BizTimes Milwaukee | April 18, 2016

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inside

April 18 - May 1, 2016

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HIGHLIGHT S Now 4

In addition to the cover story, coverage includes expert insights about the process of growing or selling a business.

Associated Bank CEO sees Milwaukee as dual headquarters.

S P E C I A L R E P O R T:

M&A BIG DEALS

Political Beat

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Wisconsin voters reject presidential front-runners.

Made in Milwaukee

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Expanded offerings help Taylor Dynamometer grow.

Innovations 14 PlayAlong helps Hal Leonard’s Sheet Music Direct stay ahead.

Real Estate Spotlight

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Hot downtown office market could spark another new tower.

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S P E C I A L R E P O R T:

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 3 3

COV E R S T ORY

Preview of the upcoming Wisconsin International Trade Conference.

Big Deals Major mergers impact Milwaukee

S TR ATE GIE S Innovation Dan Steininger 48 Leadership Susan Wehrley 49 Coaching Christine McMahon 51 Hiring Anne Grace Nimke 52 BIZ CONNECTIONS Calendar 53 Personnel File 54 Commentary 56 BizTimes Around Town 57 The Last Word 58

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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 22, Number 2, April 18 - May 1, 2016. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except two consecutive weeks in December (the third and fourth weeks of December) by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42.00. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5.00 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2016 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

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Associated Bank CEO sees Milwaukee as dual headquarters

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ssociated Bank has been growing its presence in the Milwaukee market significantly over the past fiveplus years, to the point where it now has an almost equal number of employees in Milwaukee and in Green Bay, where it is headquartered.

The bank increased its commitment to Milwaukee when it recently purchased a prominent 28-story downtown office tower, the Milwaukee Center, for $60.5 million.

Five of Associated’s 12 executive committee members are based in Milwaukee, said Philip Flynn, president and chief executive officer. About 900 employees are based in the Milwaukee market, while about 1,100 are based in the Green Bay market.

Growing Milwaukee market share continues to be a priority. While there are no set plans for hiring numbers, the bank continues to add more employees here as talent presents itself, he said.

“We’re the largest bank in the state as it is,” Flynn said. “Although we are headquartered in Green Bay, we have a really significant regional presence in Milwaukee. Doing well and growing the busi-

ness in Milwaukee is the most important thing we think about. So we continue to add resources and do things to make this more visible. We’re very active with the Brewers, with the Marcus Center, with other things in town.”

But Flynn said the bank won’t move its headquarters to Milwaukee, despite its purchase of the Milwaukee Center building.

“We do not have any plans to do that,” Flynn said. “The company has been headquartered in Green Bay for more than 150 years. To some extent, we really have two headquarters when you think about the number of our executive committee members who live in Milwaukee, our presence there. I have an apartment there, I’m there every week. We’re all back and forth between Green Bay and Milwaukee.”

With the Milwaukee Center purchase, all of the bank’s Milwaukee market employees who aren’t based at a branch will be moved into the same office space.

About 320 employees will shift from a 97,000-square-foot space in the Plaza East building in downtown Milwaukee to the Milwaukee Center beginning in 2021 and continuing into 2022 as those leases expire, Flynn said.

When it’s all said and done, Associated will occupy between onequarter and one-third of the 373,000-squarefoot Milwaukee Center.

The Milwaukee Center is 81.7 percent leased right now.

“As time goes on, some of the tenants in the Milwaukee Center will vacate and we’ll fill in that space,” he said.

Associated will also enter new territory, serving as a landlord for a large number of tenants.

“We’re not a real estate company, but we’re fine having bought this Milwaukee Center. and having some tenants,” Flynn said. “This is by far the biggest building we own and it likely wouldn’t be possible to put an it’ll be by far the building with the most Associated Bank sign on the side of the tenants in it.” pyramid-shaped glass roof. The Plaza Flynn said it’s too soon to say how East building currently has bank signage the Milwaukee Center would be brand- near the top. ed under Associated’s ownership, but ——Molly Dill

SOCI AL M E D I A S T R AT E GI ES

5 steps to elevate your social media footprint Social media has now permeated every area of daily life. Businesses who ignore this risk getting left in the dust. Whether launching a new initiative or improving an existing presence, there are five core keys to success: 1. Assess the landscape Dig into what your competition is doing.

Where have they succeeded and failed? Where can you differentiate? These insights can be very useful in informing your strategy.

2. Know your audience Who you want to get in front of should direct the channels you deploy. Do your research and be where your people are! When in doubt, ask your existing customers and get their feedback.

3. Be strategic… but realistic Alignment on what success looks like before you launch is critical. This is different 4

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for every business.

Determine what it takes to execute, including design, copywriting, scheduling, reporting, ad management and more. A poorly executed program is often worse than none at all, so keep it manageable! If you’re stretched thin, tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Buffer can help extend limited resources with automation.

4. Banish the boring A core strength of social is the ability to humanize the brand and foster emotional connections.

Don’t settle for boring. If you’re in a “boring” industry, you actually have an advantage. Your competition likely feels the same way and doesn’t invest in social, making it affordable to compete and carve out a niche.

That’s an opportunity businesses in “sexy” industries envy!

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5. Constantly report and refine There is no magic formula that will work with every company and platform. After execution, it’s time to start measuring, getting insights and processing accordingly to refine your strategy.

Social media is here to stay – and done right, it can have a transformative effect on your business with a measurable impact on your bottom line.

——Sarah Kloth is social media product manager at New Berlinbased Top Floor.

leading edge COFF E E B R E A K

POLITIC AL BEAT

Wisconsin voters reject presidential front-runners

BY ANDREW WEILAND, staff writer

What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?

employer groups of all sizes representing more than 100,000 lives.”

“Leveraging big data. The use of big data is affecting a variety of industries, including health care. For example, UnitedHealthcare has introduced a new customer service model (Advocate4Me) that uses big data to anticipate the health care needs of consumers and makes it easier for them to get the care they need. Accessing and making sense of robust data drives our ability to better anticipate a member’s needs. Our comprehensive view of each member creates alerts through real-time data, which highlights areas for health improvement and service support, and identifies clear opportunities to educate about options for care.”

What’s new at your company?

“Well, what’s new for me is my new role. Previously, I was the market medical director for Wisconsin and Illinois. A few months ago I assumed the position of vice president of healthcare strategies, where I focus on our Virtual Health Plan with the Business Health Care Group in southwest Wisconsin.

Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?

“UnitedHealthcare and our parent company, UnitedHealth Group, continue to grow in Wisconsin. In 2015, we added 420 employees in Wisconsin, which was a seven percent increase. Plus, the number of executive level positions in Wisconsin increased by 16 percent in 2015.”

What will be your company’s main challenges in the next year?

“One big challenge will be to drive consumer engagement with the new tools and technologies we’ve developed. While it is important to create innovative health and wellness programs, those efforts are only meaningful if people actually use them. That’s why we are using innovative approaches, such as gamification and human-centered designed principles, to create health programs that are interactive, intuitive and easy to use. By driving the adoption of health-related technologies, we can help improve health outcomes for our members and make care more affordable for everyone.”

“The Virtual Health Plan will identify cost drivers and develop solutions to address cost trend through benefit design, network, product/programs and clinical engagement. The Virtual Health Plan offers an intense focus on the clinical and affordability needs of large customers using the same support models used for large, actuarially equivalent, fully-insured health plans. Individual customer analyses will run concurrently with the Virtual Health Plan analysis and when opportunities are identified they will be tailored to fit individual employer needs. In this Dr. Bruce Weiss role, I am responsible Vice president of healthcare strategies for helping to identify UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin cost drivers on a 10701 W. Research Drive, Milwaukee clinical level and to www.uhc.com develop solutions to address those cost Industry: Health care drivers for the Business Employees: More than 6,800 in Wisconsin; Health Care Group more than 135,000 in the United States

and their 1,000 employers and

What’s the hottest trend in your industry?

Family: Married for 31 years to Melinda Steffey. Children Stefanie (21) and William (18). w w w.biztimes.com

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“Telemedicine and connected health devices, including wearable devices. Employers nationwide are expected by 2018 to incorporate into wellness programs more than 13 million wearable and fitness tracking devices, helping to improve employees’ health and productivity and reduce medical costs for employees and the company. By providing employees wearable devices and other technological resources, employers are able to encourage more active and healthier lifestyles and track the actual activity levels of program participants.”

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Wisconsin voters dealt a blow to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the leaders in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries, instead favoring Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders.

Cruz, the Republican U.S. senator from Texas, beat billionaire businessman Trump 48.2 percent to 35.1 percent. Ohio Gov. John Kasich received 14.1 percent of the vote. Cruz gained 36 delCruz egates in Wisconsin, while Trump gained just six.

Sanders, the Vermont U.S. senator, beat former secretary of state Clinton 56.6 percent to 43.1 percent. Sanders gained 47 delegates and Clinton gained 36.

Cruz attracted conservative Republican voters, including many that opposed Trump’s campaign. He benefitted from the support of conservative talk radio and from the endorsement of Gov. Scott Walker, who remains popular with Wisconsin conservatives and was criticized by Trump.

On the Democratic side, Milwaukee County was the only one of Wisconsin’s 72 counties won by Clinton. In Dane County, Sanders received 62.6 percent of the Democratic vote.

Sanders has now won six out of the last seven contests but Clinton still leads the delegate count, 1,748 to 1,058.

But Clinton’s total includes 469 superdelegates (Sanders has 31) who could switch their vote.

Trump leads Cruz 743 delegates to 517. The Wisconsin results will make it harder for Trump to get the 1,237 delegate total to secure the nomination. If he fails to do so, delegates at the Cleveland GOP convention in July could switch their vote if Trump fails to win on the first ballot at the convention.

The strong turnout in Wisconsin for the Republican primary gave a boost to conservative Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, who was elected over Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg, who lost her second bid for the state’s highest court.

BY TH E NU MBERS

17.7%

Brookfield-based Milw-aukee Tool had a 17.7 percent increase in sales in 2015, according to its parent company, Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries.

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leading edge ON TH E C ALEN D AR

MA DE I N M I LWA U K E E

Expanded offerings help Taylor Dynamometer grow

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ARTHUR THOMAS (414) 336-7123 | Twitter: @arthur8823 arthur.thomas@biztimes.com

The new ownership has expanded Taylor’s offerings, but engine dynamometers are still at the core, just as they have been since the 1940s. The dynos test engines for force, torque and power. They are used to verify repairs, validate specifications, break in new engines, check an engine rebuild, or in research and design testing. Taylor builds models that can test engines from 50 to 10,000 horsepower.

Taylor also makes chassis dynamometers for testing semi-tractors and towing dynamometers that aide in truck development for most of the large auto original equipment manufacturers.

While dynamometers have long been the heart of Taylor’s business, the company has shifted into other products and services to fuel its recent growth. That includes designs and products for engine test cells.

Downey said Taylor realized customers were only building new test cells every 10 years. The process involves moving air, water and fuel through the room and customers would have to completely relearn how to properly set everything up.

“They’re going to hire someone to do it for them one way or the other; it might as well be us, who’s supplying many of the components going into it,” Downey said.

Taylor also spent the last three years designing a hydraulic test center to improve on a previous product. It includes mechanical engineered parts combined with newer technology, a marriage that flows through much of Taylor’s work.

“It’s sort of like southern California is dating the industrial rust belt, which is fun. It’s sort of fun to see this really cool engineered stuff having a high-tech application,” Downey said.

The company builds data acquisition and control systems, which act as the brains of the testing system, in-house.

Taylor also maintains a service staff that travels throughout the world. A floor to ceiling map in the service department office features pins from all of the stops the team has made. It was started a few years ago and only includes a portion of the installations the company has made.

Most of the company’s business comes from exports, which means Taylor is facing a number of challenges from the world economy and a strong U.S. dollar. The company also sells into oil and gas and mining markets, which adds to the current challenge.

The company’s 52,000-square-foot facility, built in the mid2000s, was also designed with the employee in mind. Downey recalled the company’s previous location in New Berlin, where there were three cinderblock walls between his office and a

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There’s a good chance those who bring their trucks to tailgate at Miller Park can thank the folks at Taylor Dynamometer, located not far from the eastern parking lots, for their vehicles’ reliability.

Taylor Dynamometer has been around for nearly 90 years, but it has been within the last 16 years that the company has grown and expanded.

President Art Downey became an owner in 1999 and vice president of sales and marketing Jeff Brown joined him in 2000. Vice president of engineering Larry Golding joined them a few years later.

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2016 BizExpo

ABOVE: Taylor Dynamometer’s facility in the Menomonee Valley was built with employees in mind. That includes placing an emphasis on having plenty of natural light coming in.

BELOW: Taylor Dynamometer invested three years of design and engineering work into its new hydraulic test center. The first unit is pictured nearing completion.

The 2016 BizExpo will be held on Wednesday, May 18, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 1721 W. Canal St. in Milwaukee. The event will include networking with thousands of business professionals, exhibitor booths, business strategy seminars, the annual BizTimes Women in Business breakfast, the annual BizTimes Bravo!

