed with squamous cell lung cancer, a common type of lung cancer typically seen in patients who smoke. The trial, according to Dr. Douglas Reding, oncology research director at Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, profiles the genetic makeup of the cancer in each patient and then matches him or her with the best treatment options. “Treatment is the most beneficial, and less costly, if we can pinpoint what types of treatment would be the most effective,” Reding said. More than 3,000 patients across the country will be enrolled in the study. Patients in the trial will be assigned to one of five sub-studies that will test an investigational drug matched to the cancer’s genetic profile, Reding said. “The informaiton we gather from the trial will determine if this approach to treating cancer is more effective and efficient than current therapies,” Reding said. “I see this as the first of many trials that will be designed like this.” Pharmaceutical companies in Wisconsin and across the country are pursuing targeted therapy treatments as the next frontier of treatment, Reding said. “The personalized approach is the next horizon,” he said. “Studies like these will continue to get us closer to that reality.”

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RESEARCH

EXACT SCIENCES RECEIVES MILESTONE APPROVAL FROM FDA

After nearly two decades of research, Madison-based Exact Sciences received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2014 for its non-invasive colorectal screening test, Cologuard. According to Kevin Conroy, chief executive officer of the company, colorectal cancer is highly treatable with early detection, but 23 million Americans between 50 and 75 are not getting screened as recommended. Colorectal cancer is the second most-contracted cancer in the U.S. Cologuard is available by prescription to individuals 50 years and older at average risk for colorectal cancer. The test is easy to take at home and does not require any medication, dietary restriction or preparation in advance. Cologuard tests for specific blood proteins and DNA mutations in the stool sample that are traditionally associated with cancer and pre-cancer.

Conroy from WisBiz 2014

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RESEARCH

UW-GREEN BAY RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY STRONTIUM RISK IN REGION’S DEEP AQUIFERS

WIST staff work on the UW-Stevens Point pilot paper machine, making adjustments ahead of a repulpability and recyclability test. (UW-Stevens Point)

UW-STEVENS POINT OFFERS IMPORTANT RESOURCE FOR PAPER INDUSTRY

UW-Stevens Point’s Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology was formed in 2010 with the goal of connecting the university to business and industry throughout the state. The Institute currently provides its partners, many in the paper industry, with research and laboratory services that include paper testing, paper grade development, compostability and other, case-based analysis. The ability to test and produce products on a smaller scale, as well as access to university researchers and expertise, offer a unique opportunity for businesses throughout the state. The Institute has done more than 200 industryfacing projects with Wisconsin businesses since 2010, said Paul Fowler, executive director. “We’ve got quite the customer base, not just in Wisconsin, but nationally as well,” he said.

Researchers at UW-Green Bay recently identified a naturally occurring chemical element in northeastern Wisconsin well water that could pose a health threat for consumers in the area. John Luczaj, geoscience chair in the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences, headed up the research in partnership with Michael Zorn, vice chair, and graduate student Joseph Baeten. The team discovered naturally-occurring strontium in deep aquifers in the region. Several of the wells in UW-Green Bay’s study measured at levels of concern, Luczaj said. But the threat isn’t necessarily serious once identified. “Since the element acts a lot like calcium, we know that water softeners and reverse osmosis can completely eliminate the risk,” Luczaj said. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, strontium, at elevated levels, can impact bone strength and skeletal development, particularly in infants and children. Anecdotally, some dairy farmers in the study did think the strontium discovered in the wells has negatively impacted milk production. “Ultimately, the number of health impacts just is not well-known,” he said. “We believe our research sets a good baseline for anyone interested in continuing with health impact studies.”

Strontium. (Photo by Alchemist-hp)

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Research Foundat Research Foundation Applied Sciences

More than

BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP HELPS GROW UWSTEVENS POINT BIOMASS PROCESSING LAB UW-Stevens Point has created a niche for itself in the biomass marketplace. Through the Cellulose Pilot and Processing Laboratory and its partnership with American Science and Technology of Wausau, UW-Stevens Point is driving research and the commercialization of biobased chemicals and products. The lab takes waste products from forestry, agriculture and energy industries and turns them into products that can be resold, thus creating a new revenue stream. “Our technology breaks down biomass into three major components; we then explore ways those components can be

made into multiple kinds of high-value, salable products,” said Eric Singaas, director of research at the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology. The CPPL serves as the university-based research and development laboratory for new products, but is also available to academic labs, facilities and private industry at a cost, Singaas said. UW-Stevens Point teamed up with Chicago-based American Science and Technology to develop the laboratory, which also serves as AST’s Wausau facility. Plans exist to increase the capacity of the lab by summer 2015, Singaas said.

UW-MILWAUKEE, WHITEWATER AND UW-PARKSIDE TO LAUNCH MAJOR AQUAPONICS INITIATIVE The U.S. imports nearly 5.5 billion pounds of seafood each year. It’s the nation’s third-highest import, behind automobiles and oil. To help meet demand domestically, UW-Milwaukee will lead an initiative, in partnership with UW-Whitewater and UW-Parkside, to establish the Research and Training Center for Commercialization of Intensive Aquaculture and Aquaponics. The Center is one of 12 projects funded by the UW System’s Incentive Grant program, designed to connect university resources with Wisconsin businesses. The goal is to establish aquaponics as a sustainable industry in Wisconsin by advancing technology training individuals in the science of aquaculture. www.wisconsinbiz.com

High Quality Care

Transforming Lives Through Research And Discovery

Senior scientist Fred Binkowski extracts eggs

1000 North Oak Avenue Marshfield, WI 54449 (800) 782-8581 ext. 9-3430 http://marshfieldresearch.org/

from female yellow perch. (UW-Milwaukee)

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RESEARCH

CHEMISTRY PARTNERSHIP MEANS BIG BUSINESS FOR WISCONSIN

UW-MADISON RESEARCH MAY HOLD THE KEY TO NEW CANCERFIGHTING THERAPIES

Ronald Raines, Henry Lardy professor of biochemistry at UW-Madison, is a long-time researcher of bovine Ribonuclease A protein structures. His team has discovered how to manipulate amino acid structures in a way that makes them significantly more toxic to cancer cells than similar, existing structures. The EVade Ribonucleases work by degrading ribonucleic acids (RNA), resulting in inhibition of protein synthesis and cell death. The technolog y is exclusively licensed to Quintessence Biosciences, Inc., of Madison. The company, founded in 2000, is focused on the development of protein-based therapies as anti-cancer agents. Its lead agent, QBI-139, has advanced to Phase I human clinical trial at the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center in Madison, and at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Additional products using modifications of the technology are also in development.

Nearly 96 percent of all manufactured goods involve chemistry. The Southeastern Wisconsin Applied Chemistry Center of Excellence was established as a partnership between UW-Milwaukee and UW-Parkside to support economic development and strengthen the relationship between education and businesses. “Chemistry is a very important part of our state’s ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace,” said Doug Stafford, director of the Center of Excellence and the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery. In 2014, the Center awarded 10 $75,000 grants to active collaborations between university researchers and Wisconsin businesses, through its Ribonuclease A Translational Grant Program. “The grant applications were evaluated on the scientific rationale and the economic and business impact,” Stafford said. Funded projects include vaccine development, new pesticides, pharmacuetical advancements, eco-friendly alternatives to current market chemicals, optical sensors and more efficient industrial processes. Some are startup operations, while others are partnerships with well-established brands and companies, mostly in the southeastern Wisconsin area. All can have deep economic impact on the region, Stafford said. The lab is equipped with state-ofthe-art technology, supplied by industry leaders like Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, and provides an unmatched level of expertise and resources to the community. The new center will be fully operational by summer 2015, and will be located in the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex on UWM’s main camChemistry students load a sample compound into the mass pus, Stafford said. spectroscopy equipment in the UWM Applied Chemistry Center of Excellence. (UW-Milwaukee Photo Services)

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Doug Stafford (left) with chemistry faculty Alexander Arnold and James Cook. The three are using the equipment in the Southeast Wisconsin Applied Chemistry Center of Excellence in research on a new treatment for asthma. (UW-Milwaukee Photo Services)

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RESEARCH

Madison’s CALS:

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE BY MARTIN HINTZ

n Wisconsin, agriculture matters. The state’s farms and allied agricultural businesses generated $88.3 billion in economic activity and created 413,500 jobs in 2012. That’s the most recent data available, presented in a study released in 2014 by professor Steve Deller of UW-Madison’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). Although one may traditionally think of Wisconsin as the “Dairy State,” the agriculture sector is becoming more diversified, Deller points out. He says the beef industry, vegetables, breweries and more specialized activities like hops, grapes and wineries are growing in size and importance. CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH KEEPS WISCONSIN AG STRONG A major component in keeping Wisconsin an agriculture powerhouse is a research support system that ensures a quality food product, improved cultivation methods, cuttingedge growing and harvesting techniques and perfected breeding. Financial support has come from numerous sources. According to CALS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture contributed $19.8 million for projects in 2014, with another $26.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, $22 million from the National Institutes of Health and $7.5 million from the National Science Foundation. In addition, $22.8 million came from non-federal sources, including industry groups, nonprofits and state and local governments. This aid has beefed up endeavors like Wisconsin’s Specialty Crop Block Grant program, administered by the state with funds from the USDA. For additional agricultural support, as a land grant university, UW-Madison is home to the federal agricultural experiment station in Wisconsin.

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Dairy Cattle Center on the UW-Madison campus. (UW-Madison)

FACULTY, FARMERS ARE ACTIVE PARTNERS CALS faculty and staff are committed to research that promotes opportunities in food and agriculture, emphasizes Heidi Zoerb, CALS’ assistant dean for external relations and advancement. Farmers are a big part of that effort. “Farmers are our active partners,” she said. “They pose problems for scientists to tackle, plus host research projects directly on their farms.” Ben Brancel, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, agrees. “There has long been an understanding that farms need modern and current research. “Research today also addresses issues that are of public concern. As the public becomes more removed from the farm, they have less understanding of food production,” Brancel suggests.

For him, research provides evidence and answers about improving and evaluating what happens on the farming landscape. Tackling these contemporary issues attracts students throughout the state’s higher education system. Currently, 4,420 graduate and undergraduate students are enrolled in CALS, a record high. Throughout the entire UW System – including Platteville, River Falls, Green Bay, Superior and Whitewater, as well as private institutions – enrollment is high in animal science, agribusiness, environmental horticulture, reclamation, resources management, aquatic biology and related study areas. “Providing safe and healthy food for everyone, developing sustainable energy sources and coping with changes in climate are some of the pressing global concerns that will influence future CALS research,” reiterates Kate VandenBosch, CALS dean. 201 5 WISCONSINBIZ

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RESEARCH: CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

CONCORDIA PHARMACY STUDENTS & FACULTY

COLLABORATE ON RESEARCH

n its short, five-year existence, Concordia University Wisconsin’s School of Pharmacy (SOP) has become a robust, research facility. Besides producing new information on which future treatments are based, research has become an important community asset. Students have become an integral part of the innovative research being conducted by professors in the school located along the shore of Lake Michigan in Mequon. The Honorable Governor Scott Walker delivered the commencement address this past May to the first SOP graduating class of 67 students, along with other graduate degree students. “Development of the research program and the information produced in the school has brought national attention to Concordia as well as the faculty,” noted Dean Arneson, Dean of the SOP. “It has also opened doors for collaboration with regional academic and business entities, broadening opportunities for both students and faculty,” Arneson said. Xiaoang (Kevin) Xing, a second year student,

has been working in the zebrafish laboratory of Dr. Michael Pickart for nearly 15 months, some of the most complex research performed in the SOP. “The goal is the production of an animal model for human cancer,” admitted Dr. Pickart, while noting current research involves attempting to grow cervical cancer cells in zebrafish. “If this works, we’ll have a very convenient living model on which to test promising drugs early in the drug discovery process.” Concordia’s zebrafish facility interacts with several researchers since that particular fish serves as a common model for myriad experiments. Fish have many advantages – fish eggs can be more easily manipulated – and their relatively low cost means more of them can be tested with a new treatment or drug. This handson approach appealed to Xing. “I’ve done a little bit of everything in the laboratory,” Xing said, “including tissue culture techniques with the cancer cell lines, microinjection of zebrafish eggs, and the transformation of mammalian cell lines.