Entrepreneur & I.Q. Awards luncheon and a new after hours event, “From the Locker Room to the Boardroom.” The BizExpo is free with advanced registration, with additional pricing for main stage events. For more information or to register, visit www.biztimes.com/bizexpo.

BOOK REVIEW

‘An Everyone Culture’

Taylor Dynamometer 3602 W. Wheelhouse Road, Milwaukee Industry: Measuring and control device manufacturing Employees: 50 www.taylordyno.com window. The windows on the shop floor were high off the ground and provided very little light.

The new facility features large windows, including floor-toceiling windows on the shop floor. There’s also a large cafeteria for employees and plenty of artwork to commemorate the company’s and Milwaukee’s history.

Downey and Brown said low turnover and solid relationships with temp agencies have helped avoid too many staffing issues. While Downey acknowledged it can be a little harder to work when the parking lots at Miller Park fill up and the grills are going, Taylor’s location in the Menomonee Valley also gives it a central location to draw talent.

“In the world of industrial parks, it’s about as nice as it gets,” Downey said of the Menomonee Valley.

Get the latest manufacturing news delivered to your inbox every Monday. Sign up for BizTimes’ Manufacturing Weekly at biztimes.com/subscribe.

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In most organizations, nearly everyone is doing a second job no one is paying them for: covering their own weaknesses.

Having employees spend time managing other people’s impressions of them is a waste of a company’s resources and people’s ability to realize their own full potential.

The ultimate cost is that people are not realizing their full potential. What if a company instead created a culture in which everyone could overcome their own internal barriers and used their vulnerabilities as prime opportunities for personal and company growth?

Authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey explore that idea in “An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization,” in which they study going beyond executive coaching or once-a-year off-site meetings and changing the way an organization is run.

“An Everyone Culture” dives deep into the worlds of three companies that embody this approach. It looks at the design principles, concrete practices, and underlying science at the heart of a “deliberately developmental organization,” and shows readers how to build this type of culture.

“An Everyone Culture,” is available on www.800ceoread.com for $25.60.

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——Corrinne Hess

leading edge NON P RO F IT N E W S

THE GOOD LIFE

$5.1 million apartment building to be built for homeless alcoholics

The peak of zen Each winter for more than three decades, Blair Williams, president of WiRED Properties, has taken a break from carving out developments in southeastern Wisconsin to carve snow on mountains across North America.

Williams is a skier with a taste for rugged terrain. He’s been helicopter skiing in British Columbia and has hiked with his skis up ungroomed Colorado peaks.

“For me, skiing is kind of zen,” Williams said. “And it’s a communal activity, because I’m typically skiing with someone else. There’s this terrific atmosphere.

There’s nothing better than getting into a high, alpine location where it’s just trees and rocks. There’s a clarity that comes from sitting in a place where people are guests. You don’t feel like you own it. You’ve been invited to a remarkable place. It is pretty spectacular.

It’s just beautiful wilderness out there.”

He has a handful of favorite mountains – Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Crested Butte in Colorado – but “there’s no place in the world with better snow than Utah,” he said. “(Skiing) is the art of falling gracefully,” Williams said. “Gravity wins. I like that the objective of it is:

An apartment building with 24 one-bedroom units for homeless adults battling alcohol addiction is being built at 1918 N. Sixth St. in the Halyard Park neighborhood north of downtown Milwaukee.

The Thurgood Marshall Apartments project, unveiled by the Milwaukee County Housing Division recently, is being paid for with $5.1 million secured through city and county grants totaling $1.15 million, $2.75 million in lowA rendering of the Thurgood Marshall income housing tax credits, Apartments being built at 1918 N. Sixth St. and a $1.2 million construction loan from First Business Bank.

The building is expected to open in October.

The housing project is part of a county initiative that began last summer to end chronic homelessness by 2018.

The theory behind the housing project is that the primary need of chronically homeless alcoholics is stable, permanent housing. Once that housing is in place, housing division leaders believe those individuals will be far more likely to begin rebuilding their lives.

——Ben Stanley

ABOVE: Trudging ahead of Blair Williams toward the summit of Crested Butte in Colorado is his friend and ski buddy Patrick Gallagher, a real estate broker for Siegel-Gallagher in Milwaukee.

BELOW: Blair Williams hikes up Crested Butte in Colo. get down to the lift again, and do it in whatever way makes you feel best. And all of them are equally valid expressions.”

——Ben Stanley

You put your

BUSINESS FIRST. So why doesn’t your bank?

When you’re choosing a bank for your business, not just any financial institution will do. You need the right products, exceptional service, and experienced people that understand your unique needs. You need a bank that works as hard as you do.

At First Business, that’s our mission. It’s why we employ people with real-world business experience, who strive to foster long-term customer relationships. And it’s why we have an outstanding client satisfaction rating of 97%.

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leading edge O N T HE M ON E Y

BR EA KING G ROUN D

What happens when financial engineering can no longer boost stock performance?

Since the end of the Great Recession, management teams of publicly traded companies have increasingly engaged in financial engineering to improve their stock performance metrics.

Specifically, some have borrowed money—usually by issuing bonds—and used the cash to buy shares of their own companies’ stock on public stock exchanges. These stock buybacks have the effect of improving “per share” measures of stock performance. For example, even if a company’s sales are flat, its sales-per-share calculation will increase just by reducing the number of shares outstanding.

Historically, companies have bought back shares as a way to return capital to investors when it is no longer needed for ongoing operations—essentially as a one-time dividend.

There’s nothing wrong with that at a general level. But when companies fund the buybacks with debt, it’s not evidence of financial success in the form of surplus cash flows.

Consider IBM as one example. In the past five years, IBM’s sales have decreased 18.2 percent. Net income has fallen 11 percent. But because of share buybacks, earnings per share rose during the same period. To accomplish this feat of financial engineering, IBM added more than $10 billion of new debt—taking on far too much financial risk, in our opinion, for a non-growth company.

What happens to over-indebted companies when it becomes harder to roll over debt at attractive interest rates?

With today’s historically low interest rates bound to eventually move higher, investors are beginning to sour on leveraged balance sheets. Consequently, this financial engineering shortcut to EPS growth may be turning into a dead end. Year-to-date, businesses in the

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THIRD WARD OFFICE BUILDING

Milwaukee-based real estate development firm Irgens plans to build a five-story office building in the city’s Historic Third Ward. The 168,000-square-foot building, at 100 N. Young St., will include ground floor retail and could be ready by late 2017.

Construction is expected to begin by the end of this year.

——Corrinne Hess Russell 3000 Index with the most debt have been among the worst performers.

If this trend continues, we believe businesses with low or no debt that have the ability to improve earnings through sales growth will be poised to outperform in the year ahead.

Our approach is to focus on companies with low debt levels, high free cash flow yields and strong company-specific catalysts for improvement. We believe these businesses are uniquely positioned to provide downside protection in a volatile market and benefit from an improving economic outlook.

——Bill Nasgovitz is founder, chairman and chief investment officer of Heartland Advisors Inc. in Milwaukee.

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Re: Trade “Trump and Sanders claim that protectionism will save American jobs, but the data shows the exact opposite is true. For example, 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S. … exports are so critical for a manufacturing and agricultural state such as Wisconsin that makes, grows and processes things.”

- Kurt Bauer, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce

Re: Politicizing Wisconsin’s economy “If you’re a voter following the Wisconsin primary from afar, you might conclude Wisconsin is a debt-ridden state filled with impoverished, unmotivated people who can’t find jobs. While the state economy is far from perfect, some Trump-isms simply aren’t correct.”

- Tom Still, Wisconsin Technology Council

Re: Price presentation The massive, landmark Esperanza Unida Mural of Peace in Walker’s Point depicting a bald eagle and dove against the backdrop of stripes from the flags of several Hispanic nations is getting a touch-up from the artist who painted it while renovations are made to the building.

“If you’re proud of your company, if you’re proud of your products and services, if you believe in the value of what you’re offering, if your communication skills are excellent and your self-confidence is high, then you don’t have to worry about price.”

- Jeffrey Gitomer

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innovations PlayAlong helps Hal Leonard’s Sheet Music Direct stay ahead New app brings accuracy, features to learning music

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s the Internet continues to change industries and consumer behaviors, businesses are forced to find ways to adapt or risk losing revenue and customers. That was part of the motivation in 1997 when Hal Leonard Corp. and MuARTHUR THOMAS (414) 336-7123 arthur.thomas@biztimes.com Twitter: @arthur8823

sic Sales Group formed Sheet Music Direct as the first provider of digital sheet music.

That venture, which was started before high-speed Internet, iTunes and stream-

ing services, continues to search for ways to adapt to the new opportunities offered by technology. The latest version is its Sheet Music Direct PlayAlong iPad app.

In a world where YouTube tutorials and other websites offer versions of popular songs for free, the app seeks to distinguish itself through accuracy, features and promise for publishers and songwriters to receive their royalties.

“I think it’s exciting, too, that we as a business can stay a step ahead of what’s out there for free,” said Chris Koszuta, general manager of Sheet Music Direct.

The Milwaukee-based company began developing the concept for the app a few

Sheet Music Direct Milwaukee Innovation: PlayAlong app www.sheetmusicdirect.us/ playalongapp

years ago. The idea of using printed sheet music with a backing track already existed as an interactive experience for musicians.

“We wanted to transform that into a cutting edge digital version,” Koszuta said.

It made sense to work with tablets because of their size and Koszuta said Sheet Music Direct had worked with Apple before,

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TOP: Sheet Music Direct’s PlayAlong app features music for 17 different instruments in a variety of genres.

BOTTOM: PlayAlong users can record themselves and then mix the audio track to their preference.

so the iPad and iOS platform were chosen.

The app is free to download and comes with a built-in music store. A complete song costs $4.99 per title. Users can get just the backing track for 99 cents and upgrade to the full song later for $3.99. The royalties on each song go back through the proper channels.

Through the beginning of April, there were roughly 1,500 songs available in the library and the number is growing every week. The library features contemporary hits along with popular older songs. Koszuta said the most frequent downloads are songs by Adele and Coldplay, but older songs by Lionel Richie and Bill Withers have also proven to be popular. Other available artists include the Beatles, the Eagles, Taylor Swift, Pink Floyd, Bruno Mars, Lynyrd Skynrd, One Direction, Frank Sinatra, Christina Perri and Queen.

The app works with 17 different instruments including piano, voice, guitar, bass, drums, ukulele, accordion, flute, clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax, trumpet, horn, trombone, violin, viola and cello.

The idea is to offer more than just which notes to play when.

“Our company mission has always been to help people learn and perform music better,” Koszuta said. “Sheet Music Direct PlayAlong allows us to continue on that path and use the latest music technology to help musicians of all levels sound amazing.”

Users can control the tempo, transpose parts of the song and loop certain portions. They can also record themselves, mix the resulting audio file, save it and then move it to Dropbox. Songs can also be organized into set lists or viewed as an entire library. There are other apps out there that offer some of the features PlayAlong has, but Koszuta said the goal was to go beyond most free offerings.

“What we wanted to do was take the top-end content and align it in a sophisticated offering,” he said. n Get news headlines from around the state delivered to your inbox first thing Monday through Friday. Sign up for BizTimes’ Morning Headlines at biztimes.com/subscribe.

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real estate Hot downtown office market could spark another new tower

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ssociated Bank recently purchased the Milwaukee Center, one of downtown Milwaukee’s most prominent office towers, for $60.5 million.

The deal will have a significant ripple effect on the downtown office market.

Associated Bank and its CORRINNE HESS P: (414) 336-7116 E: corri.hess@biztimes.com Twitter: @CorriHess

320 employees will shift from the 97,000 square feet they currently occupy in the 330 Kilbourn office complex (formerly Plaza East) beginning in 2021 and continuing in 2022, when its leases expire.

If the bank had not purchased the Milwaukee Center, its growth in Milwaukee could have prompted it to be an anchor tenant for a new downtown office tower.

There are only a handful of companies in the city large enough to be an anchor tenant for a new office building.

Instead, the bank chose to buy the existing 28-story Milwaukee Center. Associated will occupy between one-quarter and one-third of the 373,000-square-foot tower. The Milwaukee Center is currently 81.7 percent leased.

The bank’s decision leaves the twobuilding, 14-story 330 Kilbourn complex in the lurch. In addition to losing Associated Bank, 330 Kilbourn’s other anchor tenant, the FBI, will leave this spring when

it moves to the former Stark Investments headquarters in St. Francis. Combined, the two tenants lease 179,546 of 330 Kilbourn’s 475,313 square feet of rentable area.

Rick Matthews, spokesman for Tishman Speyer, the owner of 330 Kilbourn, said as a matter of policy the company would not comment on its existing tenants or their long-term plans for space.

But Matthews stressed that the campus recently completed a massive renovation, which included a refreshed exterior façade, extensive landscaping work and refurbished tenant common areas.

Several local real estate brokers say they aren’t worried about the future of 330 Kilbourn. The class B office complex is solid, they say, with ample parking and a

good owner in Tishman Speyer. Plus, even if Associated Bank begins moving tenants early, the bank has a lease for six more years, so the rent will be paid until 2022.