At heart, I’m just someone who likes to solve problems. The world of pharmacy is changing so rapidly that I want to be fully prepared for whatever opportunities open up,” added Xing. Andrew Rosicky is nearing the end of his classroom work and the beginning of his clinical studies, so he is keen on finishing his research with Dr. Chris Cunningham that involves brain receptors which are responsible for interacting with chemical signals and affect how we feel pain, stress or anxiety. Dr. Cunningham is on a search for better compounds to interact with these receptors so that pain can be studied with greater precision. “That’s what really drew me to the laboratory,” Rosicky noted. “I love the science, the ability to make a new compound utilizing organic chemistry, then purifying it and analyzing it with nuclear magnetic resonance. As an undergraduate I never did any research. Once I came here and found that I could help in the lab I jumped at the chance. It’s such a different experience.”

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Sydney Bishop, another second year student, is working with Dr. Frank Dailey on a project that studies novel species of bacteria in the intestines of fish. While this might seem to be an odd choice at first blush, the potential benefits can be easily appreciated. “All the fish we work with are rich in beneficial, omega-3 fatty acids,” Dailey noted. “We are attempting to identify the role bacteria play in enriching fish with these nutrients.” The study is attempting to provide the right bacteria and then the right genes that will improve nutrition, according to Dailey. For Bishop, this project means learning and applying many different laboratory techniques, ranging from DNA sequencing to the identification of products using gas chromatography. For the latter she is fortunate to work with Dr. Joe McGraw, skilled in the area of mass spectrometry, which identifies the structure of unique chemical compounds. In the end, a healthier fish obtained from Wisconsin fish farms would be the ideal application for this work. Erin Prust and Dr. Cunningham are concentrating on cell receptors and agonists. “My research revolves around developing the tools to study pain, stress and anxiety,” said Dr. Cunningham, while noting that effects of environmental toxicants on neuronal development using the zebrafish animal model is a key component of that research. This particular study is being funded by grants from the Children’s Environmental Health Sciences Core Center, the American Association of Colleges and Pharmacy, and the Mick A. Naulin Foundation. “Students in my laboratory are studying computer-aided drug design, organic synthesis, and the extraction and isolation of bioactive natural products,” Dr. Cunningham noted.

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INFLUENCE STRETCHES OUTSIDE THE U.S. BORDER

Research by the University’s professors has stretched northward into Canada, due to the work of Dr. John Dellinger who serves as the American co-chair of a United States-Canadian task force that is studying human health concerns associated with water quality regulations. Dellinger, who was appointed by U.S. State Department officials, has served on the Health Professionals Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission since 2001. “I have two years remaining on the IJC and while we seem to have an abundance of fresh water in some parts of the United States, it is absolutely paramount to protect water when you look at the world as a whole.” The International Joint Commission is but one of two key panels on which Dellinger serves. He is also one of 15 North American senior environmental health scientists who is reviewing and recommending pollutants that are to be included on a list of “chemicals of mutual concern” in the US and Canada. “My work has primarily revolved around the benefits as well as risks of eating fish,” noted the former director of the

Illinois Poison Center. “Mercury, pesticides, and PCBs and everything else that shows up in a fish filet is of concern,” Dellinger continued. Dellinger, who started in 2010 before the School of Pharmacy even opened, further pointed to the direct connection between pharmacy and water stewardship. “The biggest impact for a pharmacy student is making sure that prescription drugs are properly disposed of so they don’t end up in our fresh water.” CUW has nearly 400 students currently enrolled in its Pharmacy Program and daily interaction with people stresses the importance of clean water for future generations. n

For more information on the School of Pharmacy, one of six schools at Concordia University Wisconsin, we welcome you to visit our website at www.cuw.edu/pharmacy or call toll free at 1-888-628-9472

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Innovation Campus speeds medical discovery to market

here can health-related startups go to fabricate a prototype device, get a mobile app made, or use a high-tech clean room? In the past, they would have gone out of state. Today, the University of WisconsinMilwaukee’s Innovation Campus has brought these services to the Milwaukee area. Located across the street from Milwaukee’s regional medical complex in Wauwatosa, Innovation Campus is more than just a technology park. The 72-acre campus, which has received more than $6 million in gifts from local philanthropists and foundations, promises to accelerate the pace of biomedical product development through collaboration. “The idea is to bring together the academic lab bench with clinical needs, and then combine that with private companies to get new knowledge into the marketplace,” says David Gilbert, executive president of Innovation Campus and president of both the UWM Foundation and UWM Real Estate Foundation. “With this translational approach, you can really create economic development.”

Work underway The campus’ first research building, the Innovation Accelerator, opened last May and houses an interdisciplinary collection of research labs, a rapid prototyping center, and high-speed computing services provided by the Milwaukee Institute. UWM researchers on site include faculty working on less invasive medical devices, assistive technologies and advanced materials for diagnostic biosensors. “The world lags behind in using nanotechnology in medical applications,” says UWM engineer Junhong Chen. “That’s because it requires a closer working relationship between engineers and health care providers.” Chen has partnered with Dr. Lyndon Hernandez, a gastroenterologist who conducts research at the nearby Medical College of Wisconsin, to develop sensors that can help patients manage conditions such as acid reflux disease. The pair plan to produce these sensors

At UWM’s Innovation Campus, researchers from the College of Health Sciences are finding ways to improve wheelchairs without increasing the cost. (Photo by Derek Rickert)

on a computer chip to demonstrate how inexpensive they could be – perhaps as little as a penny a sensor if produced in bulk. Another UWM researcher, Brooke Slavens, has partnered with a startup company to test a manual wheelchair with Researcher Henry Tomasiewicz (left) and graduate student Blake Johnson load a sample for a multi-geared wheel sysimaging on the MRI. Innovation Campus allows UWM biomedical engineers closer contact with tem that makes it easier medical professionals at the Milwaukee regional medical complex. (Photo by Troye Fox) for wheelchair users to propel themselves. Slavens, an assistant professor of OccuThe global engineering company ABB pational Science & Technology, is testing the has already moved its operations in Southprototype at the Zablocki VA Medical Center eastern Wisconsin to a new 95,000-squareto determine if it will help alleviate the arm foot building on the grounds. Tenants in pain that often occurs with patients who the accelerator building include the iconic depend on wheelchairs for mobility. industrial design company Brook Stevens and Concordia University Drug Discovery. Welcoming the private sector By the end of this year, an extendedA significant portion of the Innovation stay hotel is slated to open, along with a Campus property is reserved for private-sector 200-unit apartment development by the development, providing space for companies Mandel Group. A second UWM research interested in the collaborative environment. building is also in the works. p

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| RESEARCH

Microgrids: a revolutionary shift in access to energy

ucked away in a small industrial area of Milwaukee lies a prototype of the future of energy distribution. Called a microgrid, the experimental technology promises to integrate diverse energy sources into the national electrical grid where they can feed energy-hungry homes and businesses. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee electrical engineer Adel Nasiri is addressing the challenges that keep microgrids from entry into a market that is projected to generate revenues of $3 billion by 2017. The timing is right. Recent advances are making alternative energy sources like natural gas, solar cells and even wind turbines more cost-efficient. But because they generate and distribute energy in different ways, these various sources must be made compatible with the nation’s existing grid.

Integration: a balancing act While microgrids can add power generated by new sources into the grid, they are also freestanding power sources that can provide uninterrupted power to a limited surrounding area. Adel Nasiri, professor of electrical engineering, is working with area industries to bring reliable distributed energy systems called microgrids to the marketplace. (Photo by Troye Fox)

Nasiri’s microgrid test bed – the most complex among the few in Wisconsin – will demonstrate new energy control and storage methods, while also integrating multiple types of energy, including renewables. Currently, the electrical grid is designed to use energy dispatched from power plants that can adjust their output to match user demand. Output is not as adjustable with other energy sources like wind, solar and batteries. “In adding these other sources, we will need to ‘smooth out’ the intermittent power that each generates, in order to keep the output-demand in balance,” says Nasiri, a professor in the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Wind turbines, for example, generate electricity only when the wind is blowing. But in most places, the wind blows more often at night when demand for electricity is low. Nasiri’s patented technology allows energy produced when demand is low to be stored and then released when the demand is high.

Why industries are interested The switch to microgrid energy distribution will be dramatic, equivalent to how the leap from landline to cell phone communication revolutionized the telecomm industry, says Alan Perlstein, executive director and CEO of the Midwest Energy Research Consortium (MWERC), which is a funder of the UWM research. Perfecting microgrid technology would strengthen an industry cluster that already exists in the Midwest. “The region has a large footprint in energy, power and control,” says Perlstein. “The size and growth of that sector makes the Midwest the North American center for the field.” The first piece of UWM’s microgrid system is a 100-foot-high, 10-kilowatt wind turbine erected in a parking lot near UWM’s Kenwood campus. The system eventually will combine power generated from wind, solar, natural gas and batteries. Six of M-WERC’s 80 industry members are contributing parts, including Kohler, Rockwell Automation, LEM, Odyne, Eaton Corporation and ZBB Energy Corp. The university’s state-of-the-art test bed will give regional companies a first look at the compatibility of their parts. p

Research Made in Milwaukee BIgPOTENTIAL BIgIDEAS BIgSCIENCE uwm.edu/researchreport

2014 INC. 5000 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES: Wisconsin Companies Rank Company Location Rank Company Location

36 Restore Health

Madison

3017 Data Dimensions

Janesville

46 Nordic

Madison

3148 Solaris

West Allis

101 Equipatron

Mequon

3171 Alpha Source

Milwaukee

193 VPCinnovations

Mount Pleasant

3176 Centare

Brookfield

358 EmbedTek

Hartland

3319 MacDonald & Owen Lumber

Sparta

639 7Summits

Milwaukee

3332 Core Creative

Milwaukee

729 Dynamic Recycling

La Crosse

3343 Vehicle Security Innovators

Green Bay

900 AccuLynx

Beloit

3418 Krueger Communications

Elm Grove

902 Cielo

Brookfield

3483 Synergy Consortium Services

Madison

919 ExclusiveCPA

Kaukauna

3565 Adesys

Fitchburg

960 The Wasmer Company

New Holstein

3623 MEC

Mayville

969 RevolutionEHR

Madison

3705 Fiberstar

River Falls

1015 Johnson Creek Enterprises

Hartland

3709 Americollect

Manitowoc

1031 More Than Rewards

Franklin

3724 Midwest Prototyping

Blue Mounds

1158 Delta Defense

West Bend

3874 Allen Edmonds

Port Washington

1318 Authenticom

La Crosse

3969 Supply Chain Solutions

La Crosse

1386 Patina Solutions

Brookfield

3987 Heartland Business Systems

Little Chute

1748 Tim O’Brien Homes

Pewaukee

4042 HNI

New Berlin

1799 Super Steel

Milwaukee

4093 Meetings & Incentives Worldwide

Caledonia

1866 Information Technology Professionals

Madison

4096 TMI Consulting

Milwaukee

1874 ESC Services

Franklin

4173 Symmetry

Milwaukee

1907 SASid

Janesville

4209 New Glarus Brewing

New Glarus

1953 MARS IT

Wauwatosa

4365 Drexel Building Supply

Campbellsport

1959 Xten Industries

Kenosha

4412 Aurizon Ultrasonics

Kimberly

1981 Aquire Restoration

Oshkosh

4433 Quest CE

Milwaukee

2086 Stella & Chewy’s

Milwaukee

4452 bb7

Madison

2118 Concurrency

Brookfield

4472 Enviro-Safe Consulting

Germantown

2123 SunVest Solar

Pewaukee

4588 Fox World Travel

Oshkosh

2150 DealerFire

Oshkosh

4634 QPS Employment Group

Brookfield

2486 Commercial Bargains

West Allis

4757 Badger Alloys

Milwaukee

2608 WTS Paradigm

Middleton

4831 Batteries Plus Bulbs

Hartland

2639 Vom Fass USA

Madison

4911 Codeworks

Brookfield

2649 Wireless Logic

Menomonee Falls

4935 Central Office Systems

Waukesha

2941 Quincy Bioscience

Madison

4950 ABC Supply

Beloit

2960 Zeon Solutions

Milwaukee

4955 Integrated Paper Services

Appleton

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REGIONS

isconsin’s assets are as diverse as its terrain. In a state so endowed with both natural and man-made resources, it’s no surprise that we’re not only one of the largest agricultural producers in the U.S., but also have among the highest number of manufacturing jobs. Our public higher education system is a gem, with campuses

dotting the state and preparing our future leaders for the needs of the 21st century. We move our goods by direct rail, over the road, by air and by sea. And each of our nine regions has a distinct identity and personality, lending its voice to the larger whole.

Door County along the Lake Michigan coastline.

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The Square in Monroe around the Green County Courthouse. (Rick Marolt, courtesy of Madison Region Economic Partnership)

MADREP

Innovation and technology surround the state capital BY RACHEL RASMUSSEN

n southcentral Wisconsin, local districts pay close attention to creating sustainable communities, attracting innovation and training a strong workforce. It’s no wonder the region boasts high rankings on lists developed by Forbes, MSN Money and U.S. News & World Report. MadREP (Madison Region Economic Partnership), the economic development agency for the eight-county region surrounding Madison, is entering the third of its five-year Advance Now Strategy, an economic development plan for the southcentral region. Its focus is on six key pillar industries: manufacturing, life sciences, food and beverage, health care, agriculture and information technology. While the attention is always on economic competitiveness, innovation and leveraging human capital in these segments, MadREP President Paul Jadin explained the concentration of efforts is currently on information technology. “Our region is diverse enough that we have high-quality advanced manufacturing, we have an abundance of agriculture, and

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the health care segment is robust,” Jadin said. “But IT is an area where we’re seeing both new businesses and new jobs being created.” “(IT) is one of those areas that we’re talked about in the same breath as Boston, San Francisco, and Portland,” Jadin said. “We’re working hard to send the message that this is the place people need to be to launch their product or get a job in information technology.” While the area’s anchors remain the UW-Madison, state government and powerhouse companies such as Epic Systems, these organizations also provide some of the intellectual capital that drives the entrepreneurial spirit of southcentral Wisconsin and attracts pioneering companies to expand into the region. Innovative spaces can be found all around the region; spaces that are specifically designed to incubate start-up ventures and foster collaboration, community, and creative problem-solving. Groups such as 100State, Sector67 and gener8tor have gained momentum and are on track to make the region a hotspot for technology and entrepreneur-

ship. StartingBlock Madison, an organization dedicated to creating an “entrepreneurial hub” with a planned 50,000 square-foot facility dedicated to increasing the number of successful startups, has both the backing of local officials and the support of large companies like American Family Insurance, whose Ventures division has pledged financial support. The local business community is also responding. In 2014, Zach Brandon, executive director of the Madison Chamber of Commerce, replaced the Chamber’s traditional trade show and expo with neXXpo – an event intended to be a public testament to where the region is headed in terms of technology, recruiting talent, sustainability and startups. While the move away from the conventional expo spurred some controversy, Brandon was adamant about only showcasing forwardfocused products and services. Companies had to apply to exhibit, and those who participated were presenting alongside tech giants like Microsoft and Google, which were also involved in the inaugural event. “If the goal is to highlight ourselves as a

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‘future city,’ how do we do that? A traditional expo can look good on its face with lots of exhibitors, but does it really move the needle forward?” Brandon said. “You have to identify where we’re headed and where we’re going next. We can’t focus on what’s going on now; we have to focus on what’s coming.” Another focus area for MadREP centers around workforce development. But even with capacity concerns for filling the pipeline of the workforce – especially in advanced manufacturing and health care in more rural districts – MadREP is working to get ahead of the curve in order to continue building on its ability to attract and retain new business. “We need to be able to identify the needs and guarantee we’re training young people to fill them,” Jadin said. Each community within the region works to define the needs of its local private sector in order to provide support in finding, training and retaining a skilled workforce. In a conversation about a workforce development program planned for his city, Neil Stechschulte, director of economic development for the City of Sun Prairie, agreed. “We need to get creative for workforce development, especially for companies in advance manufacturing in our region,” Stechschulte said. Sun Prairie, he said, has been developing cross-platform communication plans that would help connect employers and potential employees, including videos and social media, employer open houses and print advertising. MadREP offers an interactive dashboard on its website that highlights some of the workforce development data, along with several other economic indicators. Users have access to detailed information on the Madison Region and how it compares to peer communities, the state, and the nation, and can view data at a county-specific level.

MADISON REGION ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (MADREP) 615 E. Washington Avenue Madison, WI 53701-0071 Phone: 608-443-1960 madisonregion.org COUNTIES: ■ COLUMBIA ■ DANE ■ DODGE ■ GREEN ■ IOWA ■ JEFFERSON ■ ROCK ■ SAUK SUMMARY: Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) is the lead economic development agency for the eight-county Madison region. MadREP’s work is defined by the Advance Now Strategy, the Madison Region’s comprehensive economic development strategy for the years 2013-2017. The Advance Now strategy is a five-plank platform, which includes economic competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship, human capital, the Madison region’s story, and regional cooperation, leadership and diversity. NOTABLE EMPLOYERS: University of Wisconsin-Madison, UW Health, Epic Systems Corp, American Family Insurance, Kraft Foods, Lands’ End, John Deere & Co, Divine Savior Healthcare, Colony Brands, Inc., Trek Bicycle Corp. Ho-Chunk Nation, Associated Milk Producers, Inc., Monroe Clinic, Fort Healthcare, Generac Power Systems, Inc., Mercy Health System, Beloit Health Systems, Kalahari Development POPULATION: 1 million MAJOR AIRPORTS: Dane County Regional Airport

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITIES: Beloit College, Blackhawk Technical College, Edgewood College, Herzing University, ITT Technical Institute-Madison, Madison Area Technical College, Madison Media Institute, University of Phoenix-Madison Campus, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater TOP INDUSTRIES: Health care, agriculture, advanced manufacturing, education, life sciences, information technology, government, food and beverage

6.2

MADREP MEDIAN INCOMES ROSE 6.2% FROM 2009 TO 2013. THE NATIONAL AVERAGE GAIN WAS 5.7%.

IN 2015, MADISON WAS RANKED AMERICA’S #1 MOST LIVABLE CITY BY LIVABILITY.COM. THE SURVEY CONSIDERED EIGHT CATEGORIES: ECONOMICS, HOUSING, AMENITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE, DEMOGRAPHICS, SOCIAL AND CIVIC CAPITAL, EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE.

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Downtown Milwaukee skyline.

MILWAUKEE 7

New companies creating new jobs BY TOM HELD

conomic development in the sevencounty region that makes up the Milwaukee 7 has refocused to propel innovation and entrepreneurship to produce new businesses and jobs. It’s a subtle shift, with attracting and retaining employers remaining a key priority. Recent successes in that area include the build-out of an Amazon distribution center in Kenosha, and its projected 1,250 jobs; and Kenall Manufacturing’s new headquarters and plant, and its projected 620 new positions. The buzz and momentum in the region, though, centers on the investment and human capital flowing into start-ups and incubators created to help entrepreneurs make the leap from idea to market, then grow into major employers. The Milwaukee Water Council and its BREW, Startup Milwaukee, Gener8tor, the Global Entrepreneurship Collective, Dream MKE, MiKE, BizStarts Milwaukee and its BizForge, WWBIC, programs at public and private universities and colleges – all are important to fostering new businesses in the region. 128

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Add in a host of investment firms, including the BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc., and it’s not hard to see why Inc. Magazine wrote last year that “Angel Investors love Wisconsin.” Those programs provide various combinations of training and mentoring in business, networking, incubator space and startup capital. Dan Steininger, president of BizStarts Milwaukee, said the efforts have created an environment of “innovation on steroids.” It’s a significant improvement from the lagging start-up environment that the Milwaukee 7 found when it launched nearly a decade ago. The Milwaukee 7 has sought to spur new business creation by organizing clusters of similar industries that can work together and help startups become future employers. Three clusters have been created so far: the Milwaukee Water Council; Food and Beverage (FaB) Wisconsin, in the food and beverage sector; and Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC), which combines power generation, transmission and control. O’Brien said the Milwaukee 7 has identi-

fied industries in the region with significant assets, including existing businesses and research teams. It’s also looking at those that will produce goods for export and create jobs that expand the local economy. “You have key initiatives that are helping to drive growth and build capacity in the region,” said Pat O’Brien, executive director of the Milwaukee 7. “We want to create an environment for companies in those industries to stay here and do research and development and whatever they need.” What they need, according to Matt Cordio, are investors and talent. Cordio started Skills Pipeline, an IT staffing business, after graduating from Marquette University in 2011. He also helped create Startup Milwaukee, which opened 96Square, a shared office, collaboration and event space for startups in the former Blatz Wash House. In addition to regular speaker events and workshops, Startup Milwaukee directly connects entrepreneurs to investors, some of whom keep office hours at 96Square. Todd Sobotka, an investment manager

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with the nonprofit BrightStar Foundation, said the agency started in 2013 to address the shortage of capital flowing to startup businesses. Brightstar, one of the first philanthropic investor groups in the nation, provides relatively small investments, – its largest to date is $250,000 – but those funds typically help to attract additional investment. “We saw there was not enough capital going into the early-stage space,” Sobotka said. “That’s where you have the true economic growth in the region. “There’s wealth in Wisconsin,” he said. “It just doesn’t invest in early stage at a rate comparable to other states.” To help improve the talent pool, the group of technically savvy workers needed in startup companies, Cordio and the Milwaukee 7 partnered with area universities to create The Commons. The goal is to educate and mentor students and encourage them to become entrepreneurs. “I get a lot of requests for talent, moreso than connections with investors,” Cordio said. “It’s really a talent issue that is underreported.” The leaders and investors devoted to helping create more businesses with fast growth potential are convinced it’s the best strategy to increase the number of jobs in the area, which stands at roughly 1 million, according to data from the Milwaukee 7. Helping dozens of businesses grow from five employees to 50 may be as important as landing another Amazon, in their view. “The vast majority of studies will look at an area and find that the only place you get job creation is from early-stage companies,” Sobotka said. “The older businesses are motivated to cut, to go leaner.”

MILWAUKEE 7 (M7) 756 N. Milwaukee St., Suite 400 Milwaukee, WI, 53202 Phone: 414-287-4126 choosemilwaukee.com COUNTIES: ■ KENOSHA ■ MILWAUKEE ■ OZAUKEE ■ RACINE ■ WALWORTH ■ WASHINGTON ■ WAUKESHA SUMMARY: M7 is the regional marketing and economic development organization for southeastern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, the state’s largest city. The region also includes the Kenosha area, which has grown significantly in the last five years due to its attraction of new companies. NOTABLE EMPLOYERS: A.O. Smith, Bon-Ton Department Stores, Briggs & Stratton, Caterpillar, Fiserv, GE Healthcare, Harley-Davidson Inc., Johnson Controls, Joy Global, Kohl’s Corp., Manpower Group, MGIC, Modine, Northwestern Mutual, Quad/Graphics Inc., Rockwell Automation, Roundy’s, S.C. Johnson & Son, Snap-On, The Marcus Corp., Wisconsin Energy Corp., Uline POPULATION: 2 million MAJOR AIRPORTS: General Mitchell International Airport (Milwaukee) MAJOR SEAPORTS: Port of Milwaukee COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: Alverno College, Bryant & Stratton College, Cardinal Stritch University, Carroll University, Carthage College, Concordia University Wisconsin, DeVry University, Gateway Technical College, High-Tech

MILWAUKEE RANKS #2 AMONG THE 50 LARGEST U.S. METROS IN THE PERCENTAGE OF WORKFORCE IN MANUFACTURING (14%) METRO MILWAUKEE RANKS #4 AMONG MAJOR U.S. METROS IN FORTUNE 500 HEADQUARTERS PER CAPITA

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Institute-Brookfield, ITT Technical InstituteGreenfield, Kaplan College, Marquette University, Medical College of Wisconsin, Midwest College of Oriental Medicine, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Mount Mary University, Nashotah House, Ottawa University-Milwaukee, Sacred Heart School of Theology, Sanford-Brown College, University of Phoenix-Milwaukee Campus, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, UW-Whitewater, UW Center – Washington County, UW Center – Waukesha, Waukesha County Technical College, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology TOP INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, educational and health services, information technology, insurance, banking and finance, leisure and hospitality, printing, professional and business services, government

M7-headquartered Fortune M7-headquartered Fortune 500 500 Companies Companies

REVENUE REVENUE

JOHNSON CONTROLS CONTROLS, INC. INC. (68) (68) GLENDALE GLENDALE

$42.7 BILLION

NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL (110) MILWAUKEE

$27.0 BILLION

MANPOWER GROUP (144) MILWAUKEE

$20.3 BILLION

KOHL’S CORP. (151) MENOMONEE FALLS

$19.0 BILLION

ROCKWELL AUTOMATION (410) MILWAUKEE

$6.4 BILLION

HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC. (433) MILWAUKEE

$5.9 BILLION

JOY GLOBAL INC. (493) MILWAUKEE

$5.0 BILLION

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Downtown Green Bay.