The downtown Milwaukee central business district’s class A office market (east of the Milwaukee River), which includes 11 buildings, had a vacancy rate of 11.1 percent and absorbed 230,540 square feet of office space during the first quarter of the year, according to Xceligent data.

That’s up from 9 percent in the fourth quarter. The increase in vacancy rate for the first quarter is attributed to the new supply added to the market with the completion of Irgens’ 833 East building, an 18-story tower near the lakefront that

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Bader Rutter will move its headquarters to an office building development planned at the former Laacke & Joys site in downtown Milwaukee.

opened in March. As of early April, the building was 64 percent occupied, with 230,334 of 358,000 square feet leased.

Irgens first announced the 833 project in 2012, but began working on developing other downtown sites years earlier for Milwaukee law firm Godfrey & Kahn.

Godfrey & Kahn now anchors 833 East, leasing 77,817 square feet of space on three floors.

It typically takes an anchor tenant before a new office building project can move forward. Irgens is planning a fivestory, 168,000-square-foot office building at 100 N. Young St. in the Third Ward, if it can secure an anchor tenant. The building could be ready by late 2017, and the brokerage community has been receptive to its large floor plans and parking – unique amenities for Third Ward buildings.

Wangard Partners recently landed an anchor tenant for its office building project at the former Laacke & Joys site at 1433 N. Water St. downtown. Brookfieldbased Bader Rutter & Associates signed a lease agreement to occupy 60,000 square feet of the 113,830-square-foot office portion of the project. The deal was the catalyst Wangard was waiting for to purchase the site for $3.7 million and start pre-construction work.

“The anchor tenant always drives these deals,” said Lyle Landowski, with Colliers International|Wisconsin. “Godfrey drove 833 and there are a number of sites ready for development, but at the end of the day, for a true office tower to be built, a tenant

has to want an office tower built.”

Landowski believes within the next three to five years, another office tower will be built downtown. Until then, the majority of new development will happen peripheral to the central business district, such as in the Third Ward, like Irgens is proposing, he said.

“Another big factor will be waiting to see what Johnson Controls does with the Lakefront Gateway site,” Landowski said.

Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc. is considering plans for a 50-story office building near the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee, according to sources. The company has agreed to split the costs of a $500,000 development feasibility study for the site with the city. If built, the building would be located southwest of the intersection of East Clybourn Street and North Lincoln Memorial Drive.

A Johnson Controls spokesman said recently that the company’s merger with Ireland-based Tyco International has no bearing on the development feasibility study for the site.

David Pudlosky, of JLL, agreed with Landowski that another new tower will likely be built downtown. He said there are a handful of sites ready for development, and developers are in a race to land the deals.

“Whether it’s Doug Weas, Joel Lee, Marcus Corp. or Irgens, they are all capable of doing it,” Pudlosky said. “It’s just a matter of who is going to win the business.”

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real estate being sought after this time is Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren. The Milwaukee law firm has hired a Chicago-based real estate broker and a Chicago architectural firm to explore its office space options before its lease at 1000 North Water expires in 2019. The firm, which leases 114,000 square feet, is the largest tenant in the 283,000-square-foot building.

Local brokers have presented several options to Reinhart, including: »» Joel Lee’s property at the southeast corner of East Mason and North Jefferson streets. »» The Irgens project in the Third Ward. Irgens has an option to purchase the property. »» Weas Development Co.’s property at the southeast corner of North Broadway and East Michigan Street. »» The site Marcus Corp. purchased in November at 1301-1357 N. Edison St. near the northwest corner of Knapp and Water streets. »» A site owned by Hammes Co. at 210 E. Knapp St.

Marcus Corp. and Hammes Co. have each submitted proposals to purchase and develop a one-third of an acre parcel owned by Milwaukee County in the Park East corridor. The triangular site is in the middle of the properties each entity owns in the Park East. Neither company will say what their plans are for the property. Milwaukee County officials won’t say when the RFP will be awarded.

Pudlosky believes Reinhart is serious about wanting to move – but says if they are going to go, they’ll have to make a decision soon so a developer can secure financing to build a new office tower.

“I think it’s very real, I just don’t know how, logistically, they can pull it off,” Pudlosky said.

Reinhart is not tipping their hand.

“While our current lease does not expire for several years, we are exploring all options regarding our Milwaukee office,” said Jerome Janzer, Reinhart chief executive officer.

Regardless, Andrew Jensen, with the Boerke Co., said several tenants with

40,000 square feet of space or more will have leases expire in 2019 and 2020.

“They will be jockeying to renew or possibly want a new building,” Jensen said.

“I think we will continue to see migration of businesses from the suburbs and good quality space is getting a little tight. A new tower could be needed.”

Jack Jacobson, at NAI MLG, said the story of the flight to quality is becoming a little old. But he, too, believes there is capacity in the market for another tower.

“There is the flight to quality, which is great, and everyone should be excited about that, but overall, there is no job growth, which is what we need to be thinking about as a city,” Jacobson said. “Manufacturing has been suffering, but white collar job growth is stagnant too. I would love for someone to tell me I’m wrong about this.”

The metro Milwaukee office market has a supply of 29 million square feet of space, the same amount of supply as it had in 1997, Jacobson. While new office buildings have been built since 1997, some unused office buildings have been

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converted to other uses, like the longvacant 11-story former headquarters of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wisconsin, which is now the Buckler apartments.

The First Financial Centre, located at the northeast corner of Water Street and Wisconsin Avenue, is also under contract to be sold to a developer who is planning to convert the vacant office space in the building into a hotel. The 14-story, 154,200-square-foot office building, located at 700 N. Water St., currently is only 30 percent occupied.

Ned Purtell, with RFP, said there is certainly plenty of momentum for a new class A office tower downtown, but the reality of it happening is somewhat questionable.

“Associated Bank could have driven it but they bought (a building) instead,” Purtell said. “The last go around von Briesen & Roper, Quarles & Brady and Godfrey were all looking at the same time and only one pulled the trigger (to move to a new building). Reinhart is a likely driver, but it’s hard to say what they will do at the end of the day. It’s all guess work.” n

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Our attorneys are adept at managing the complex considerations that arise in the process of planning for and completing an M&A transaction, including regulatory, antitrust, business reorganization, banking, labor and employment, real estate, employee benefits, trusts and estates and tax issues. We are deal makers and problem solvers who have the experience, insight and connections to help you achieve your goals and add value at any stage in the life of your business or venture.

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cover story

BY MOLLY DILL, staff writer

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orporations are finding it increasingly difficult to grow in today’s slow-growth economy. But money is cheap and balance sheets are flush with cash, which has led several major players to combine forces and reap the benefits of their resulting size and efficiencies.

In 2015 alone, the Milwaukee area saw the announcement or completion of some of the biggest deals in recent memory, including: Glendale-based global multi-industrial firm Johnson Controls Inc.’s pending merger with Ireland fire protection and security solutions company Tyco International plc; Milwaukee-based utility Wisconsin Energy Corp.’s $9 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Integrys Energy Group; McLean, Va.-based USA Today publisher Gannett Co. Inc.’s $297 million acquisiw w w.biztimes.com

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tion of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel parent Journal Media Group; London-based megabrewer SABMiller’s plan to sell its 58 percent stake in the MillerCoors joint venture to Denver-based brewer Molson Coors for $12 billion; Cincinnati-based grocery giant The Kroger Co.’s $824 million acquisition of Milwaukee-based Pick ’n Save parent Roundy’s Inc.; and St. Louis-based Columbia St. Mary’s parent Ascension’s acquisition of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare’s southeast Wisconsin facilities.

This follows a national trend toward consolidation which helped advance M&A activity to record levels last year.

Global announced M&A volume surpassed $5 trillion for the first time in 2015, according to Dealogic, which provides analytics to investment banks. There 21

cover story were 10 deals of greater than $50 billion announced last year, one of which is the Anheuser-Busch InBev bid for SABMiller that is expected to result in the MillerCoors spinoff.

Most companies that weathered the Great Recession have already right-sized their workforce. Balance sheets are generally very strong in the Barth post-recession economy, with debt capacity or cash available in spades, said Steven Barth, a partner and co-chair of the Transactional & Securities Practice at Foley & Lardner LLP in Milwaukee. At the same time, interest rates are very low and money is relatively easy to borrow.

“As companies continue to deal with what I would call the new normal economy…companies have to look for acquisitions for a very significant part of their growth,” Barth said. “Growing organically is so difficult to do, especially if you’re a very big company. Really the only way to have an impact on your growth curve and to have a substantial impact is acquisitions.”

“Given the nature of our practice, we’re very excited about all this activity,” said Chris Smyth, transaction advisory services leader for professional Smyth services firm EY’s central region, which includes Milwaukee.

“Our outlook for 2016 is positive as it relates to M&A.” According to EY’s global Capital Confidence Barometer survey in October, 59 percent of companies surveyed expected to pursue an acquisition in the next 12 months, which is the highest appetite for

deal-making measured by the survey in six years. The Barometer, which included 1,600 executives in 53 countries, also indicates that most M&A activity is occurring in what EY defines as the medium-sized category, at between $251 million and $1 billion, but megadeals of more than $1 billion are still prominent.

“We’ve gone through a period where most companies have been very focused on the cost and operational efficiency side and now they’re focused on growth,” Smyth said.

“This is an ongoing trend of companies using M&A as a tool to drive growth,” said Joe Packee, managing director and co-head of Global Industrial Packee Investment Banking at Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. in Milwaukee.

“In the current global economy, organic growth is limited and companies are achieving the growth they need by going out and buying it.”

Activity up across the board While the national trend is clear, the reasons for the individual transactions are across the board. Depending on the transaction, a company could be making an acquisition to add a new product or technology, expand geographic reach, attain synergies in a supply chain or other operational adjacencies, or to eliminate a competitor and improve market position, Packee said.

And across industries, financial conditions are ripe for mergers. Corporate earnings and stock performance grew quickly post-recovery, from 2011 to 2013, but then stagnated, said Matteo Arena, associate professor of finance at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

“So you see companies that have to figure out how to keep growing and when internal growth opportunities, new investments and earnings are stagnant, Arena then companies will try to increase earnings by acquisitions,” Arena said.

“Many corporations have very strong balance sheets, with plenty of cash to finance these deals,” Packee said. “Where they might need to tap debt financing or where private equity firms may be involved, debt markets have, for the most part, remained incredibly accessible and provided a lot of relatively inexpensive debt.”

“When you combine the stockpile of cash held by companies with the low-cost debt available to finance M&A transactions, that translates to tremendous purchasing power,” said Rob Jansen, managing director at Milwaukee merger and acquisition advisory firm Bridgewood Advisors Inc. “There is significant motivation for companies of all sizes to put idle cash to work in a strategic way.”

“I think it’s happening in every single industry,” Barth said. “Everyone has their own different dynamics and independent industry factors that are impacting one way or another, but there’s no question. I think it’s across the board.”

Wisconsin’s M&A activity has in most ways mirrored the transaction trends across the country and the world.

“The overall trend in these megadeals is industry consolidation, which has been motivated by both cost synergies and growth synergies,” Jansen said. “While the megadeals naturally receive most of the headlines, the same M&A strategies are being employed by middle-market Wisconsin companies, which are using acquisitions to grow market share, expand

product lines, add new capabilities and diversify. Our buy-side M&A clients have never been more active.”

But Wisconsin’s megadeals could just be a rare grouping of opportune transactions, said Bradley Raaths, an attorney at DeWitt Ross & Stevens in Madison who focuses on M&A transactions.

“There surely is substance behind the deals,” Raaths said. “I just don’t think that those deals in and of themselves are an indicator of a trend so much as a confluence of deals of a similar timing.”

“There are very solid foundations in Wisconsin for the M&A market,” he said.

“You’ve got good performance, you’ve got low unemployment, you’ve got the relative low cost of capital. When you’ve got companies in Wisconsin that are on solid footings, that are doing well…those make good targets. And if they’re not targets, they’ve got the strength of financial resources to undertake deals on their own.”

Of the megadeals that have been completed recently or are in process in the Milwaukee area, four out of six have involved a larger out-of-state company targeting a Wisconsin company.

“Maybe that just points to sort of the hidden gems we have here in the Wisconsin community that are being sought after by the larger companies,” Jansen Jansen said.

Searching for growth Corporations seeking to generate returns in a slow-growth economic environment have few options available.

They can perform some financial engineering, buying back shares to increase shareholder value, for example, Barth said.

“That works, but it doesn’t really grow the top or the bottom line at all,

Milwaukee megadeals Acquiring company/target

Value

Date Announced

Status

Johnson Controls Inc./Tyco International plc

est. $16.5 billion

Jan. 25, 2016

Pending shareholder and federal approval

Wisconsin Energy Corp./Integrys Energy Group

$9 billion

June 23, 2014

Completed June 29, 2015

The Kroger Co./Roundy’s Inc.