NEW NORTH Hard work pays off BY MARYBETH MATZEK

015 will see the reaping of benefits from the hard work done by leaders of New North Inc., the regional economic and marketing organization covering 18 counties in northeast and central Wisconsin. “We worked really hard this past year on a number of initiatives that we’re hoping will see fruition in 2015,” said executive director Jerry Murphy. “We believe it will be a huge year for the New North.” One initiative already bearing fruit is focused on attracting data centers. The region’s climate – cooler temperatures means it doesn’t cost so much to keep a building full of computers at the right temperature – plus stable geology (no earthquakes) make it a good fit to house data centers. “Every industry – whether it’s health care or IT – needs data centers, and we feel that’s a good niche for us,” Murphy said. New North leaders are also refining their strategy to focus on recruiting more highskilled workers to the region. The organization is improving its online employment recruitment web presence so that businesses 130

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

can use and share with potential employees. One of the biggest projects for 2015 will be executing a portion of an $837,000 grant from the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment, to map the region’s defense industry supply chain and identify possible markets for companies tied to the defense industry. The grant was awarded after Department of Defense spending cuts led to layoffs at Oshkosh Truck. The grant is designed to help find new opportunities for companies and workers tied to the defense industry. The East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission is leading the implementation. Other parts of the grant look to align economic and workforce strategies throughout the region, provide outreach and assistance to former Oshkosh Truck employees and give assistance to businesses affected by the decrease in spending. For example, the grant is being used to help launch an aviation industrial park in Oshkosh. Murphy said businesses working with Oshkosh Truck are looking to reposition them-

selves to work in other industries, but that they’re “not giving up on the defense industry.” “We’re not saying the defense industry isn’t good for our economy – it is – but how can businesses make themselves attractive to other markets? Defense is a strong cluster – we still have many, many companies doing work for both Oshkosh Truck and Marinette Marine,” he said. “We just need to collect data on that supply chain and use it to position ourselves as an attractive option for other industries.” Businesses, economic groups and educational sectors working together is nothing new in the New North. Collaboration is an essential theme that runs through everything the organization does, said Bob DeKoch, president and chief operating officer of the Boldt Corp. in Appleton and New North co-chair. “There’s been a huge amount of effort put into this over the past 10 years. People are interested in collaboration, and we are really seeing that pay off in the region,” he said. For its defense supply chain mapping, the New North is copying what it did for its successful Wisconsin Wind Works initiative.

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That project, which created an online listing of businesses involved in the energy sector and marketed the area as a go-to place for companies in the industry, was so successful that it spread beyond the borders of the New North. Murphy anticipates the same happening for the defense industry. DeKoch said the New North continues to market itself heavily outside the region to attract businesses to locate in the area. In addition, the group is launching a new website that will be more interactive and better designed to meet users’ needs. “Jerry is meeting with site selectors and working with them on what they’re looking for when it comes to their businesses,” he said. “We’ve had some successes, such as Prolamina locating its new facility in Neenah, and want to build on those.”

THE NEW NORTH HAS ACCESS TO 69 PERCENT OF THE NATION’S FRESHWATER SUPPLY WITH 2,242 MILES OF STREAMS AND 12,442 ACRES OF LAKES IN JUST ONE OF SIX WATER BASINS, PROVIDING PLENTY OF FRESH DRINKING WATER AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES LIKE BOATING, SWIMMING, FISHING AND MORE. FOR SEVEN CONSECUTIVE YEARS, THE NEW NORTH HAS REPORTED HIGHER ACT SCORES THAN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN AND THE NATION, WITH AN AVERAGE SCORE OF 22.4. APPLETON, THE AREA’S SECOND LARGEST CITY, IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE MOST AFFORDABLE PLACES TO LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES, ACCORDING TO LIVABILITY.COM. THE NEW NORTH IS HOME TO 13 ACTIVE WINERIES WITH 320 ACRES OF VINEYARDS. BOTH GREEN BAY AND APPLETON WERE RANKED AMONG THE TOP 20 “MOST SECURE PLACES TO LIVE IN AMERICA” BY THE FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP OF COMPANIES.

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NEW NORTH INC. 600 N. Adams St., Green Bay, WI Phone: 920-336-3860 thenewnorth.com COUNTIES: ■ BROWN ■ CALUMET ■ DOOR ■ FLORENCE ■ FOND DU LAC ■ GREEN LAKE ■ KEWAUNEE ■ MANITOWOC ■ MARINETTE ■ MARQUETTE

■ MENOMINEE ■ OCONTO ■ OUTAGAMIE ■ SHAWANO ■ SHEBOYGAN ■ WAUPACA ■ WAUSHARA ■ WINNEBAGO

SUMMARY: The New North is a regional marketing and economic development organization for 18 counties in northeast Wisconsin including the MSAs of Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, OshkoshNeenah and Sheboygan NOTABLE EMPLOYERS: Acuity, Associated Bank, Bemis Manufacturing, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Green Bay Packaging, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Kohler Co., Manitowoc Co., Marinette Marine Corp., Menasha Corp., Mercury Marine Corp., Oshkosh Corp., Plexus Corp., Sargento Foods Inc., Schneider National, Schreiber Foods, ThedaCare, U.S. Venture, Waupaca Foundry. POPULATION: 1.23 million MAJOR AIRPORTS: Austin Straubel International Airport (Green Bay), Outagamie County Regional Airport (Appleton) MAJOR SEAPORTS: Port of Green Bay, Port of Sturgeon Bay

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITIES: Bellin College, College of Menominee Nation, Fox Valley Technical College, Lakeland College, Lakeshore Technical College, Lawrence University, Marian University, Moraine Park Technical College, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Ripon College, Silver Lake College, St. Norbert College, UW-Fond du Lac, UW-Fox Valley, UW-Green Bay, UW-Manitowoc, UW-Marinette, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Sheboygan TOP INDUSTRIES: Paper, paper converting; machinery; plastics, tourism and hospitality; defense; marine; agriculture and food production; power and energy; electronics/circuitry; trucking/ logistics; insurance; health care.

Largest Employers: THEDACARE HEALTH SYSTEM

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP

GEORGIA-PACIFIC CORP.

MERCURY MARINE

HUMANA INC.

OSHKOSH CORP

SCHNEIDER NATIONAL INC.

WAUPACA FOUNDRY

MARINETTE MARINE

KOHLER CO.

ALLIANCE LAUNDRY

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UW-Platteville campus.

7 RIVERS ALLIANCE | PROSPERITY SOUTHWEST Economic diversity, natural beauty in western Wisconsin BY GERI PARLIN

ducation, diversity in business, agriculture, and access to good transportation all contribute to the swell of economic development of the 7 Rivers Alliance and Prosperity Southwest regions on the western side of Wisconsin. “When I saw the water and trees and bluffs and ridges, I thought, ‘I can be very happy here’,” said Lisa Herr, the new executive director of 7 Rivers. Ron Brisbois, president of Prosperity Southwest, knows just what she means. Trees are one of the area’s greatest natural resources. “Sometimes you really can’t see the forest for the trees,” Brisbois said. For Prosperity Southwest, hardwood is one of the largest industries. But it’s more than lumber that makes the two economic development councils good neighbors. Herr said collaboration between the two regions works to everyone’s benefit. “There are 8,000 people who commute across the Mississippi river for work,” Herr said. “We have to look at it from a regional perspective because there are so many people coming and going from La Crescent, MN and Winona, MN to La Crosse to work,” she said. “We’re seeing a strong interest in col132

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laboration around transportation issues,” she said. “One of the issues is adding another rail line, and there are lots of conversations on both sides of the river. Communities have been coming together about how we deal with transportation.” Institutions of higher learning can also collaborate with the region’s businesses looking to hire their graduates. “We just finished a business retention survey of 178 businesses,” Herr said, and one theme was the demand for skilled workers. “Our region is an excellent exporter of human capital. We have five colleges and universities within an hour of each other. If you look at that and the human capital, we’re training it and we’re exporting it. It’s great that we have world-class training and education. But we have a great opportunity to improve and retain those graduates. We need them actively involved in programs, providing internships, and developing relationships early on.” Brisbois said UW-Platteville is known for its engineering program. “That’s why we have hundreds of businesses coming into their job fair,” he said. Platteville, with a population of 11,000,

is the largest community in his region. Brisbois notes that because they have so many small communities, they also have economic diversity, and that was good during the recent recession. “We handled the recession quite well because we have food products. The specialty cheese industry was growing. Several of our construction companies survived the recession because of the expansion of the cheese plants.” Because Organic Valley is headquartered in La Farge and there are organic farmers all over southwest Wisconsin, Brisbois said there is a big focus on organic farming in his region. “The demand continues to grow,” he said. “With organic farmers, it’s up in the Seven Rivers area, too. There is a concentration here. Because of the hills, we don’t have large, massive farms. The geography, as much as anything, has dictated the organic movement.” Those hills are also covered in trees, which is the other big natural resource for Prosperity Southwest. “What we’re working on right now is exporting hardwood to the Far East. Red oak and walnut are prime for furniture mak-

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7 Rivers FOR 2015, U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT RANKS UW-LA CROSSE ITS #4 MIDWEST REGIONAL UNIVERSITY FORBES CURRENTLY RANKS LA CROSSE #42 NATIONWIDE IN ITS LIST OF “BEST SMALL PLACES FOR BUSINESS AND CAREERS.”

ing, and they are concentrated in southwest Wisconsin,” Brisbois said. “We do have a lot of hardwood and lumber companies, so we’ve contracted with the Japanese, who are marketing our products.” Herr said a great opportunity for collaboration with Prosperity Southwest would be historic tourism. There is plenty of history on this side of the state, she said, and the regions need to capitalize on that. That can happen simply by sharing ideas, Herr said. She cites tiny little Lanesboro, Minnesota, a nearby powerhouse of tourism. “The goal is to bring in best practices. With each community, learn about their efforts and opportunities,” she said. “All the resources and ingredients are here. That’s what gets me excited. I’ve never been in a region that has such a high level of collaboration.”