$824 million

Nov.11, 2015

Completed December 18, 2015

Gannett Co. Inc./Journal Media Group

$297 million

Oct. 8, 2015

Completed April 8, 2016

SABMiller/Molson Coors joint venture

$12 billion

Nov. 11, 2015

Pending larger deal

Ascension Wisconsin/Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare

Undisclosed

Oct. 29, 2015

Completed March 1, 2016

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cover story it just enhances earnings per share,” he said. “You could increase the dividend and shareholders love that. But what really excites shareholders is ‘Hey, they’re still growing and they’re growing by very large strategic acquisitions.’”

Strategic acquisitions make sense in the favorable lending environment and considering most companies’ good cash reserves and strong equity, Smyth said.

“Companies are focused on growth and they want to do something material, which is why I think you’re seeing larger transaction values,” he said.

As they take a closer look at their businesses, some leaders are also deciding which areas they want the company to exit, such as with Johnson Controls’ planned spinoff of its automotive seating and interiors business as part of its pending merger.

“We’re seeing more and more companies becoming sophisticated and astute around portfolio management,” Smyth said. “Companies that are doing M&A are being rewarded by the equity markets.”

The rise of investor activism may also be contributing some of the pressure on corporations to create returns for shareholders, whether in response to activists or as a proactive avoidance tactic.

“They’re really forcing the companies to evaluate the businesses that they’re in to drive shareholder returns,” Smyth said.

“The result is some of these folks really doing an outstanding analysis of some of these businesses and really taking action at the board level.”

Most public companies, particularly large cap firms, are concerned about the activist investment asset class and the hefty investments it has garnered, as well as the substantial returns some of these firms have generated, Barth said.

“Top of the agenda for almost every public company is ‘How do we anticipate a potential activist and what are we going to do to prevent one from occurring?’” he said.

Pleasing activists could involve either a purchase or a sale, Arena said.

“Definitely there’s more pressure from activist investors in the last few years, but that can go either direction,” he said.

“Some activist investors in some companies are asking for acquisitions, but in many cases they are asking for divestitures, spinoffs.”

The threat of activist investors can make leaders more proactive and diligent 24

Johnson Controls will no longer be headquartered at this Glendale facility when it completes its merger with Tyco. The local impact is expected to be minimal.

about cutting fat or adding value, Smyth said. And they’ll need to do their homework to be prepared for the potential activist move.

“If (leaders are) not prepared to answer (activists’) questions, then I think that’s when shareholders would be willing to engage with the activists,” he said.

A continuing trend Baird doesn’t expect this megadeal trend to die down anytime soon, Packee said.

“2015 was a record in terms of global M&A deal volume, with more than $4 trillion in transactions,” he said. “We may not achieve that same record in 2016, but we expect that it will still be a strong year.”

According to KPMG’s 2016 M&A Outlook Survey, 51 percent of 550 M&A executives surveyed nationally said the biggest driver of M&A is corporations’ and private equity funds’ record cash reserves and commitments. And 58 percent said the current appetite for M&A is best explained by companies’ need to fortify their competitive position in the B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e

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current market.

The mergers are happening across sectors, from diversified industrials to consumer to life sciences. They’re driven by factors as varied as exposure to stressed oil and gas markets, and sector convergence, Smyth said.

While many of these deals are driven by the low cost of debt at the moment, the Federal Reserve this year is beginning to increase interest rates, albeit at a slow pace, Arena said.

“So companies are saying ‘The interest rates are still low but the window of opportunity is closing, because the interest rates are going up,’ so you see an acceleration of these deals,” he said.

Integration approvals When a deal is valued at more than $78.2 million, it requires federal approval because of antitrust concerns. The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice evaluate how the companies’ market is defined and whether the merger would have an adverse impact on their

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competition. This process usually lasts between six and 18 months, Smyth said.

“The lead time for some of these deals because of the federal approvals is so long that they have a lot of time to plan,” Barth said.

In some cases, regulators may bar a deal unless one of the companies divests a portion of their business.

“When you’re seeing bigger deals, the risk of there being overlap in a particular market or geography, where regulators would look at it and scrutinize it a little more, would be expected,” Smyth said.

According to the FTC, the vast majority of deals it reviews are allowed to proceed after its initial review, but sometimes a second request for information is issued.

This occurred in the Gannett/Journal deal, and could have resulted in three possibilities: the investigation closing as usual; the FTC entering into a settlement with both companies; or the FTC taking legal action to block the transaction.

Federal regulations also prohibit merging companies from cooperating

cover story on areas that could potentially be seen as competitive, such as pricing or marketing.

They must remain completely separate competitors until integration, Barth said.

“They have to be very careful that they don’t work together in connection with their post-merger integration,” he said.

“They’re not the same company until they actually are. If you start too early and you get too in-depth and you deal with matters that impact the competitive landscape, you run the risk of what’s called gun-jumping.”

Local impact If a megadeal does go through, companies may try to limit the impact of these mergers on the local headquarters or employees, or they may limit the effect to a “slow burn,” Barth said. The integration can often be the most difficult part of a deal.

“To the extent headquarters move, that’s never a good thing, no matter what companies say,” Barth said. “Long term, it does have an impact, because wherever

the headquarters is and the CEO, management team is, that makes a difference from a community standpoint.”

The Johnson Controls deal, for example, could have had a more severe impact on local employment if the company had not decided to keep its operational headquarters in the Milwaukee area, he said.

The Johnson Controls-Tyco merger is motivated by the tax and efficiency benefits of locating the merged company’s headquarters in Ireland, which has a more favorable tax code, in a practice known as a tax inversion, Arena said. The companies have said they expect to realize $150 million in annual tax savings from the deal.

A U.S. Treasury tax rule announced April 4 could impact the Johnson Controls-Tyco deal by reducing the potential tax savings. The companies have said they’re reviewing the new regulation.

But the corporate earnings repatriation tax advantage is still available to foreign domiciled corporations, which is likely where the majority of Tyco and Johnson Controls’ tax savings will come

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Journal Media Group is no longer headquartered in this downtown Milwaukee building, following the acquisition by Gannett.

from in the transaction, Arena said.

“It’s unlikely that (the merger is) not going to go through, but the possibility that they’re not going to merge is there,” he said.

As for the MillerCoors spinoff, expected to close in the second half of the year, most of the impact may have already been felt in Milwaukee, where the company brews much of its beer, when the joint venture was formed. The companies already announced the MillerCoors Chicago headquarters and name will remain post-sale.

“There’s been some dislocation of certain management team already,” Barth said. “I’m not sure it’s going to get much worse than that.”

“Premium beer has gone up in demand, so brands like Budweiser, Miller, they are not doing as well as they used to,” Arena said. “Their market is shrinking, so the only way they can keep growing, reduce the impact of shift in demand for the product, is by merging together.”

WEC Energy Group is always looking to achieve efficiencies and eliminate redundancies, Barth said. With such a large company and so much institutional knowledge to retain, some employees can likely be reallocated to different positions as the companies integrate. “(Layoffs are) always more of a concern in any industry of equals or mergers in any industry generally in the same market. I don’t know how you would get around having some adverse employee impact,” Barth said.

WEC completed a 2 percent work-

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force reduction that eliminated less than 200 jobs and reduced positions in its executive suite during its integration.

There have been an increasing number of health care acquisitions nationally, driven by implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which has also been felt in Milwaukee with the Ascension/Wheaton deal, Arena said.

“That’s because of the health care reform requiring companies…to be more cost efficient,” he said. “If they cannot get more efficient operationally, just internally through management initiatives, they will do it by economies of scale.”

Ascension has not announced its specific plans to generate efficiencies under the combined organization, which now has 11,000 employees and eight hospitals in the Milwaukee area.

The Gannett/Journal Media deal, completed this month, also is expected to result in significant changes. Gannett has said it plans for $10 million in “immediately available synergies” and another $25 million of operating synergies over the following two years as the companies integrate. Journal Media Group has about 3,000 employees nationwide and about 400 employees at its offices in downtown Milwaukee.

Kroger’s acquisition of Roundy’s was a strategic geographic expansion for a large company that didn’t have a foothold in Wisconsin, Arena said.

That transaction has so far not resulted in any significant announced changes to Roundy’s Milwaukee operations, which include 22,000 employees, 151 stores and 101 pharmacies. n

special report

m&a: big deals

Uline has nearly doubled employment in five years

Unick to discuss massive expansion at M&A Forum

I

n the past decade, Uline has moved its headquarters from Illinois to Pleasant Prairie and taken on a massive expansion totaling 5.3 million square feet of distribution and office space in Wisconsin.

Most of the company’s growth has occurred in Pleasant Prairie, with two 1.1 million-square-foot buildings on its corporate campus and several other facilities in the LakeView Corporate Park. The shipping, industrial and packaging materials distributor has grown from 2,841 employees in 2011 to more than 5,000 employees today.

And Uline has done it all without taking on any debt.

Milwaukee

Liz and Dick Uihlein, founders of the 36-year-old, privately-held family business, have led the rapid organic sales growth at the company.

Frank Unick, chief financial officer at Uline, will discuss the lessons the company has learned along the way at the 2016 BizTimes M&A Forum on April 21.

Increasing product offerings and grabbing market share have driven Uline’s dramatic growth, Unick said. Gathering customer feedback and studying competitors has led to a catalog of more than 30,000 products.

Uline has recently entered new markets in Canada, Mexico and in additional

Madison

Waukesha

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BY MOLLY DILL, staff writer

locations across the U.S. With geographical proximity to customers, Uline can reduce their freight burden and deliver product faster, he said.

Unick “Geographical expansion, product line extensions and then certainly for Uline, it’s very aggressive marketing—making sure we buy up keywords on Internet search engines such as Google, making sure we have a beautiful catalog that is widely circulated, buying up key lists,” Unick said. “Our business model is built around exemplary service,

Rockford

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so word of mouth certainly helps us, too.”

One of the keys to Uline’s success, Unick said, has been its culture.

“As you grow and grow and grow, it’s so critical that you retain that culture and a huge piece of that is hiring the right people,” he said. ”We put our candidates through a number of tests just to assess their personality and characteristics.”

As Uline expands, leaders put an emphasis on communication with employees and keeping service levels high with initiatives such as assuring that each one of its locations has all 30,000 products in stock, Unick said.

They also address leadership develop-

Phoenix

Denver 27

Uline’s Expansion into Wisconsin January 2008 Uline announces plans for new corporate HQ in Pleasant Prairie

July 2006 Uline adds first building in WI with 602K sq. ft. distribution center in Pleasant Prairie

June 2010 Uline moves into new 276K sq.ft.

Pleasant Prairie HQ office building

February 2016 Uline moves into second 1.1M sq. ft. distribution center on Pleasant Prairie corporate campus

July 2013 Uline relocates former Eagan, MN branch to new 649K sq. ft. Hudson, WI location

December 2009 Uline moves into new 1.1M sq.ft.

Pleasant Prairie distribution center

ment by assessing employees’ adaptability and skillsets through job rotation.

“We are very metric focused, so we look for people who are able to meet or exceed performance requirements in their current positions,” he said. “As a highgrowth company, we have tremendous

December 2013 Uline expands into new 256K sq. ft. space in Pleasant Prairie’s LakeView Corporate Park

July 2015 Uline adds additional space in the LakeView Corporate Park with new 521K sq. ft. facility

opportunities for internal promotions.”

As a private company, Uline carefully monitors its cash flow and reinvests profits in the company’s growth.

“We aren’t a public company, so we can’t lean on Wall Street and stock offerings to generate cash. So we have to make

August 2016 Uline to complete new 14K sq. ft. conference center on Pleasant Prairie corporate campus

sure that we have a successful, profitable business model,” Unick said. “Highgrowth private companies have tremendous cash pressures, but…we’re very proud of the fact that we’re debt free.”

The Uihleins have also made succession plans for Uline’s future growth. All

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three of their children are active in the business, and the company has an advisory board that understands the owners’ core beliefs and strategies, he said.

The M&A Forum is on Thursday, April 21. More information and registration is available at biztimes.com/maforum. n

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M&A: big deals

Who is your ideal buyer?

Owners should consider legacy and value when selling a business

W

ith corporate balance sheets flush with cash, business performance on the upswing and a healthy thirst among buyers, now is an attractive time to sell a business.

“The cycle of business valuations is at a point that any business owner should certainly evaluate whether the timing is right,” said Greg Larson, senior vice president and director of commercial banking at Brown Deer-based Bank Mutual Corp.

Larson will moderate the panel discussion “Who is your ideal buyer?” at the 2016 BizTimes M&A Forum on April 21. The panelists are Lisa Reardon, chief executive officer and chairman of Brookfield-based OwnersEdge Inc.; Dave Strand, president and CEO of Wisconsin Oven Corp. in East Troy; and Mark Grosskopf, president,

BY MOLLY DILL, staff writer

CEO and owner of Milwaukee-based New Resources Consulting.

They will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of selling a business to different types of buyers.

Larson If the owner is most concerned with leaving a legacy and preserving the business as it was built, selling to management or family members could be the best choice. When evaluating a sale to family members, the business owner should assess the passion, desire and capability of the relative to run the company, Larson said.

Managers often are key to the success of the business and the continuation

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Reardon

of the owner’s established culture and operational style, he said. For an owner wishing to leave a legacy, selling a stake to managers or creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan could be the best choice.