7 RIVERS ALLIANCE 400 7th Street North, La Crosse, WI 54601 Phone: 608-787-8777 7riversalliance.com COUNTIES: ■ JACKSON ■ JUNEAU ■ LA CROSSE ■ MONROE ■ TREMPEALEAU ■ VERNON

■ HOUSTON COUNTY, MN ■ WINONA COUNTY, MN ■ ALLAMAKEE, IA ■ WINNESHIEK, IA

TOP INDUSTRIES: Food manufacturing, fabricated metal product manufacturing, lumber, animal production and aquaculture, machinery manufacturing, agriculture, manufacturing composites, truck transportation, hospitality, health care, education services NOTABLE EMPLOYERS: Gundersen Health System, Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare, The Trane Co., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, CenturyTel Service Group, City of La Crosse, Logistics Health Inc., Western Technical

College, APAC Customer Services Inc., Chart Energy & Chemicals Inc. POPULATION: 295,000 (Wisconsin); 421,000 (Region total including Iowa and Minnesota counties) COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Winona State University, Viterbo University Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Luther College, Western Technical College, Globe University, Minnesota State CollegeSoutheast Technical College

PROSPERITY SOUTHWEST Fennimore, WI 53809 Phone: 608-822-3501 prosperitysouthwest.com

Prosperity Southwest FOR 2015, TALENTTRIBUNE.COM RANKED PLATTEVILLE #7 AMONG BEST MIDWEST PLACES TO START A SMALL BUSINESS. PROSPERITY SOUTHWEST OFFERS ROAD, DIRECT RAIL, BARGE AND AIR SERVICE FOR TRANSPORT, AND IS 45 MINUTES FROM ROCKFORD, IL, A TOP 25 U.S. CARGO AIRPORT AND U.S. CUSTOMS PORT OF ENTRY.

www.wisconsinbiz.com

COUNTIES: ■ CRAWFORD ■ GRANT ■ GREEN ■ LAFAYETTE ■ RICHLAND TOP INDUSTRIES: Lumber, agriculture, agriculture equipment, cheese manufacturing NOTABLE BUSINESSES: 3M, Rayovac, S&S Cycle, Bemis, Rockwell Automation, Nu-Pak

POPULATION: 210,000 COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: UW-Platteville, UW-Richland Center, Southwest Wisconsin Technical CollegeFennimore, Blackhawk Technical College

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REGIONS

MOMENTUM WEST

CENTERGY

2322 Alpine Road Ste. 7, Eau Claire, WI 54703 Phone: 715-874-4673 | momentumwest.org

500 First St., Ste. 15, Wausau, WI 54403 Phone: 715-843-9563 | centergy.net

COUNTIES: BARRON, CLARK, CHIPPEWA, DUNN, EAU CLAIRE, PEPIN, PIERCE, POLK, RUSK, ST. CROIX

COUNTIES: ADAMS, LINCOLN, MARATHON, PORTAGE, WOOD

Momentum West is a regional economic development organization covering Northwestern Wisconsin, including the Chippewa Valley and St. Croix County. The area is one of the fastest-growing regions in Wisconsin as more people move to the area and businesses follow suit. The latest example is United Foods International, which is building a $37.8 million logistics facility in Prescott that has the potential to create up to 314 jobs over the next three years, said executive director Steve Jahn. Phillips-Medisize Corp. of Hudson also recently announced plans to invest $30 million in five locations and hire 484 workers as part of a major expansion. The medical technology company is building a 50,000-squarefoot manufacturing expansion in Menomonie and a 33,000-square-foot expansion at its New Richmond site. Plants in Hudson, Phillips, Medford and Eau Claire are getting smaller expansions, Jahn said. “Our great economic diversity in the region as well as our proximity to the Twin Cities metro market are great growth drivers,” he said. “We also are home to several high quality educational institutions, including three fouryear University of Wisconsin campuses.”

POPULATION: 453,380 TOP INDUSTRIES: Medical devices, plastics, packaging, health care, education, bio-agriculture, bio-energy, sensors, computers, nanotechnology, chemicals MAJOR EMPLOYERS: Menards Inc., Philips Plastic Corp., 3M Company, Mayo-Clinic Health 134

WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

System, Precision Pipeline LLC, Doro Inc. COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES: UW-Barron County, UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Indianhead Technical College, Immanuel Lutheran College MAJOR AIRPORT: Chippewa Valley Airport

Centergy, the regional marketing and economic development organization for Central Wisconsin, is reaping the benefits of collaboration. The Medical College of Wisconsin searched the entire state before picking two sites – Central Wisconsin and Green Bay – to be home to two new campuses. The decision is a big win for the area, according to Peggy Sullivan, Centergy’s executive director. “This decision was the result of the region coming together to recognize the benefit the college would bring to several communities and counties – not just one,” she said. “A team of business, education and community leaders convinced the Medical College the region had all the components to result in a successful program.” The new campus will open in 2016 with a focus on training primary care physicians, surgeons and psychiatrists. The Medical College is partnering with local colleges and health care systems to educate students in the program. The region’s biggest city is Wausau; other major cities include Stevens Point, home to a four-year University of Wisconsin campus, and Marshfield, home to the Marshfield Clinic. In addition to a thriving health care sector, the region also is home to major manufacturers, agricultural businesses, and leaders in the financial services sector, including Sentry Insurance in Stevens Point.

POPULATION: 328,399 TOP INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, paper, health care, insurance MAJOR EMPLOYERS: Marshfield Clinic, Sentry Insurance, Aspirus, Mosinee Telephone Co., Greenheck Fan Corp., Regal Beloit America, Wausau Paper Corp.

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES: UW-Stevens Point, UW-Marathon County, UW-Marshfield/Wood County, Mid-State Technical College, Northcentral Technical College MAJOR AIRPORT: Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee

A product of BizTimes Media

al gion Econ o Re

Nort hwest Visions

up ro

evelopment G cD mi

VISIONS NORTHWEST

GROW NORTH

1400 S. River St., Spooner, WI 54801 Phone: 715-635-2197 | nwrpc.com

P.O. Box 518, Rhinelander, WI 54501 Phone: 715-365-4468 | grownorth.org

COUNTIES: ASHLAND, BAYFIELD, BURNETT, DOUGLAS, IRON, PRICE, RUSK, SAWYER, TAYLOR, WASHBURN

COUNTIES: FOREST, LANGLADE, LINCOLN, ONEIDA, VILAS

Visions Northwest traces its roots back to Wisconsin’s oldest planning commission, the Northwest Regional Planning Commission. Covering 10 counties in northwest Wisconsin, Visions Northwest provides community and regional services that focus on economic, community and business development, land use and environmental resources, said executive director Myron Schuster. The region is also home to the tribal nations of the Bad River, Red Cliff, Lac du Flambeau, Lac Courte Oreilles and St. Croix. Schuster said one of the area’s biggest challenges – a lack of available capital for businesses – was addressed in 2014 when the Small Business Association approved the Northwest Regional Planning Commission as a micro-loan lender.

Grow North is a public/private economic development organization covering the area in northern Wisconsin known by many as simply “Up North.” While tourism is a thriving industry in the region – especially around Eagle River – that’s not the only thing that sets the region apart, said executive director Angi Schreiber. “The North Woods is Wisconsin’s best kept secret for business. We want to attract new business and create jobs, so our local governments are very willing to do whatever they can to help facilitate that,” she said. Schreiber said Vilas County is home to four thriving business incubators, and businesses in both Oneida and Langlade counties have completed recent expansions. The Three Lakes School District stands out for having the first K-12 fabrication lab in Wisconsin, Schreiber said.

Visions Northwest seeks to attract new businesses and entrepreneurs to the region by offering technical assistance -- such as broadband connections throughout the region – as well as incubation space so startups have a place to set up shop and grow their business, Schuster said.

“The lab has completely changed the culture of the school. From teachers to students, the results are amazing,” she said. “The student scores have gone up and the discipline issues have dramatically dropped.”

POPULATION: 163,924

MarquipWardUnited Inc.

POPULATION: 119,000

TOP INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, health care, retail, tourism.

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES: UW-Superior, Northland College, Northcentral Technical College; Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

TOP INDUSTRIES: Tourism, health care, wood products, manufacturing

LARGEST EMPLOYERS: Weather Shield Manufacturing Inc., The Peachtree Companies, Graymont LLC, St. Croix Tribal Council, Avanti Health System,

www.wisconsinbiz.com

TRANSPORTATION: Port of Duluth-Superior, Duluth International Airport

In addition to its five core counties, Grow North also collaborates economically with the neighboring counties of Oconto, Florence and Marinette, who are also members of the New North region.

MAJOR EMPLOYERS: Amtec Corp., Church Mutual Insurance Co., Forest County Potawatomi Community, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior

Chippewa, Packaging Corporation of America, Langlade Hospital, Wausau Paper Mills LLC COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES: Nicolet College and Northcentral Technical College MAJOR AIRPORT: Rhinelander/Oneida County Airport

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WisconsinBiz 2015 Resource Directory A statewide compendium of resources for doing business in Wisconsin. To request an update, or for inclusion in WisconsinBiz 2016, email wisconsinbiz@biztimes.com

Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) Grow North Regional Economic Development Corporation P.O Box 518, Rhinelander, WI 54501 • 715-365-4468 • grownorth.org

7 Rivers Alliance

400 7th St. North, La Crosse, WI 54601 • 608-787-8777 • 7riversalliance.com

Forest County Economic Development

Juneau County Economic Development Corporation

116 South Lake Ave., P. O. Box 96, Crandon, WI 54520 • 715-478-3450 • forestcountywibusiness.com

122 Main St., Camp Douglas, WI 54618 • 608-427-2070 • juneaucounty.com

Langlade County Economic Development Corporation

La Crosse Area Development Corporation

800 Clermont St. Antigo, WI 54409 • 715-627-6200 • co.langlade.wi.us

712 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601 • 608-784-5488 • ladcoweb.org

Lincoln County Economic Development Corporation

Monroe County Economic Development Corporation

801 N. Sales St., Ste. 200, Merrill, WI 54452 • 715-539-1024 • lincolncountyedc.org

Oneida County Economic Development Corporation 3375 Airport Rd., P.O. Box 682, Rhinelander, WI 54501 • 715-369-9110 • ocedc.org

Vilas County Economic Development Corporation 413 W. Pine St., P.O. Box 1621 Eagle River, WI 54521 • 715-337-0061 • vilascountyedc.org

819 Superior Ave., Tomah, WI 54660 • 608-769-9910 • gomonroecountywi.com

Trempealeau County 36245 Main St., PO Box 67, Whitehall, WI 54773 • 715-538-1968 • trempealeau.uwex.edu

Vernon County Economic Development Association 1201 N. Main St., Ste. 6, Viroqua WI 54665 • 608-638-8332 • veda-wi.org

Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community, Inc 602 Peace Pipe Rd. , P.O. Box 786, Lac du Flambeau WI 54538 • 715-588-9325 • niijii.org

Milwaukee 7

756 N. Milwaukee St., Ste. 400, Milwaukee, WI 53202 • 414-287-4100 • mke7.com

Northwest Wisconsin

1400 S. River St., Spooner WI 54801 • 715-635-2197 • nwrpc.com

Ashland County Economic Development Corporation 422 Third St. W, Ste. 101, Ashland, WI 54806 • 715-682-8344 • ashlandareadevelopment.com

Bayfield County Economic Development Corporation P.O. Box 704, Washburn, WI 54891 • 715-209-4589 • bayfieldcountyedc.com

Burnett County Economic Development Corporation 7410 County Rd. K, #107, Siren, WI 54872 • 715-349-2151 • burnett.uwex.edu

The Development Association (Douglas Co.) 1401 Tower Ave., Ste. 302, Superior, WI 54880 • 715-392-4749 • developmentassociation.com

Iron County Economic Development Corporation 100 Cary Rd., Hurley, WI 54534 • 715-561-2922 • ironcountywi.com

Price County Economic Development Corporation 1224 S. 4th Ave., P.O. Box 408, Park Falls, WI 54552 • 715-744-4700 • priceiseverything.com

Kenosha Area Business Alliance 5500 Sixth Ave., Ste. 200, Kenosha, WI 53140 • 262-605-1100 • kaba.org

Milwaukee County Economic Development Corporation 2711 W. Wells St., Room 339, Milwaukee, WI 53208 • 414-278-4185 • county.milwaukee.gov/mced

Ozaukee County Economic Development 121 W. Main St., Port Washington, WI 53074 • 262-238-7730 • ozaukeebusiness.org

Racine County Economic Development Corporation 2320 Renaissance Blvd., Sturtevant, WI 53177 • 262-898-7432 • racinecountyedc.org

Walworth County Economic Development Alliance 1000 E. Centralia St., Elkhorn, WI 53121 • 262-741-8134 • walworthbusiness.com

Washington County Economic Development Corporation 2151 N. Main St., West Bend, WI, 53090 • 262-335-5769 • edwc.org

Waukesha County Economic Development Corporation 262-695-7901 • waukeshacountyedc.org

Sawyer County Development Corporation 13827 County Hwy B, P.O. Box 1132, Hayward, WI 54843 • 715-634-7226 • scdc.us

Taylor County Economic Development Corporation 224 2nd St. Medford, WI 54451 • 715-748-1400 • co.taylor.wi.us

Washburn County Economic Development Corporation 208 Vine St., Spooner, WI 54801 • 715-635-8242 • washburncodevelopment.com

Centergy, Inc

100 N. 72nd Ave., Ste. 204, Wausau, WI 54401 • 715-843-9563 • centergy.net

Adams County P.O. Box 236, Friendship, WI 53934 • 608-339-6945 • adamscountywi.com

Lincoln County Economic Development Corporation 801 N. Sales St., Ste. 200, Merrill, WI 54452 • 715-539-1024 • lincolncountyedc.org

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2015 RESOURCE DIRECTORY Marathon County Development Corporation

Clark County Economic Development Corporation

200 Washington St., Wausau, WI 54403 • 715-848-5950 • mcdevco.org

301 N. Main St., P.O. Box 236, Loyal, WI 54446 • 715-255-9100 • clark-cty-wi.org

Portage County Economic Development Corporation

Dunn County Economic Development Corporation

5501 Vern Holmes Dr., Stevens Point, WI, 54482 • 715-344-1940 • portagecountybiz.com

401 Technology Dr., Ste. 400, Menomonie, WI 54751 • 715-232-4009 • dunnedc.com

Heart of WI Business and Economic Alliance (Wood Co.)

Eau Claire County Economic Development Corporation

1120 Lincoln St., Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494 • 715-423-1830 • wisconsinrapidschamber.com

101 N. Farwell St., Ste. 101, Eau Claire, WI 547022 • 715-834-0070 • eauclaire-wi.com

Pepin County Economic Development

The New North, Inc

600 N. Adams St., Green Bay, WI 54307 • 920-336-3860 • thenewnorth.com

740 7th Ave. W., P.O. Box 39, Durand, WI 54736 • 715-672-5709 • co.pepin.wi.us

Pierce County Economic Development Corporation

Advance (Brown Co.)

UW-River Falls, CBE, 410 S. Third St., River Falls, WI 54022 • 715-425-3881 • pcedc.com

2701 Larsen Rd., Green Bay, WI 54303 • 920-496-9010 • titletown.org

Polk County Economic Development Corporation

Calumet County Economic Development Corporation

1001 State Rd. 35, P.O. Box 411, Centuria, WI 54824 • 715-646-3369 • polkcountyedc.com

206 Court St., Chilton, WI 53014 • 920-849-1493 ext. 263 • co.calumet.wi.us

Rusk County Economic Development Corporation

Door County Economic Development Corporation

311 Miner Ave. C130, Ladysmith, WI 54848 • 715-532-2257 • inruskcounty.com

185 E. Walnut St., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 • 920-743-3113 • doorcountybusiness.com

St. Croix County Economic Development Corporation

Florence County Economic Development Partnership

1101 Carmichael Rd., Hudson, WI 54016 • 715-381-4383 • stcroixedc.com

P.O. Box 88, Florence, WI 54121 • 715-528-3294 • exploreflorencecounty.com

Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation 116 N. Main St., P.O. Box 1303, Fond du Lac, WI 54936 • 920-929-2928 • fcedc.com

Tri-County Economic Development Corporation (Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara Co.) 126 S. Main St., P.O. Box 120, Neshkoro, WI 54960 • 920-382-0963 • tcredc.org

Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation 520 Parkway St., P.O. Box 183, Algoma, WI 54201 • 920-487-5233 • kcedc.org

Progress Lakeshore (Manitowoc Co.) 202 N. 8th St., Ste. 101, Manitowoc, WI 54220 • 920-485-0540 • progresslakeshore.org

Marinette County Economic Development Corporation 1926 Hall Ave., Marinette, WI 54143 • 715-732-7421 • marinettecounty.com

Menominee County N172 State Hwy. 47-55, P.O. Box 1179, Keshena, WI 54135 • 715-799-6226 ext. 5713 • menominee.uwex.edu

Oconto County Economic Development Corporation 1113 Main St., Oconto, WI 54153 • 920-834-6969 • ocontocounty.org

Fox Cities Regional Partnership (Outagamie Co.)

Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP)

615 E. Washington Ave., P.O. Box 71, Madison, WI 53701 • 608-443-1960 • madisonregion.org

Columbia County Economic Development Corporation 1800 Kutzke Rd., Ste. 102, Portage, WI 53901 • 608-742-6161 • ccedc.com

Dane County Economic Development City County Building, Room 421, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Madison, WI 53703 • 608-266-4006 • countyofdane.com

Dodge County 920-386-3795 • co.dodge.wi.us

Iowa County Economic Development Corporation 222 N. Iowa St., Dodgeville, WI 53533 • 608-341-6797 • iowacountyedc.org

Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation 864 Collins Rd., Ste. 111, Jefferson, WI 53549 • 920-674-8710 • jcedc.net

Rock County Development Alliance 51 S. Main St., Janesville, WI 53545 • 608-757-5598 • rockcountyalliance.com

Sauk County Development Corporation 505 Broadway, Baraboo, WI 53913 • 608-355-2084 • scdc.com

125 N. Superior St., Appleton, WI 54911 • 920-831-4905 • foxcitiesregionalpartnership.com

Shawano County Economic Development Corporation 1263 S. Main St., Shawano, WI 54166 • 715-526-5839 • shawanoecondev.org

Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation 508 New York Ave., Room 209, Sheboygan, WI 53081 • 920-946-9378 • sheboygancountyedc.com

Waupaca County Economic Development Corporation 920-982-1582 • wcedc.org

Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corporation (Winnebago Co.) 920-573-1738 • go-edc.com

Momentum West

2322 Alpine Rd., Ste. 7, Eau Claire, WI 54703 • 715-874-4673 • momentumwest.org

Barron County Economic Development Corporation

Prosperity Southwest Wisconsin

1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809 • 608-822-3501 • prosperitysouthwest.com

Crawford County Economic Development Corporation 225 N. Beaumont Rd., Ste. 139, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821 • 608-326-0234 • crawfordcountyedc.org

Grant County Economic Development Corporation 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809 • 608-822-3501 • grantcounty.org

Green County Development Corporation Green County Courthouse, 2nd Floor 1016 16th Ave., Monroe, WI 53566 • 608-382-9452 • greencountyedc.com

Lafayette Development Corporation 627 Washington St., Darlington, WI 53530 • 608-776-4829 • futurelafayette.com

Richland County 1000 Hwy. 14 W., Richland Center, WI 53581 • 608-647-4310 • richland.uwex.edu

Government Center, Room 2311, 330 E. LaSalle Ave., P.O. Box 71, Barron, WI 54812 • 715-637-6871 • barroncountywi.gov

Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation 770 Scheidler Rd., Ste. 3, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 • 715-723-7150 • chippewa-wi.com www.wisconsinbiz.com

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2015 RESOURCE DIRECTORY

Wisconsin Incubators & Accelerators 100State 30 West Mifflin St., Madison 100state.com

Co-working space that provides connections, workspace, and opportunities to support entrepreneurs.

96 Square/Startup Milwaukee 1101 N. Market St., 2nd Floor, Milwaukee startupmke.org/96square Affordable and scalable office space, access to mentors, top talent, potential investors and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

AeroInnovate 549 High Ave., Oshkosh 920-424-2364 • aeroinnovate.org Incubator for entrepreneurs and innovators in the aviator or aerospace industry.

CVTC Applied Technology Center

Janesville Innovation Center

Scale Up Milwaukee

2322 Alpine Rd., Eau Claire 715-874-4655 • cvtc.edu/atc

2949 Venture Dr., Janesville • 608-755-3181 ci.janesville.wi.us

Milwaukee • scaleupmilwaukee.org

Incubation center with space and equipment for businesses specializing in microfabrication and other advanced manufacturing techniques.

Work space for local Janesville start-ups, shortterm expansion and temporary space during new business construction

Economic Development Partners

Jefferson Area Business Center

1972 Oakwood View Dr., Verona 608-832-6776 • edpwi.com

222 Wisconsin Dr., Jefferson 608-674-9000 • jeffersonabc.com

Development and business resource experts based out of Southern Wisconsin.

Office space and moving services, with marketing and administrative aid available.

A workspace and makerspace for businesses and creative professionals focusing on developing next-gen technology.

Entrepreneurial and Education Center

Kickapoo Culinary Center

Technology Innovation Center

100 N 72nd Ave., Wausau 715-261-6680 • wausaudevelopment.com Development center run by the City of Wausau to help local entrepreneurs start or expand businesses.

BizStarts Milwaukee 1555 N. RiverCenter Dr. Ste. 210, Milwaukee 414-973-2334 • bizstartsmilwaukee.org A collaborative center connecting start-ups and scaling businesses to resources, education and capital.

Bucketworks

Farm Market Kitchen 520 Parkway St., PO Box 35, Algoma 920-421-0995 • farmmarketkitchen.com A Northeast Wisconsin incubator for food processing businesses that preserve the region’s agricultural heritage.

161 W. Wisconsin Ave., 2nd floor, Milwaukee 414-301-1414 • bucketworks.org

Gener8tor Madison

Collaborative workspace and resource-sharing community made up of members.

30 W Mifflin St., 5th Floor, Madison 414-502-8881 • gener8tor.com

Business Success Center

Technology investors that provide early start-ups funding and a 12-week mentorship program to help launch their business.

549 High Ave., Oshkosh 920-424-0833 • uwosh.edu/bsc A consulting firm based out of UW-Oshkosh that helps local businesses connect with university resources.

Central Wisconsin Community Action Council (CWCAC) 100 Hwy 13, PO Box 430, Wisconsin Dells 608-254-8353 • cwcac.org Programs to help individuals start small businesses.

Coulee Region Business Center 1100 Kane St., La Crosse 608-782-8022 • crbc.biz Small business incubator for La Crosse-area entrepreneurs.

Couleecap 201 Melby St., Westby 608-634-3104 • couleecap.org Nonprofit that offers business development programs.

309 N Water St., Ste. 615, Milwaukee 414-502-8880 • gener8tor.com Technology investors that provide early start-ups funding and a 12-week mentorship program to help launch their business.

Global Entrepreneurship Collective 1101 N Market St., Ste. 2, Milwaukee 414-308-3307 • globalecollective.org An umbrella organization of incubators and accelerators including veteran-focused VETransfer and Revolution Labs, a central city start-up incubator.

Global Water Center/The BREW 247 W Freshwater Way, Milwaukee 414-228-3505 • thewatercouncil.com Water research and business accelerator center addressing water quality, technology and policy issues.

Indianhead Community Action Agency 1000 College Ave. West, P.O. Box 40, Ladysmith 715-532-4222 • indianheadcaa.org Nonprofit offering business development programs to help low-income entrepreneurs in Northwest Wisconsin.

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WISCONSINBIZ 201 5

Sector 67 2100 Winnebago St., Madison 608-241-4605 • sector67.org

16381 Hwy 131, Gays Mills 608-485-3413 • kickapooculinary.org

10437 Innovation Dr., Ste. 123, Wauwatosa 414-778-1400 • mcrpc.org

An economic development group cultivating food businesses in the recovering Kickapoo region.

One of the nation’s largest business incubators, specializing in research and technology firms.

Madison Enterprise Center

The Development Association

100 S Baldwin St., Madison 608-256-6565 • cwd.org

1401 Tower Ave., Ste. 302, Superior 715-392-4749 • wegrowbiz.org

A project of Madison’s Common Wealth Development organization that serves start-up and expanding small businesses.

A nonprofit that assists with the retention, creation, expansion and recruitment of businesses in Superior and Douglas Counties.