OwnersEdge is set up as an ESOP holding company. One of its subsidiaries, CC&N, started the company on the ESOP path in 1985.

“The ideal buyer being the employees,

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Strand

Grosskopf

which is such a great benefit to them, requires the seller to truly have a passion for selling the business to employees,” Reardon said. “They have to really want to invest the time and energy and passion to help those employees become employee owners through ESOP without having that upfront investment.”

There are tax and growth benefits to forming an ESOP, which has allowed

29

Reardon to launch a second business and drive expansion at both companies.

As a buyer, Owners Edge looks for companies that are a cultural fit, that will easily transition to ESOP ownership and that have strong succession plans, Reardon said.

An owner who wishes to extract the highest possible value from the sale of his or her business will likely want to consider selling to a strategic or private equity buyer.

Private equity firms usually inject a large amount of capital into the company to drive rapid growth, then sell the company after a four to five year investment horizon, at which time the owner could get a second payout, Larson said.

A strategic buyer likely will find efficiencies and redundancies that can allow it to find additional value in an acquisition, Larson said.

In the case of a private equity buyer, as well as a strategic buyer, the seller should expect to see transformative change at the business—and must be able to accept it, he said.

“You get a far better multiple if you sell strategically, so that’s the way to go if you want to capitalize on the best return,” Grosskopf said.

Grosskopf has sold several companies to strategic buyers, and has bought several companies as a financial buyer.

He advised business owners to seek professional advice if needed, and stick to their objectives.

“It’s important to know what your number is and deal structure is to sell and then stick to it and be willing to say no,” he said.

Strand started and grew Wisconsin Oven, guiding it through the Great Recession and then selling it to a strategic buyer. He got 100 percent payout on that deal.

“The first time that I sold, the ideal buyer for me was somebody that was going to be hands off, because I was an owner, I had been in the business a long time, I didn’t want a lot of change,” he said.

Strand stayed on board and a few years later, Wisconsin Oven was sold again—to

a private equity buyer. This time, he got an equity stake in the deal.

“Private equity was completely different because they were buying us as an overall strategic plan to improve their existing portfolio companies…and you no

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longer call every shot,” Strand said. “But they help you because they have a lot more resources.”

The M&A Forum is on Thursday, April 21. More information and registration is available at biztimes.com/maforum. n

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A supplement of

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M&A: big deals

Hold ‘em or fold ‘em?

Psychological aspects come into play in business sales

BY MOLLY DILL, staff writer

S

teve Ziegler, owner of Muskegobased architectural building products manufacturer Inpro Corp., gave his senior managers 11 years to prepare for his departure from the day-to-day management of the business.

One day in 2000, he kicked them all out of the nest and forced them to make decisions themselves.

“As a family business, when I decide to step down, they need to be comfortable making decisions and taking risks,” Ziegler said. “Since we did that, I don’t think I ever changed one person’s decision that they made. There’s a lot of ways to do things right.”

In 2011, Ziegler stepped down from his role as chief executive officer and became chairman. He has also transferred minor-

Hanna

Ziegler

ity ownership to his two children, while retaining his majority share and growing the company organically and strategically.

Ziegler and other experts will evaluate the psychological aspects of management during a panel discussion at the 2016 BizTimes M&A Forum on April 21, titled “The psychology of growing your business or deciding to sell.”

Business owners often hold onto their

Stewart

companies until a triggering event causes them to sell, said Paul Stewart, partner at leveraged buyout firm PS Capital Partners LLC in Milwaukee and another panelist.

The owner is often working to accomplish certain goals before selling, or waiting for his or her children to decide whether they want to become involved, said Thomas Myers, shareholder at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. in Milwau-

Myers

Feeney

kee and a panelist.

“The owner wrestles with that issue for an extended period of time, and what often happens in my experience is there’s some trigger,” such as a family member becoming ill or a friend selling his or her business, he said.

At the same time, the worry of where to invest the large influx of cash from a sale when the stock market is volatile and

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Executive Viewpoint Breakfast & conversation with Greg Marcus, President/CEO of The Marcus Corporation

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returns are scarce causes some business owners to hesitate, Stewart said.

“Where do you put your money that will generate a return?” he asked. “They almost look at it as ‘I’m better off keeping my business; at least that’s the devil I know.’”

Another psychological factor that plagues business owners considering a sale is what they would do with the 60 to 80 hours of free time they would have per week after exiting their company, said Ann Hanna, managing director at Schenck M&A Solutions in Milwaukee, who will moderate the panel discussion.

“You have a lot of emotional issues where you think, ‘My whole identity is tied up in my business. What am I going to do when I’m not the CEO?’” Hanna said.

That’s not to mention the psychological considerations when an owner has started the sale process and is entering the unknown of negotiations.

“We tell them that it’s very normal to wake up in the middle of the night, kind of the night terrors, ‘What did I do? Did I get a good price? Is this the right buyer?’”

That’s totally normal,” Hanna said.

The business owner may only sell one company in his or her lifetime, but advisors have completed countless deals, Stewart said. For that reason, they can serve as a reassuring sounding board during the sale process.

“It’s good to have someone on your side that says, ‘This is normal. This is standard information that’s being required of you. We would tell you if they were ask-

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ing for something that really doesn’t make sense,’” he said.

As the buyer is conducting due diligence, sensitive topics or potential problems may come up, and the advisor team can walk the buyer through it, Hanna said.

“We assure them that all these ups and downs are very normal and just part of the process and that we’re going to get through it and that they’ve got the support of their team and that we’ve faced larger problems,” Hanna said.

Jim Feeney, former owner and chief executive officer of Shawano-based Wisconsin Film & Bag Inc., who also is a panelist, said the sale process can be grueling and tense, and involves keeping a disparate group of stakeholders satisfied.

For one, the trailing 12 months’ EBITDA become very important in the sale process and the owner could be worried about keeping sales up throughout the preparation and due diligence phases.

Wisconsin Film started the sale process in April and completed it in September 2015, selling to a strategic buyer owned by a private equity company.

“You can really depreciate the physical value of the business and the game that’s played is the buyer is looking to lower the value and the seller is looking to increase the value, so you have that natural tension,” he said.

The M&A Forum will be held on Thursday, April 21. More information and registration is available at biztimes.com/maforum. n

WISCONSIN IN T ERNAT IONAL T R ADE CONFERENCE SPECIAL SECTION

GLOBAL TRADE is a hot topic

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here is no shortage of discussion about global trade in America these days. Trade has been a hot topic during the presidential campaign.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders have both harshly criticized American trade policy.

Trump has said that the U.S. economy has been hurt by bad trade deals and has talked about placing tariffs on goods made overseas. For example, he says he would threaten a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods if China did not follow trade rules. He has criticized China for manipulating its currency.

Sanders, who has made income inequality a major part of his campaign, has also criticized U.S. involvement in free trade deals and has taken Hillary Clinton to task for supporting them.

“I don’t think you’re qualified (to be president) if you supported almost every disastrous trade agreement,” Sanders said.

Many Americans, frustrated about plant closings while they see store shelves stocked with foreign-made goods, have responded positively to the rhetoric from Trump and Sanders.

But supporters of free trade say it is a vital part of the American economy and helps third world countries improve their quality of life.

“The idea that trade fuels inequality is a very parochial perspective, and protectionists who shroud themselves in a moralistic inequality narrative are deeply hypocritical,” said Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard professor of public policy and economics, in an op-ed piece published

by Project Syndicate. “As far as trade is concerned, the current U.S. presidential campaign is an embarrassment of substance, not just personality.”

Since 95 percent of the world’s population lives outside the U.S., exports will be

vital to grow the U.S. economy, said Kurt Bauer, president and chief executive officer of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

“Trump and Sanders claim that protectionism will save American jobs, but the data shows the exact opposite is true,” Bauer said. “Most of the planet’s population and middle class wealth will expand in Asia, which is why exports are so critical for a manufacturing and agricultural state such as Wisconsin that makes, grows and processes things.”

Wisconsin companies exported $22.4 billion worth of merchandise in 2015.

To help Wisconsin companies conduct international business, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s World Trade Association will host the annual Wisconsin International Trade Conference on Tuesday, May 10, at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee.

The breakfast program for the confer-

BY ANDREW WEILAND, staff writer

ence will include the Governor’s Export Awards, presented by Gov. Scott Walker, and a keynote address from Todd Teske, chairman, president and CEO of Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corp.

The morning portion of the conference will feature several breakout sessions.

The lunch program will feature remarks from Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and keynote speaker Jonas Prising, chairman and CEO of Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup.

The afternoon portion of the conference will also feature several breakout sessions.

The conference will conclude with a networking reception. n For more information and to register for the Wisconsin International Trade Conference, go to: wisconsintradeconference.org.

BizTimes Milwaukee is the media partner for the conference.

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A letter from the governor Dear Wisconsin Business Owner: We’ve created a business climate in Wisconsin that encourages production and growth by virtually eliminating taxes on manufacturing and agriculture. As a result, innovative companies throughout the state are better able to take advantage of new market opportunities both within the U.S. and abroad, leveraging supportive state programs that help Wisconsin businesses make direct connections with international partners and customers.

ucts helps job creators realize exporting can open the doors to new markets and new customers.

Last year alone, Wisconsin businesses exported more than $22.4 billion in goods to 201 countries around the world.

The state’s exports have grown 13 percent since 2010. This growth is a true indication of the respect Wisconsin companies have throughout the world and that our efforts are paying off.

es find strategies to expand those efforts.

We assist companies, large and small, in finding viable opportunities to reach these markets. More than 8,500 companies in the state are already finding success around the world, and 88 percent of those are small or mid-sized firms.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is ready to help you take the next step. We have resources available to help businesses create export strate-

“Last year alone, Wisconsin businesses exported more than $22.4 billion in goods to 201 countries around the world. ”

business development tools featured in this publication to maximize the potential of your company.

We look forward Walker to congratulating the finalists and winners of the 2016 Governor’s Export Achievement Awards at this year’s Wisconsin International Trade Conference in Milwaukee. These awards recognize Wisconsin companies that have achieved extraordinary results in international markets or have contributed to Wisconsin’s ability to compete in the global economy.

Sincerely, Gov. Scott Walker

Our fiscal improvements at home have helped Wisconsin companies improve their position in the global market. Promoting Wisconsin businesses and prod-

We continue to build success in Wisconsin by encouraging companies that haven’t yet started exporting to explore doing so and helping exporting business-

gies, as well as provide technical and financial assistance to implement those export strategies. We encourage you to take full advantage of the experts and

Exporting Wisconsin »» Wisconsin exported $22.4 billion worth of merchandise in 2015, down from $23.4 billion in 2014 »» 8,737 companies exported from Wisconsin in 2013 »» The Milwaukee-WaukeshaWest Allis metro area accounted for 36% of Wisconsin exports in 2014, and the Racine metro area for 6.2%. »» Small and medium-sized firms generated more than onequarter of Wisconsin’s total exports in 2013.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce.

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Top markets for Wisconsin exports 2015

BY COUNTRY 2015

2014

BY INDUSTRY 2015 2014

CANADA

$7.3 billion

$8 billion

MACHINERY (EXCEPT ELECTRICAL)

$4.7 billion

$5.4 billion

MEXICO

$3 billion

$2.8 billion

COMPUTER & ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

$3.2 billion

$2.9 billion

CHINA

$1.5 billion

$1.6 billion

TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT

$2.2 billion

$2.2 billion

UNITED KINGDOM $824 million

$848 million

CHEMICALS $2.1 billion $2 billion

JAPAN

$814 million

$897 million

PROCESSED FOODS

$1.9 billion

$2.2 billion

GERMANY

$702 million

$731 million

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT, APPLIANCES & COMPONENTS $1.7 billion

$1.8 billion

SAUDI ARABIA

$597 million

$368 million

FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS

$1 billion

AUSTRALIA

$584 million

$605 million

PAPER $993 million $1.1 billion

SOUTH KOREA

$507 million

$472 million

PLASTICS & RUBBER PRODUCTS

$924 million

$928 million

FRANCE

$457 million

$489 million

MISC. MANUFACTURED COMMODITIES

$661 million

$675 million

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$1 billion

LOCAL LEADERS. GLOBAL IMPACT.

MMAC’S WORLD TRADE ASSOCIATION

Wisconsin International Trade Conference TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016

7:30 am - 6:00 PM • Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee $175/WTA member - $200/non-member - $80/Student - $65/Lunch or breakfast only

Breakfast Program: 8-9:30 am

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Todd Teske Chairman/President/CEO, Briggs & Stratton

GOVERNOR’S EXPORT AWARDS Gov. Scott Walker (invited)

WELCOME

Katie Henry Executive Director, MMAC’s World Trade Assoc.

Concurrent Morning Breakout Sessions: 10-11:30 am 1. The top 10 compliance issues everyone should know

2. Need help navigating international trade resources?

When it comes to compliance, it seems the more you know, the more things change. To keep you up to speed in the complex world of compliance, this session features the regional experts who will discuss current issues best practices to help your company stay flexible and adaptable.

We’ll show you the way and the money!

Navigating the many trade resources and effectively utilizing them can be challenging for both new and experienced exporters. Learn how to use state and federal resources to not only enter new markets but to find existing incentives regarding taxes, logistics, finance and compliance.

3. Selling services abroad even if you’re a manufacturer Since 1980, U.S. service exports that includes everything from accounting to health care have grown 289% faster than the exporting of goods.

In Wisconsin, manufacturers have caught on and are selling their industry expertise as well as their products world-wide. This panel discussion will provide the resources necessary for your company to begin selling abroad.

4. Global trade outlook 2016 John Murphy from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will discuss the America’s trade agenda in 2016, including the outlook for major international markets, prospects for the Trans-Pacific and TransAtlantic trade agreements, as well as other top trade issues on the policy agenda in Washington D.C.

Lunch Program: Noon-1:30 pm • Presentation of the U.S. Commercial Service Export Achievement Certificates KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jonas Prising Chairman/CEO, ManpowerGroup

WELCOME Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch

• Presentation of the SBA Export of the Year Award

Concurrent Afternoon Breakout Sessions: 2-4 pm 1. How credit can help you sell more with less risk Don’t leave your finance, credit and sales staff in the dark.

Developing a credit policy for your company helps define policies and expectations. All employees of your business — including those looking to minimize risk on sale and credit decisions — need to know what your credit policies entail. Gain valuable insights into establishing one that works for your company in this lively session.

2. Supply chain & logistics - What’s new for exporters & importers This session will cover three areas: • Free Trade Zones (FTZ’s) - Learn the benefits, implementation & management of FTZs. • Logistics - Learn how to consolidate within the industry and the impact on sourcing flexibility, scheduling, rates, labor challenges and weight verification programs.

• Supply chain financing - What is it, how does it work and how can I optimize its value?

3. International growth opportunities, business strategies & tax considerations Exciting new business opportunities for U.S. companies are unfolding daily across global markets. The challenge is to understand the potential benefits and risks these opportunities present before moving decisively to seize them. Learn more about: • Key markets for Wisconsin companies • Proven business strategies and market engagement • Operational and taxation requirements • International staffing and talent management

Networking Reception: 4-6 pm

WWW.WISCONSINTRADECONFERENCE.ORG

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Finalists for 2016 Governor’s Export Achievement Awards WISCONSIN GOVERNOR’S

EXPORT

AWARD

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he following companies are finalists for the 2015 Governor’s Export Achievement Awards. The winners will be announced Thursday, May 7, 2015, at the Wisconsin International Trade Conference in Milwaukee.

Aacer Flooring - Peshtigo Aacer Flooring is a manufacturer of northern hardwood flooring for the sports, residential and commercial markets. Based in Peshtigo, Aacer is located in close proximity to prized northern hardwood. Aacer’s entire manufacturing process is done under one roof – kiln drying, milling, grading, prefinishing, packaging and shipping.

Being an integrated company allows Aacer to deliver quality flooring consistently— job after job, year after year. Each of Aacer’s 175 employees plays a vital role in distributing Aacer Flooring throughout the world.

Air Motion Systems Inc. – River Falls Air Motion Systems is North America’s leading manufacturer of UV LED and conventional UV curing systems for the printing industry and other industrial applications. With sales to 21 countries, AMS is known across the globe for its high-quality, efficient products that provide competitive results while being more environmentally friendly than alternatives. Since 1997, AMS has maintained a relentless focus on technology innovation and customer satisfaction.

American Exchanger Services Inc. - Hartford American Exchanger Services Inc. is a manufacturer and after-market service provider of custom feedwater heaters, main steam condensers and shell and tube heat exchangers for both the domestic and international power generation, pulp and paper and process industries. AM-EX has been engineering and providing this 36

highly efficient equipment and critical service for more than 30 years.

Elementis Specialties - Milwaukee Elementis Specialties provides high-value functional additives to many markets, including architectural and industrial coatings, personal care and oilfield drilling.

In particular, Elementis operates its market-leading defoamer production plant in Milwaukee. The constantly growing defoamer portfolio, currently at 90 products, is shipped to 24 countries from Milwaukee.

EmQuest Embryo Transfer Service - Plymouth EmQuest Embryo Transfer Service (EmQuest) is a veterinary practice specializing in the production, transfer, freezing and exporting of bovine embryos. EmQuest has been providing these services to local producers in the Sheboygan County area since 1994. EmQuest founder Dr. Byron Williams is an active leader in the embryo transfer field, serving on the Cooperator Committee of the American Embryo Transfer Association since 2007.

Ever-Green-View Farms LLC - Waldo Ever-Green-View Farms LLC is an award-winning dairy farm in Sheboygan County that has been familyowned and operated for more than 40 years. In addition to milk production, EGV has earned an international reputation not only for exporting top quality Holstein genetics as well as live cattle, but also as a source of information for dairy farmers around the globe to make them more successful.

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H.O. Bostrom Co. Inc. – Waukesha In 65 countries spanning six continents, the name H.O. Bostrom is synonymous with the design and manufacture of high-performance seating and seating accessory solutions. Its customers, representing diverse global industrial and military organizations, rely on Bostrom to consistently deliver innovative seating and accessory products of uncompromising quality and exceptional value.

Hydro-Thermal Corp. - Waukesha Hydro-Thermal Corp. is a global leader in the development and manufacturing of Hydroheaters. With global sales to 86 countries on six continents, Hydro-Thermal’s products are used in numerous industries to heat water and process fluids precisely and efficiently. With an emphasis on continued research and development, the company continually seeks to understand and implement new innovative and value-added processes.

Krueger Lumber Co. Inc. - Valders Krueger Lumber Co. is a family-owned company involved in the harvesting, processing and exporting of hardwood lumber. Relatively new to exporting, since 2013 Krueger Lumber has used international sales to successfully expand its place in a struggling timber market.

Meister Lumber & Reedsburg Hardwoods - Reedsburg Meister Lumber and Reedsburg Hardwoods are the flagship manufacturing operations of parent company Midwest Hardwoods Corp., which owns multiple operations within the state focused on the harvesting and processing of hardwood lumber. By serving a global market, the company is able to pay woodland landowners the highest possible value for their timber.

Schreiber Foods Inc. – Green Bay Schreiber is a global, employee-owned business and is one of the world’s largest dairy companies. Schreiber exports to retailers, restaurants, distributors and food manufacturers in 41 countries. The company strives to create sustainable value for its customers as a modern partner delivering exceptional quality, service, innovation and insight – all while enriching lives around the globe. n

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DRIVING THE GLOBAL BUSINESS DISCUSSION Listening, responding, leading. The School of Business Administration at Concordia University paves the way in global business through our partnership with you.

At Concordia University, students have opportunities to meet and learn from global business executives, entrepreneurs and world leaders. Through academic programs, internships, and study abroad, Concordia students are uniquely ready to contribute to the important discussions that impact the world. Having partners like you allows us to shape our programming to prepare our students for careers in global businesses.

New This Year: » The School of Business Administration is hosting a Global Business Leader Seminar Series in the fall.

Register as a speaker or guest and join the conversation! » New MBA programs in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability Management and Analytics.

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CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY ONLINE • WI • MI • CENTERS

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Global opportunities

Briggs & Stratton, ManpowerGroup CEOs share export advice

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auwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corp. and Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup are two of Wisconsin’s largest companies and do business all over the world.

Briggs & Stratton chairman, president and chief executive officer Todd Teske and ManpowerGroup chair-

man and CEO Jonas Prising will share their international business expertise at the Wisconsin International Trade Conference on Tuesday, May 10, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. Teske will be the keynote speaker during the breakfast program at the conference and Prising will be the keynote speaker for the lunch program.

In advance of the event, Teske and Prising were interviewed by BizTimes Milwaukee editor Andrew Weiland.

The following are excerpts from those interviews: BIZTIMES: Your companies are doing business all around the world. To get us started here, what foreign markets is your company currently selling goods or services to?

TESKE: “We market, sell and service products in over 100 countries on six continents.”

PRISING: “We operate in 80 countries and territories and have over 3,000 offices.”

BIZTIMES: What do you see happening with the economy in those foreign markets that you do business in? How do the economies of these markets compare with the United States right now?

TESKE: “Generally, we see the United States market as being stronger than many of the international markets that we serve.

Our primary international markets are Europe, Brazil and Australia. The Brazilian economy is struggling and is currently experiencing a recession. Europe seems to have stabilized; however, there seems to be caution based on recent moves made by the European Central Bank. Australia has been struggling in recent years due to the decline 38

in mining, but seems to be stabilizing.”

with the right skills.”

PRISING: “Post-recession economies globally have strengthened, and businesses are adding to their payroll to respond to growing demand for products and services. Our most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey gives cause for optimism: 39 of 42 countries and territories anticipate increasing their staffing levels in the second quarter of 2016. We are seeing some signs of slowdown, too, though. We believe parts of the global economy – including some countries in Asia and Latin America – will continue to experience softening as the result of demographic and economic influences.

BIZTIMES: According to federal data, Wisconsin exports declined from about $23 billion in 2014 to about $22 billion in 2015. Why do you think that happened?

Do you think the state’s exports will rise this year?

“In the U.S., we are seeing positive signs, with high employment, rising wages (albeit slowly) and an uptick in productivity.

The U.S. labor market is strong compared to the global situation, with the economy still generating a sufficient number of jobs to keep the unemployment rate down. However, one thing is certain: we now live in a world of ‘certain uncertainty,’ where increased volatility may be here to stay. It will become increasingly difficult to anticipate where growth may come from. As a result, organizations and individuals need to be more agile in order to better adapt to this rapidly evolving environment, and a key differentiator to success is attracting and developing talent B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e

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Todd J. Teske Title: Chairman, president & CEO Company: Briggs & Stratton Corp.

Location: Wauwatosa Industry: Engine manufacturing www.briggsandstratton.com

TESKE: “The strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies has had an impact on Wisconsin exports during 2015. It is more expensive for foreign customers to import products from Wisconsin. Although some currencies seem to have stabilized in 2016, I believe the strength of the dollar will continue to weigh on Wisconsin exports for the remainder of the year.”

Jonas Prising Title: Chairman, CEO Company: ManpowerGroup Location: Milwaukee Industry: Staffing www.manpowergroup.com

BIZTIMES: Is the strong U.S. dollar making it more difficult to export your goods or services? If so, how is your company working to overcome that challenge?

world. Delivering a strong value proposition helps offset the increased cost of products caused by a strengthening of the dollar.”

TESKE: “The strong dollar is making it more difficult to export goods abroad.

Innovation continues to be key for driving demand for our products around the

PRISING: “Simply put, no. We are not a commodity producer, we are a provider of talent and in that respect a strong U.S. dollar does not contribute to our business

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ready the most globally present company in our industry but are always exploring new markets for opportunities to deliver our services.”

BIZTIMES: What parts of the world are going to be the best export opportunities for Wisconsin companies in the next few years?

TESKE: “Developing countries continue to be a source of export growth for Wisconsin companies as industrial machinery is the largest export category for the state. Developed countries that are focused on replacing and enhancing infrastructure can also be a source of export growth. Continued advances in global health care will be a source of growth for medical and scientific instruments, which were the second largest export category for the state in 2015.”

“It is important that government policy at the state and federal levels be favorable toward exports.”

—Todd Teske, Briggs & Stratton

aggregates. All our revenues are matched with our costs in local currency in the countries where we operate. Our reported results fluctuate with currencies, but this is a currency translation effect.”

BIZTIMES: What advice would you give to companies that want to increase their export activity?

TESKE: “Local markets can differ in many ways from our domestic market such that a product designed and developed to meet domestic needs may not be appropriate for international markets. It is important for companies to understand local market needs and then determine whether they can create value by developing new products or modifying existing offerings to meet those local needs. Also, depending on the type of product, it is important to 40

have local support to serve customers.”

PRISING: “Choose markets where your product and services can be competitive and fit market needs well. From a talent perspective, you’ll need to understand the skills you will need to achieve your business goals, and how you will find, attract and retain those workers in any given country requires careful thought and planning. Talent is as critical as capital as a key economic differentiator. If you are looking to expand abroad, hiring individuals with a global mind-set combined with local expertise will be critical. You will also need to ensure your employees are able to adapt to changing business needs. Building learnability into training and development will ensure your workforce is agile and can respond to continued technological advances and disrupB i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e

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tion. Learnability is the ability and desire to learn quickly to increase one’s ability to contribute to the current world of work.

Globally, talent shortages continue to escalate, so developing a robust and sustainable workforce strategy for overseas operations will be critical to success.”

BIZTIMES: Looking ahead, are there any new foreign markets your company hopes to enter in the next few years?

TESKE: “We see opportunities for further expansion in South America, Latin America and Eastern Europe. We are also looking for ways to participate in the economic growth of India and China.”

PRISING: “We are always looking to grow our business in strategic markets, and to expand to geographies which meet the needs of our clients. We are al-

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PRISING: “There is no general rule of thumb in terms of markets that are of interest for a specific company; it depends on the relative strengths of their products and services for any particular market. Generally speaking, although many emerging markets are more volatile, their economic growth is expected to outpace many more developed markets. Asia has particular strength in terms of their population growth, with more people coming into the idle class and generating faster growing consumer markets.”