Main Street Industries

Wisconsin African American Women’s Center

931 W Main St., Madison 608-516-4046 • cwd.org Second-stage incubator that serves start-ups and expanding businesses, supported by the Common Wealth Development organization.

MGE Innovation Center Gener8tor Milwaukee

Action project focused on bringing together policies, structures, programs and climate that foster entrepreneurship.

510 Charmany Dr., Ste. 250, Madison 608-320-3243 • universityresearchpark.org Internationally recognized research and technology park. Many tenants specialize in biotechnology.

NE Wisconsin Technical College Entrepreneur Resource Center 2701 Larsen Rd., Green Bay 920-498-7180 • nwtc.edu/erc Resources for potential entrepreneurs, including experienced guidance and classes.

Platteville Business Incubator 52 Means Dr., Platteville 608-348-2758 • pbii.org A nonprofit formed to promote business start-ups in the Platteville area.

SC Johnson Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology (iMET) Center

3020 W Vliet St., Milwaukee • 414-933-1652 A community center featuring a business incubator for economic empowerment.

Wisconsin Business Incubator Association 52 Means Dr., Platteville 608-348-2758 • wbiastate.org/ A member association that develops and manages incubation programs that foster the development of entrepreneurial companies.

Wisconsin Small Business Development Center 975 University Ave., Room 3260, Madison 608-263-0221 •wisconsinsbdc.org/locations Statewide network that helps facilitate business growth and launch new companies with a variety of general and specialized services.

Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation 2745 N Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., Milwaukee 414-263-5450 • wwbic.com A statewide organization specializing in the assistance of women, people of color and lowincome entrepreneurs with mentorship, training and access to affordable business loans.

2320 Renaissance Blvd., Sturtevant 262-898-7524 • gtc.edu Manufacturing lab that offers flexible training on state-of-the-art equipment.

A product of BizTimes Media

Business Funding Sources 4490 Ventures 330 N. Orchard St., Ste. B1254C, Madison 608-501-0000 • 4490ventures.com Early-stage funding capitalized by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Wisconsin Alumni Investment Foundation to build IT startups in Wisconsin.

Advocap 19 W. First St., PO Box 1108, Fond du Lac 920-922-7760 • advocap.org

Center for Technology Commercialization

Web & Sheetfed

432 N. Lake St., Ste. 435, Madison 608-263-3315 • wenportal.org

Waukesha • Contact Greg Steil • 920.356.6787 • Beaver Dam

Statewide network for technology entrepreneurs that provides financing options and training.

Chippewa Valley Angel Investor Network P.O. Box 3232, Eau Claire • 715-878-9791

Community action agency providing opportunities and tools that help low-income entrepreneurs become self-employed.

Providing private equity financing for early-stage and start-up entrepreneurial ventures in the greater Chippewa Valley.

American Family Ventures

CSA Partners

111 N. Fairchild St., Ste. 400, Madison amfamventures.com

555 E. Wells St., Ste. 1630, Milwaukee csapartnersllc.com

Investment arm of American Family Insurance, with a focus on digital technologies, data analytics, and insurance-related products. Initial investments typically range from $100k to $2M.

Venture fund investing in early-stage, high growth Midwestern companies, particularly in Wisconsin.

Angels on the Water 43 E. 7th Ave., Oshkosh 920-232-8904 • angelsonthewater.com Infuses high-growth startup companies in the 18-county region of Northeast Wisconsin with capital by providing seed and early-stage funding.

Baird Capital 777 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee 888-224-7326 • bairdcapital.com Venture capital, growth equity and private equity investments in business services and life sciences.

BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation 710 N. Plankinton Ave., Ste. 340, Milwaukee 414-224-6000 • brightstarwi.org Investment group that reinvests charitable donations in early-stage, Wisconsin-based companies emphasizing innovation and technology. Prefer to co-invest with other groups.

Calumet Venture Fund 1245 E. Washington Ave., Madison 608-310-3242 • calumetvc.com Typically invests between $200K and $3 million at inception in high-growth technology companies in the Midwest emphasizing IT, e-commerce, mobile technologies and bioinformatics.

Capital Midwest Fund 10556 N. Port Washington Rd., Ste. 201, Mequon 414-453-4488 • capitalmidwest.com

Intelligent Printing

DaneVest Tech Fund Advisors P.O. Box 620037, Middleton 608-826-4000 • danevestcapital.com Invests in private, early-stage businesses in the information technology, life science, and consumer goods/services industries.

Making SERVICE the priority Leading INNOVATION Empowering EMPLOYEES Enhancing our COMMUNITIES A Proud Print Partner of BizTimes Media www.jbkenehan.com

First American Capital Corporation 10809 W. Lincoln Ave., Ste. 102, West Allis 414-604-2044 • faccloans.com Non-profit focused on developing businesses that benefit Wisconsin’s Indian Country through business loans, technical assistance and advocacy.

Geo Investors P.O. Box 46635, Madison 608-497-0619 • geo-investors.com Investors in the renewable energy sector seeking higher-risk adjusted returns by taking advantage of existing market gaps.

Golden Angels Network 250 N. Sunnyslope Rd., Ste. 245, Brookfield 262-439-4421 • goldenangelsinvestors.com Over 60 investors that considers business opportunities from Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as other areas of the U.S.

YOUR ENE RGY FUTURE B E G I N S W I T H P L A N N I N G T O D AY Electricity powers our world. Each day, light switches are flipped, computers are powered up and factories hum with activity. Electricity enables automation,

Great Lakes Asset Program

convenience, productivity and opportunity.

200 S. Washington St., Ste. 202, Green Bay 920-499-6444 • greatlakesasset.com

At American Transmission Co., we’re hard at work keeping the lights

Nonprofit working with the U.S. Small Business Association to provide SBA loans to Wisconsin entrepreneurs.

on and planning today for how the electric grid of our future will deliver reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible power.

Primarily invests in life science and information technology companies.

Re a d m o r e a t w w w. a t c l l c . c o m / Powe r Fo r wa rd www.wisconsinbiz.com

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Business Funding Sources (continued) Ideadvance Seed Fund

Lakeshore Angels

Northwoods Angels

Venture Management

432 Lake Street, Ste. 417, Madison 608-263-3315 • uwideadvance.org

705 Woodland Rd., Kohler • 920-918-9477

399 Hwy 51, Manitowish Waters 715-543-8880 • vilascountyedc.org

401 Charmany Dr., Ste. 320, Madison 608-819-8888 • vmllc.com

Network formed to invest in start up and high growth companies in Vilas County.

Private investment office providing seed and earlystage capital to healthcare and technology companies in Wisconsin or that interact with Wisconsin’s economy.

Partnership providing capital and business resources for part-time or full-time staff, faculty and students of the UW System. Restrictions include that the business cannot be real estate, direct consumer retail or hospitality.

Impact Seven 147 Lake Almena Dr., Almena 715-357-3334 • impactseven.org Community development corporation that offers loans and venture capital for growing Wisconsin businesses.

Innovation Foundation of Western Wisconsin

Focused on mezzanine financing, between debt and common equity. Seeking later-stage companies with strong cash flow in Sheboygan and nearby counties.

Madison Development Corporation 550 W. Washington Ave., Madison 608-356-2799 • mdcorp.org Economic development company offering business loans to hard-to-finance small businesses in Dane County.

Marshfield Investment Partners 700 S. Central Ave., P.O. Box 868, Marshfield 715-384-3454 • marshfieldchamber.com

P.O. Box 123, Eau Claire 715-544-7457 • ifww.org

Interested in early-stage, high-growth potential companies in the greater Marshfield region and throughout Wisconsin.

Nonprofit committed to advancing innovationbased companies through strategic placement of human and financial capital.

NEW Capital Fund

Inventure Capital

2100 Freedom Rd., Ste. A, Little Chute 920-731-5777 • newcapitalfund.com

2820 Walton Commons West, Ste. 125, Madison 608-468-6605 • inventure-capital.com Privately-held investment fund focused on global macro-trading, real estate opportunities, and early-stage investment in Midwest-based tech, biotech, and clean tech startups.

New Richmond Angel Investment Network

608-205-0100 • kegonsapartners.com Wisconsin-based venture capital management firm that partners with the Kegonsa Seed Fund and the Kegonsa Coinvest Fund, a growth stage venture capital fund.

120 Wimberly Hall, UW-La Crosse, La Crosse 608-785-8782 • uwlax.edu/sbdc Group established to invest in high potential businesses seeking equity funding for growth and expansion.

44 E. Mifflin St., Ste. 401, Madison 608-310-9520 • peakridgecapital.com Global alternative asset management firm that focuses on unique investments.

501 Charmany Dr., Ste. 175B, Madison 608-441-8315 • phenomenelleangels.com Early-stage fund that invests in women- and minority-owned/managed businesses in Wisconsin and the Midwest.

Silicon Pastures

P.O. Box 362, New Richmond 715-246-8989 • newrichmondareaedc.com Network providing support services and investment for startups and existing small businesses in the New Richmond Area.

Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corporation 100 River Pl., Ste. 1, Monona 608-819-0390 • wbd.org Corporation formed to help small businesses access SBA loans and raise capital for growth.

Peak Ridge Capital

Phenomenelle Angels

Focusing on early-stage life and material science, information technology, and growth stage niche/ advanced manufacturing investments.

Kegonsa Capital Fund

Origin Investment Group

250 E. Wisconsin Ave., Ste. 1800, Milwaukee 414-347-7815 • siliconpastures.com Network that favors investment opportunities that use technology to organize, optimize, and accelerate business processes in the Midwest Great Lakes region.

St. Croix Valley Angel Network 410 S. Third St., River Falls 715-425-3398 • stcroixedc.com Network that links early-stage companies with high net worth individuals.

The Madison Fund P.O. Box 885, Madison • madisonfund.org Nonprofit student and community micro-lender providing safe and affordable capital for small businesses and low-income entrepreneurs in the Madison area.

Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority 201 W. Washington Ave., Madison 608-266-7884 • wheda.org Independent authority created by the state to create low-cost financing programs, including small business loans and grants.

Wisconsin Investment Partners P.O. Box 45919, Madison 608-692-7481 • wisinvpartners.com Focused on life science-oriented seed investing in Wisconsin, open to collaborating with other investment groups.

Wisconsin Rural Enterprise Fund 1400 S. River St., Spooner 715-635-2197 • nwrpc.com Cooperative venture fund of local units of government and Tribal Nations that provides equity investment for newly formed startups that will bring high skill, high wage jobs to Northwest Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Super Angel Fund 1101 N. Market St., Ste. 200, Milwaukee 414-405-4848 • wsafund.com Angel fund that identifies, capitalizes and actively mentors Wisconsin-based, early-stage, highgrowth companies, targeting exits within 3 to 5 years of each initial investment.

Yahara Angel Network 124 Meadow Lane, P.O. Box 506, DeForest • 608-846-9477

Third Coast Angels thirdcoastangels.com Concentrating on environmentally sustainable enterprises with a strong focus on new technologies.

Venture Investors 505 S. Rosa Rd., Ste. 201, Madison 608-441-2700 • ventureinvestors.com

Recently launched fund focusing on startups in biotechnology, agricultural technology, health care, long term care, and life-planning technologies.

Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners 735 North Water St., Ste. 1000, Milwaukee 414-978-6400 • ziegler.com/alternative-investments/zmep Focused on new, leading medical device companies.

Seed and early venture capital, focusing on healthcare and technology investments with more than $200 million under management.