BIZTIMES: Which industry sectors in Wisconsin are going to have the best export opportunities in the next few years?

TESKE: “I believe the top three export categories (industrial machinery, medical & scientific instruments and electrical machinery) have solid opportunities for export growth over the next several years.

Wisconsin companies are very innovative, which helps us remain competitive.

However, it is important that government policy at the state and federal levels be favorable toward exports. This includes fair trade and tax policy that allows for our companies to compete in a highly competitive global economy.” n

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outside of the box and offer simulations versus just text. The hands-on experience with these projects prepared me for the daily activities in my current role.”

The WCTC School of Business offers accelerated courses that meet one evening per week and lead to an associate degree in Global Business. Short-term certificates are also available to expand knowledge in specialty areas. Courses include:

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• Export and Import Compliance • Global Trade Finance • Global Cultural Awareness • Global Supply Chain Sourcing • Global Supply Chain Logistics • Global Marketing 800 Main Street Pewaukee, Wisconsin 53072 The WCTC Center for Business Performance Solutions provides strategic support for enhanced leadership, improved processes and advanced quality to meet the demands of increased global market opportunities.

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Export Development Grant Program helps area firms export Part of Global Cities Initiative

BY CHAD HOFFMAN

A

ccording to the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan think tank, companies that export are driving economic growth. Global companies pay higher average wages, contribute more to R&D and increase productivity through the infusion of new technologies and practices. Companies that do business internationally also enjoy higher revenues, grow at a faster rate and achieve greater corporate valuations than non-exporting companies.

Likewise, the entire region benefits from global exporters. From 2003-’12, regional economic output remained flat. Taking a closer look at the figures, non-export derived output decreased 5.7 percent while exporting grew at 45.4 percent, thereby offsetting the decline in domestic output.

In November 2015, The Milwaukee 7 Regional Economic Development Partnership launched the Export Development Grant Program presented by JPMorgan Chase. The program provides financial assistance to small and medium enterprises, both new to export as well as experienced exporters, to enter new markets by accessing resources, overcoming obstacles and seizing on opportunities internationally.

The Export Development Grant Program is part of the Global Cities Initiative, a joint project between the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase. Southeastern Wisconsin is one of 28 regions participating in the project, which began in 2012. By adopting “best practices” from Global Cities programs in other markets, the Milwaukee 7 has created a tailored program to deliver the assistance that companies require, as efficiently and as timely as possible.

The program provides matching 42

funds of up to $5,000 per company. The funding can be used for a multitude of export-related purposes and may also be combined with grants offered by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

Companies are asked to provide a narrative explaining how the funding will help grow exports. Any and all uses of the funds will be considered and, to date, 17 companies have been awarded funding for a variety of uses, including attending foreign tradeshows, attaining foreign approvals, translating marketing material and websites, utilizing the U.S. Commercial Service and attending ExporTech.

exist, let alone take advantage of them.

Examples of lesser-known programs include: IC-DISC, Foreign Trade Zones, Trade Adjustment Assistance, the EX-IM Bank and Duty Drawbacks. As part of the Export Development Grant Program, the Milwaukee 7 now offers a complimentary export assessment to better understand a company’s current situation, review the programs and resources and make recommendations on next steps.

Representatives from the Wisconsin Extended Export Partnership comprise the Export Development Grant Program’s Steering Committee, which assisted in the

In addition to providing financial assistance to companies to grow internationally, the Export Development Grant Program is also designed to provide companies with information on the many local, state and federal resources available to them and to provide introductions directly to these resources when appropriate.

Even companies already exposed to global markets are often too consumed with day-to-day operations to actively seek out resources and, therefore, many companies are not aware that many of these programs

creation of the program and which is also provided monthly updates on the status of the program. A separate Grants Committee was formed consisting of prominent individuals with decades of international experience to review applications and award funding to qualifying companies.

The Export Development Grant Program directly contributes to fostering an international business culture within the region. As more companies realize the growth potential international markets represent, it is more likely companies will become pro-

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active with regard to exports. By continuing to promote the Grant Program and the resulting company success stories, manufacturers and Hoffman service providers alike will be influenced to consider opportunities internationally. Even companies that consider themselves to be experienced exporters will benefit from the program.

For more information or to apply, please visit: http://mke7.com/exporting.

The second core component of the Global Cities Initiative has centered on creating targeted strategies to attract and leverage foreign direct investment. Exports and FDI are inextricably linked: industry clusters that generate exports also attract FDI companies; mergers and acquisitions is the preferred route of entry for international companies and the target firms tend to be exporters; in addition, most high potential under-exporters and new FDI establishments are mid-market firms and the best way to boost both exports and FDI is by working with existing firms.

The Global MKE Trade and Investment Plan combines these export and FDI strategies into a single, highly coordinated plan with a common goal and objectives to strengthen the region’s global connections and support sustainable economic growth. The Milwaukee region’s economic future depends on a focused and aggressive global trade and investment agenda that better positions the region’s firms to compete in world markets. n Chad Hoffman is export development manager for Milwaukee 7.

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IN WISCONSIN® WE’VE PREPARED THE WAY FOR YOU. Exporting is more feasible than ever. Especially for Wisconsin businesses that are ready for growth. With access to global development programs, training and resources—plus representatives on the ground in many of the world’s fastest growing markets—Wisconsin companies can tap into market growth when and where it’s happening. To learn more about how exporting can help expand your business In Wisconsin, call 855-INWIBIZ (toll free), or visit Export.InWisconsin.com.

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WEDC offers export assistance

BY KATY SINNOTT

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he Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is focused on helping to grow the state’s exports—both through the support it provides to companies and by working to create a culture of exporting within the state, so that all Wisconsin businesses understand they need to be thinking globally with their strategies for sales and growth.

The ExporTech Program, offered by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership with support from WEDC, guides companies in identifying the most promising export markets for their products and developing a strategy for entering those markets. Companies can then receive further assistance in executing that export strategy: WEDC’s global trade ventures (offered at a subsidized rate) provide in-country experiences and

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matchmaking with local partners, along with market intelligence offered by Wisconsin’s authorized trade representatives, a global network that covers 79 countries in all.

Companies can also receive financial support for executing their export strategies through WEDC’s Global Business Development Grant Program. And for the first time this year, this grant program has been integrated with ExporTech so companies that have completed the export readiness program qualify for a larger grant amount.

In addition, the Milwaukee region was selected for participation in the Global Cities Initiative, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase. Through this initiative, expertise from the renowned think tank—as well as

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ideas from the other metro areas participating in the initiative—will be applied in the Milwaukee area, and ultimately applied throughout the state, by the network of WEDC and its partners.

Already, participation in the initiative has prompted WEDC and the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development organization to begin developing and implementing a proactive strategy to attract foreign direct investment, which boosts the economy when local suppliers benefit from the export pathways already established by the foreign companies making the investment.

In a recent survey, only 41 percent of Milwaukee-area CEOs saw global engagement as crucial to the region’s economy. WEDC and its partners would like to see that number approach 100

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percent as the realization spreads that companies must look beyond Wisconsin and the U.S. for the demand and the customer Sinnott base to sustain their businesses’ growth.

The growth of exports and the growth of FDI are complementary trends that reinforce one another for economic growth and Wisconsin’s integration in the global economy, and WEDC is working actively on both for the benefit of Wisconsin’s citizens. n Katy Sinnott is vice president of international business development for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

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WISCONSIN INTERNATIONAL TR ADE CONFERENCE

Trade compliance critical to international business success

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he upcoming Wisconsin International Trade Conference will feature speakers across a broad spectrum of important international business topics, including sales, credit, supply chain, strategy and trade compliance. Two local experts, Nathan Eilers of Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc. and Ulice Payne of Brookfield-based Addison-Clifton LLC, will share how your firm can achieve improved export efficiencies and have happier customers by implementing solid export compliance policies and procedures.

Trade compliance professionals must have a broad understanding of their firm’s import and export activities, as well as an eye for critical details required for each step of the process. With changing regula-

tions and new products, keeping customers and suppliers, can be a challenge. Successful compliance professionals rely on internal cross-functional teams, as well as outside partners such as government agencies, freight forwarders, customs brokers, attorneys and consultants.

Payne, president of Addison-Clifton, which offers global trade compliance services, will share his expertise and knowledge from extensive experience across many industries and countries. Recent “Hot Topics” highlighted on the AddisonClifton website discuss China, Cuba and Iran. Export services offered by the firm include classification, licensing, country of origin and anti-boycott, among others.

Rockwell Automation automation

BY SUSAN DRAGOTTA

and control products are sold around the world, and it has operations in more than 80 countries. Eilers is the director of global trade compliance for the multinational firm. His team provides regulatory advice and support to business leadership, conducts internal audits, and leads the interaction with relevant government agencies.

This conference session will be moderated by international business expert Ellen Kosidowski, vice president of order administration and logistics for Milwaukee-based Rite-Hite Co. With her background in sales, logistics, credit, compliance and management, she can facilitate the discussion of key export issues. She knows how to apply the concepts to real-

life day-to-day operations and can offer best practice suggestions to attendees.

Regardless of the size of your company or the extent of your export activiDragotta ties, expanding your understanding of trade compliance can significantly improve your international success. Bring your questions to this session at the Wisconsin International Trade Conference. n Susan Dragotta is a global business instructor at Waukesha County Technical College.

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Grow your global network with MMAC’s World Trade Association

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t takes more than one day to keep informed on the ever-changing global business environment. That’s where membership in the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s World Trade Association steps in. WTA links companies and individuals with common interests in exploring and expanding their global business.

WTA provides programs and peer exchange forums you won’t find anywhere else. Just ask WTA chairman Bruce Glaub, BMO Capital Markets, who states, “WTA is great at identifying the needs of its members in the current international business environment and developing programs accordingly.”

And while the Wisconsin Internation-

al Trade Conference is our premier event, monthly programs address issues ranging from getting accurate market intelligence to handling foreign regulations. There’s no substitute for in-depth conversations with your peers who have been there and done that. WTA also hosts quarterly roundtable discussions for professionals focused on the international issues surrounding compliance or manufacturing.

from educational institutions and government – everyone you need to know in the international arena.

Overcoming obstacles We understand the challenges that come with exporting. Finding partners you can trust; getting accurate market intelligence; handling foreign regulations and compliance; and protecting your intellectual property are just a few of the issues we can help you navigate.

It’s all about membership Our network is strong and growing.

About half of our members have been involved in international trade for more than 15 years, while 25 percent are just getting started. WTA includes distributors, service providers and representatives

Addressing policy concerns Many of the issues affecting your ability to do business globally are national or international policies and regulations.

WTA, together with the MMAC, lob-

BY KATIE HENRY

bies on behalf of its members to represent their interests with state and federal legislators. Recently, WTA took a position to support the renewal of the Henry Ex-Im Bank’s charter and is working with a delegation to address labor issues at West Coast ports. Our experts follow the issues, keep members informed and ensure that your viewpoint is represented. n Katie Henry is the executive director of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s World Trade Association.

v

Walk together.

And we’ll

never walk alone.

You are here You want to be here

May 7 is only the beginning.

WMEP & Wisconsin’s Extended Export Partnership have a process to help you develop and execute an export expansion growth plan.

WMEP’s “Best in the Nation” ExporTech™ program has a proven track record of profitable export results for Wisconsin’s manufacturers.

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Call Roxanne Baumann today to discuss where you want to go and how the WMEP can help you get there.

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strategies

Innovate or Die The value of criticism

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ho likes to be criticized?

We don’t like getting criticism and most people feel uncomfortable giving it. It takes us back to some usually negative memories from childhood.

But Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were notorious for challenging their associates and criticizing their ideas relentlessly.

Professor and author Roberto Verganti described the value of criticism in driving innovation in the January issue of the Harvard Business Review.

There are two types of innovation.

One is incremental innovation that most companies do on a daily basis, trying to improve the products and services they already offer their customer base.

The other kind of innovation is disruptive technology, represented by Apple’s new iPhones or the original Microsoft operating system.

Those create a blue ocean where competition does not exist because your company enters a space previously nonexistent.

Pagan Kennedy, in his book, “How We Dream Up Things That Change the World,” argues that existing management is frequently bound by industrial group think.

That means we get stuck in our discipline’s intellectual ruts. To break out of it, we need 48

a new and different process.

The problem with disruptive technology is that it’s so unusual and so different from our normal thinking patterns.

Verganti suggested using criticism to formally challenge these new ideas.

It does not start with asking customers what they would like. Henry Ford famously said that if he had asked customers what they wanted, they would have said, “A faster horse.”

Disruptive technology might be hiding below the surface of your workforce at your company. Your employees sometimes have a vision that occurs to them because they are so familiar with what the marketplace currently offers.

One example points to the evolution of a new version of the Alfa Romeo. The brand was legendary and featured as the car Dustin Hoffman drove in “The Graduate.” However, the company had suffered from decades of competition with German luxury models.

One member of the Alfa Romeo product team asked other members of the team to think of cars differently. They came to the conclusion that people buy premium cars not just to display their wealth, but for the ability to express their B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e

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DAN STEINING ER INNOVATION passion for driving.