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2015 RESOURCE DIRECTORY

Smith Hall, Ripon College (TravisNygard)

Private Colleges & Universities Universities and Colleges

Undergraduate

Graduate

2013 Enrollment

Alverno College Beloit College Cardinal Stritch University Carroll University Carthage College Concordia University Wisconsin Edgewood College Lakeland College Lawrence University Marian University Marquette University Mount Mary University Northland College Ripon College Saint Norbert College Silver Lake College of the Holy Family Viterbo University Wisconsin Lutheran College

1,862 1,306 2,799 3,139 2,660 4,363 1,988 2,964 1,555 1,688 8,365 926 553 904 2,160 501 2,079 1,070

674

62 178 683 108

2,536 1306 4641 3385 2,660 7943 2884 3749 1555 2188 11782 1481 553 904 2222 679 2762 1178

Technical and Professional

Undergraduate

Graduate

2013 Enrollment

Bellin College of Nursing Columbia College of Nursing Herzing University Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Milwaukee School of Engineering Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology

259 926 5,880 1,029

259 926 5880 1029 664 2459 91

Theological Seminaries

Undergraduate

Graduate

2013 Enrollment

Maranatha Baptist Bible College Nashatah House Sacred Heart School of Theology

880 145 113

979 145 113

Tribal Colleges

Undergraduate

Graduate

2013 Enrollment

College of Menominee Nation Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College

721 489

1,842 246 3,580 896 785 500 3,417 555

664 2,459 91

721 489

Source: Petersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Undergraduate Financial Aid and Undergraduate Databases. Data is most current available.

www.wisconsinbiz.com

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University of Wisconsin System Universities

Undergraduate Graduate

2014 Enrollment

Two-year colleges

2014 Enrollment

UW-Eau Claire UW-Green Bay UW-La Crosse UW-Madison UW-Milwaukee UW-Oshkosh UW-Parkside UW-Platteville UW-River Falls UW-Stevens Point UW-Stout UW-Superior UW-Whitewater

10,388 6444 9,705 30,972 23,004 11,833 4,489 7,470 5,792 9,262 8,180 2,522 10,600

10,907 6,667 10,502 42,903 27,784 12,924 4,617 8,293 6,171 9,643 9,286 2,656 12,015

Baraboo/Sauk County Barron Fond du Lac Fox Valley Manitowoc Marathon County Marinette Marshfield/Wood County Richland Rock County Sheboygan Washington County Waukesha Online Courses

597 555 602 779 1,797 596 1,109 462 643 519 1,177 747 951 2,155

519 223 797 11931 4,780 1,091 128 823 379 381 1,106 134 1,415

Source: University of Wisconsin System, Office of Policy Analysis and Research

Tech Colleges Wisconsin Technical College System

2014 Enrollment

Blackhawk Technical College

8,469

Chippewa Valley Technical College

14,415

Fox Valley Technical College

44,437

Gateway Technical College

20,142

Lakeshore Technical College

13,031

Madison Area Technical College

36,714

Mid-state Technical College

7,457

Milwaukee Area Technical College

38,049

Moraine Park Technical College

16,232

Nicolet Area Technical College

7,085

Northcentral Technical College

17,092

Northeast Technical College

37,943

Southwest Technical College

10,614

Waukesha Technical College

22,756

Western Technical College

11,857

Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

20,251

Beloit, Janesville, Monroe

Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Menomonie, Neillsville, River Falls Appleton, Oshkosh

Burlington, Elkhorn, Kenosha, Racine Cleveland, Manitowoc, Plymouth, Sheboygan Fort Atkinson, Madison, Portage, Reedsburg, Watertown Adams, Marshfield, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids Mequon, Milwaukee, Oak Creek, West Allis Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac, West Bend Minocqua, Rhinelander

Antigo, Medford, Phillips, Spencer, Wausau, Wittenberg Crivitz, Green Bay, Luxemburg, Marinette, Niagara, Oconto, Shawano, Sturgeon Bay Fennimore

Pewaukee, Waukesha

Black River Falls, Independence, La Crosse, Mauston, Sparta, Tomah, Viroqua Ashland, New Richmond, Rice Lake, Superior

Source: Wisconsin Technical College System, September 2014

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2015 RESOURCE DIRECTORY

Tribes of Wisconsin Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians**

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin**

Location: Ashland and Iron Counties Registered Members: 7,957 Employees: 495 (Largest in Ashland County) Contact: Mike Wiggins, Jr., Chairman

Location: Menominee County Registered Members: 8,958 Employees: 825 (Largest in Menominee County) Contact: Laurie Boivin, Chair

P.O. Box 39, Odanah, WI 54851 715-682-7111 • badriver-nsn.gov • brtchair@badriver-nsn.gov

W2908 Tribal Office Loop, P.O. Box 910, Keshena, WI 54135-0910 715-799-5114 • menominee-nsn.gov

Menonomie Chamber of Commerce

Forest County Potawatomi Community* Location: Forest and Milwaukee Counties Registered Members: 1,400 Employees: 2,700 (Largest in Forest County) Contact: Harold “Gus” Frank, Chairman 5416 Everybody’s Rd., P.O. Box 340, Crandon, WI 54520 715-478-7200 • fcpotawatomi.com

Potawatomi Business Development Corporation 3215 W State St., Ste. 300, Milwaukee, WI 53208 414-290-9490 • potawatomibdc.com Contact: Stephanie VanHaag, Director of Communications Office 414-290-9408 • svanhaag@potawatomibdc.com

Ho-Chunk Nation* Location: Adams, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Langdale, Lincoln, Marathon, Manitowac, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outgamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Racine, Richland, Rock, Rusk, Sauk, Sawyer, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Vilas, Walworth, Washington, Washburn, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago & Wood Counties in Wisconsin, and in Illinois Registered Members: 6,563 Employees: 3,100 (Largest in Jackson & Sauk Counties) Contact: Jon Greendeer, President W9814 Airport Rd., P.O. Box 667, Black River Falls, WI 54615 800-294-9343 • ho-chunknation.com

Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Business Brian Decorah, Executive Director W9814 Airport Rd., P.O. Box 667, Black River Falls, WI 54615 715-284-9186 • brian.decorah@ho-chunk.com

Lac Courte Orielles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians* Location: Sawyer County Registered Members: 7,275 Employees: 900 (Largest in Sawyer County) Contact: Michael “Mic” Isham Jr., Chair 13394 W. Trepania Rd., Hayward, WI 54843 715-634-8934 • lco-nsn.gov

Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians** Location: Vilas County Registered Members: 3,581 Employees: 800 (Largest in Vilas County) Contact: Henry “Butch” St. Germaine, President P.O. Box 67, Lac du Flambeau, WI 54538 715-588-3303 • ldftribe.com • Info@ldftribe.com

Lac Du Flambeau Chamber of Commerce 602 Peace Pipe Rd., P.O. Box 456, Lac du Flambeau, WI 54538 (715) 588-3346 • info@lacduflambeauchamber.com

N559 Library Rd, P.O. Box 543, Keshena, WI 54135 715-799-6000 • menomineechamberofcommerce.org menomineechamber@frontiernet.net Contact: Judy Newton, President 715-853-1990 • jcsclean_n_one@hotmail.com

Onieda Nation* Location: Brown and Outgamie Counties Registered Members: 16,567 Employees: 3,085 Contact: Cristina Danforth, Chair N7210 Seminary Rd., P.O. Box 365, Onieda, WI 54155-0365 920-869-2214 • oneida-nsn.gov

Onieda Nation Business Committee Richard G. Hill, Chair 920-869-4415 • rhill9@oniedanation.org

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians* Location: Bayfield County Registered Members: 5,312 Employees: 300 (Largest in Bayfield County) Contact: Rose Soulier, Chairwoman 88385 Pike Rd., Hwy 13, Red Cliff, WI 54814 715-779-3700 • redcliff-nsn.gov

Sokaogon Chippewa Community* Location: Forest County Registered Members: 1,377 Employees: 235 Contact: Chris McGeshick, Tribal Chair Sokaogon Chippewa Community 3051 Sand Lake Rd., Crandon, WI 54520 715-478-7500 • sokaogonchippewa.com

St. Croix Chippewa Community* Location: Barron, Polk and Burnett Counties Registered Members: 1,054 Employees: 2,500 (Largest in Burnett County, 2nd largest in Barron County) Contact: Lewis Taylor, Chair 24663 Angeline Ave., Webster, WI 54893 715-349-2195 • stcciw.com

Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians** Location: Shawano County Registered Members: 1,565 Employees: 740 (Largest in Shawano County) Contact: Wally Miller, President N8476 Moh He Con Nuck Rd., P.O. Box 70, Bowler, WI 54416 715-793-4111 • mohican-nsn.gov

*Source: Wisconsin State Tribal Initiative: Tribal Information **Source: Designated Tribal Enrollment Officials

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SPONSORED REPORT

| RESEARCH

Strokes of Success

UW-Stout Scouts Technology for Wisconsin Manufacturer by Tonia J. Johnson

he pristine rivers and lakes of northwestern Wisconsin are, arguably, some of the best waters available to canoeists, kayakers, and paddling enthusiasts, beckoning them to savor Northwoods natural beauty with every stroke of the paddle. The staff at Bending Branches, Inc. understands. A canoe and kayak paddle manufacturing company located in Osceola, Wisconsin, Bending Branches sells its products world-wide and enjoys a reputation for innovative, high quality paddles - each an artful combination of craftsmanship and technology.

of process steps, and inventory requirements by moving the decorating operation to the end of the production line. “Bending Branches’ manufacturing operation was already very well run,” observed Gehring. “Our opportunity was to move a time consuming batch operation towards a rapid single piece flow. This would require completely different technology, but if we were successful, Bending Branches would be able to respond quickly to customer orders without carrying expensive inventory to do so.”

With that commitment to quality in mind, Bending Branches opted to update and improve one of its production lines in 2014, and turned to the Manufacturing Outreach Center (MOC) at the University of Wisconsin-Stout for help.

The first contact Bending Branches had with the MOC was through Management Engineer, Jeff Carr, in December 2014. Carr explained the Technology Scouting service and its proven track record of focusing on a challenge, identifying the right technologies, and making connections to those skilled at applying them.

According to MOC Development Engineer, Roger Gehring, the project’s primary goal was to identify an alternative decorating process for one of the client’s fastest growing products. MOC’s extensive research also aimed to reduce process time, number

From there, MOC Engineers Gus Myran and Bob Oliver met with Bending Branches staff to understand their goals and share with the Technology Scouting team comprised of Development Engineer Roger Gehring and Technology Scouting students Dillon Dudley and Pierce Hanson.

UW-STOUT MANUFACTURING OUTREACH CENTER

866.880.2262

SPONSORED REPORT

The Technology Scouting team researched existing technologies that would be capable of meeting Bending Branches’ needs. This initial research identified key people to contact later and learn from. To verify claims, MOC sent production component samples to several providers, allowing them to demonstate their technology on real parts. Gehring recalls that during the next phase of research, he and his students spoke with companies throughout the U.S. and across the globe, making new connections and following unexpected leads. His conversations yielded much more information than what was available in print. “There’s great value in learning from experienced people in any given industry,” noted Gehring. “We often find that a technology that is well understood in one industry can have game-changing impacts when applied to another.” As the project progressed, the research data and conversations were captured in an electronic “MindMap” which allows Bending Branches to revisit discussions, trace outcomes, and see information used to support the decision making process. “It’s my first time with it,” said Bending Branches Manufacturing/ Process Engineer Jim Judkins, “but the system works well and puts everything - right down to the details - in one place.” MOC findings were presented to Bending Branches in March 2015. The array of potential solutions included decorating technologies from many different sources. Those with the most promise were demonstrated on sample components. For each option, including the final recommended process, MOC outlined the pros and cons of quality, production time, production flow, required skill level, and estimated cost, as they stand in relation to Bending Branches’ priorities. As Bending Branches gears up for the coming busy season, Judkins predicts the company will likely “digest” the information before deciding the best way forward. In the meantime, he’s pleased with the role the MOC has already played in that decision. “They stayed on task, familiarized themselves with our product, and thought outside the box,” Judkins observed. “The MOC understood what we’re trying to accomplish.”

WWW.UWSTOUT.EDU/MOC

| RESEARCH

Roger Gehring, UW-Stout MOC Development Engineer, defines the center’s approach to Technology Scouting as a multiphased endeavor that begins with a critical step:

“First, we listen to our client.”

BECOME A

STATISTIC ... Results:

403

1240

TOTAL SALES

$85 MILLION+

TOTAL SAVINGS

$21 MILLION+

TOTAL INVESTMENTS

$33 MILLION+

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