That was the opposite of owning premium cars with super powerful engines and high maximum speeds.

The team eventually focused on developing a smaller, lightweight engine using carbon fiber and reducing the power to weight ratio. The result was a sports car that was highly responsive to the driver’s skill and the ability of the car to respond to him or her.

Within a few weeks of the car’s release, the entire first year of production had been booked by consumers.

So what’s the process that could be used to incorporate criticism in the development of new products that disrupt the marketplace?

Here are steps you can incorporate in your management practices when you seek disruptive technology: 1. Start with your staff, not your customers:

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Customers cannot be expected to envision a different future as they are like all of us—used to their habits and what the market offers. However, your staff can see changes in the environment from a variety of sources, including the competition, and is developing both conscious and unconscious intuition about new directions or new visions. This drill should be an individual one so team members can’t influence each other. This encourages them to dig deeply into their own perceptions.

Give them at least a month before the first meeting.

2. Sparring partners: Michael Farrell in his book “Collaborative Circles: Friendship Dynamics and Creative Work” points to the fact that many breakthroughs in art and society have come through pairs that trust each other but can constructively criticize each other.

He points to legendary pairs who fed off each other: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak; Google’s founding partners, Sergey Brin and Larry Page; Bill Gates and Paul Allen, just to name a few. The leader should facilitate the selection of the sparring partners.

3. Testing the hypothesis with an outside jury: This is where the rubber meets the road and partners get to receive feedback about the proposed ideas. The outside jury should be composed of a variety of people with different backgrounds, perspectives and personalities. This requires you to bring in people from other industries. Frank Krejci, CEO of Strattec, does this drill with major new initiatives. These juries, or “advisory boards” as he calls them, are not bound by the habits of industrial group think because they’re from different disciplines.

Creating a new blue ocean to disruptive technology is a daunting challenge and it cannot be done the way normal decisions on incremental innovation are conducted.

Try this blueprint and you may find the new blue ocean for your company. n Dan Steininger is the president of Biz Starts; a lecturer on innovation tools at the UWM School of Continuing Education; and president of Steininger & Associates LLC, which teaches how to drive revenues through creativity tools. He can be reached at Dan@BizStarts.com.

strategies

Call the bird out of the bush How to align employees with the company’s goals

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here’s nothing that frustrates leaders more than when they see an employee’s behavior that doesn’t align with the company’s goals.

In their gut, they know this behavior will not yield the desired results, but so many leaders don’t know how to address the behavior without first fleeing to overthink it and avoid it—doing what I call “ignoring the bird in the bush.” Eventually, this leads to leaders becoming sick and tired of putting up with the undesirable behavior and spewing out accusations like, “You aren’t doing your job!”

“You aren’t being efficient!” “You aren’t supposed to be doing that!”—doing what I call “killing the bird in the bush.”

This flight-fight behavior is typical and doesn’t yield the results to shift the

undesirable behavior that realigns the employee with the goals. When leaders react in this flight and fight manner, employees stand in judgment that the problem is not them, but is really their boss, who needs anger management therapy.

The truth is, it’s not anger management therapy that’s needed, just a little coaching on how to trust your gut and call the bird out of the bush. We can do this effectively when we first take a couple of deep breaths so we can clear our mind.

Then, when we follow my 10-step Goal Alignment Conversation, we are able to: »» Focus on why we are addressing the behavior: because it doesn’t align with the goal. »» Communicate in a collaborative way, seeking first to understand why the

employee is choosing that behavior and then sharing our perspective and concerns. »» Decision-making with the employee, collaborating on solutions and new best practices that align with the goal, giving us greater buy-in and assurance the old behavior will not be repeated. »» Accountability to a new behavior is developed when it is talked through, understood, and a follow-up plan is created to ensure the change was made.

While the 10-step Goal Alignment Conversation may sound like a lot of steps, think of it as a four-part conversation: Focus, Communicate, Decision-making, Accountability. In looking at these four parts

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S US A N W EH R LEY LEADERSHIP and 10 steps, you can see that oftentimes we do not first align with the person we are talking to and remind them of our common goal. Instead, we often jump right to step five and share our perspective on a problem and our solution. This leaves the receiver blindsided because he or she does not understand WHY this issue is important and instead it just feels like control.

Starting with the why creates greater buyin to the desired behavior, versus just telling someone what to do. By getting them engaged in the problem-solving statement

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10-step Goal Alignment Conversation Part 1: FOCUS Steps 1-2

Step 1: Align your problem statement with the goal For example, say: “Don’t you agree our goal is ________?”

Step 2: Re-state the problem statement Say: “How might we…?” Include a specific subject matter getting in the way of meeting the goal.

Part 2: COMMUNICATE Steps 3-6

Step 3: Start with curiosity Ask and listen to the other person’s perspective first. Instead of telling people what you think, feel and want—ask what they think, feel and want.

Step 4: Get feedback on what you heard Tell them in their words what you heard them say. Remember, communication is only 10 percent what we actually say and 90 percent our tone of voice, emotional energy and body language. People feel heard not only when we can feed back the words they said, but when we hear what they are saying with empathy. To have empathy means you are putting yourself in their shoes and imagining what they feel.

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Step 5: Share your perspective. Start with the facts.

Tell them what you want and why. Stick to the facts and be specific in terms of behavior.

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Step 6: Ask for feedback Ask them to give feedback on what you said so you can ensure you were heard.

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Part 3: DECISION-MAKING Steps 7-8

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Step 7: Collaborate for a productive result Ask, “How might we resolve_________, to meet _________ goal, considering your and my points of view?”

Begin with the areas on which you agree and write them down. Then look at the areas on which you think you disagree: • Is there anything in common there?

• Where there is not something in common, ask, “How might we consider our differences in the scope of the goals?”

What would create the greatest ROI (return on investment)?

Step 8: Create a plan for change Start with writing down what you both suggested you do. Now get specific: who will do what by when?

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Step 9: Follow up & benchmark the progress Check in to see if you are meeting your deadlines. Problemsolve any obstacles. Determine if you made the change desired and hit the goal.

Step 10: Appreciate & celebrate Find a way to make it fun when you make progress and hit the goal!

Copyright Susan K. Wehrley, from her book “EGO at Work.”

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in step 2 of “How might we choose different behavior that aligns us better to the goal?” we are then able to engage their ideas on how to solve the problem and overcome the obstacles they otherwise may have been experiencing.

While we often think we don’t have time to communicate, the truth is when we don’t communicate and align employees’ behavior with the goals, we not only waste time, but also we miss our goals.

Effective leaders know how to trust their gut when they see behavior is out of alignment. They also know how to take a deep breath and step into the situation in a way that calls the bird out of the bush. Using the 10-step Goal Alignment Conversation

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ensures you not only have continual focus on the goals, it ensures you are communicating and making decisions in a way that engages employees in the solutions and buy-in to meet the goals. When you do that, accountability rarely needs to occur.

Challenge: What behavior are you seeing that you need to address and align with the goals? How might you call the bird out of the bush instead of ignoring it or killing it? n Susan K. Wehrley has been a business coach and consultant for more than 25 years, aligning leaders and employees to their companies’ goals. She is the author of “EGO at Work,” and the founder and CEO of www.BIZremedies.com. She can be reached at (414) 581-0449 or Susan@solutionsbysusan.com.

strategies

Put your limiting beliefs in a locker and throw away the key.

Limiting beliefs

The silent sabotagers suppressing success

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chieving personal potential is something we all desire, but limiting beliefs can sabotage and paralyze people to a life of unrealized goals. Ambitious people stand frozen in their tracks, unable to move forward, victims of these dream poachers.

What are limiting beliefs? They are false generalizations that are stated as fact and accepted as truth. They can show up in many different ways, with the most common being the voice that sits on your shoulder and says, “Don’t do that – you’re gonna fail!” or “Who do you think you are?

You don’t have enough (education, money, connections, smarts, commitment, etc.)” They are also the negative emotions like self-doubt, jealousy at others’ successes or fear that body slam your wish list and make you feel wholly inadequate.

Left unattended, a limiting belief can hold you hostage to a smaller, less vibrant, less happy you.

Where do they come from? Limiting beliefs often develop in childhood – a time when we are emotionally vulnerable to the judgments of others. Adults, especially parents and teachers, can profoundly impact the self-esteem of children and students when they make derogatory statements or criticize. What may appear to be an innocuous statement can leave deep and lasting scars to the emotionally sensitive.

Later in life, limiting beliefs often develop when we try new things and fail – a difficult or emotionally devastating experience can birth a new limiting belief with profound implications.

Some of the most common limiting

beliefs include: »» “I am not…(good enough, smart enough, capable enough, worthy enough, etc.)” »» “I need to have…(education, money, connections, etc.) in order to …” »» “I don’t deserve to…(have a great relationship, be the No. 1 salesperson, get promoted, etc.)” »» “I’ll never amount to anything significant because …” »» “I always make a mistake – and mistakes are bad.” »» “I don’t…(make smart decisions, hire good people, communicate well, etc.)” »» “What happens when they find out…(I’m not as smart as they think I am? etc.) »» “There are never any shortcuts for me.”/ “I always have to take the long route.”

People who yearn for a better tomorrow allow this false, yet powerfully destabilizing, barrier to prevent them from enjoying their full potential because they don’t know what to do.

Reclaim your personal power and be on your way to a better, more fulfilling life by following these four simple steps: 1. Acknowledge the limiting belief.

Admit it. Define it. Recognize how it shows up in your life.

2. Put it in a locker and hide the key.

Once you’ve defined it, store it someplace where it can’t get out unless you decide to unlock it. You can do this physically by writing it w w w.biztimes.com

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CHRISTINE McMAHON COACHING down on paper and locking it in a drawer or chest, or you can do this figuratively by imagining you have a “limiting belief locker” where you store these ugly critters, with a combination only you know.

3. Replace the limiting belief with an empowering belief Now, think about that limiting belief (sorry, but it’s only for a moment), write it down once more, and then next to it write its antithesis—a fully empowering statement. For example, if your old limiting belief was, “I’ll never amount to anything significant because I am stupid,” next to it, you might write, “I AM smart, special and successful.”

Whenever possible, use the words “I AM…” to begin your statement.

This calls forth the divine self and your highest potential. When you read it or say it out loud, own it.

Internalize it as your truth. Your heart will recognize it and smile.

4. Do a dress rehearsal Finally, in your mind’s eye, see yourself taking action, no matter how small. Let’s say you’ve always wanted to start your own business or go back to college to get an advanced

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degree. Think about that desire, and then state your new empowering affirmation. You might say, “I AM smart, capable and I always land on my feet,” and then take some small action. For example, you might call to schedule an appointment with a business executive who can help you make some valuable connections or write a business plan; or maybe you contact the admissions office of a local university to discuss its application process. Do ONE THING that moves you in the direction of your dream and demonstrates your personal commitment to yourself.

If, for some reason, the limiting belief pops up, pretend it’s a song you can’t stand playing on a radio and turn the volume down, or push the “off ” button. Or if the message appears to you like a poster on a wall, imagine tearing if off and put it in the locker with the other limiting beliefs. Misery loves company, so invite them to have their own pity party. When you are done, state your new mantra, “I AM …” knowing that YOU are in control.

On this journey, your resiliency may be tested from time-to-time (it’s not personal – it’s life). Maybe you don’t receive the support you expect from the people closest to you or the funding you were promised falls through at the last minute.

No worries! Simply reframe the experience by not internalizing it as a barrier, but rather as a gift. You might say, “That door shut, but it was probably the wrong door for me anyway. There is probably something I didn’t know about that situation that wouldn’t have worked out. Another and better option is just around the corner.”

Then remain in a place of hopeful expectation.

Limiting beliefs have power because they seem like truths, but your heart knows the difference. Step into your power by starving the limiting belief of what it craves most – fear, doubt and worry. Instead, focus your attention on your bright future and desired outcome. n Christine McMahon advances sales success by providing strategic sales and leadership coaching and training.

She is co-founder of the Leadership Institute at Waukesha County Technical College’s Center for Business Performance Solutions, and can be reached at (844) 369-2133 or ccm@christinemcmahon.com.

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strategies

The talent market is changing Prepare for the perfect storm »» PricewaterhouseCoopers found talent is the No. 1 concern for 70 percent of CEOs. »» Gallup says 51 percent of U.S. employees are actively looking for a new job or watching the job market. »» According to Indeed, 49 percent of workers surveyed searched for a new job within their first year of employment.

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f you’ve noticed that your recruiters are taking longer, delivering fewer qualified candidates and asking for more budget and resources…you are not alone.

No doubt your whole organization is dealing with both recruiting and retention issues!

We are in a unique time. It’s a supply/ demand issue. We aren’t used to it – for years, the unemployment rate was a high, hiring was low, and every job opening received lots of applicants and plenty of qualified candidates to choose from. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, we are approaching a time when the number of new entrants to the workforce (age 1864) will be the lowest on record since the boom of baby boomers. Add that to the “skills gap” (a mismatch of people with the skills we need and the skills people have) and we are heading for a perfect storm.

This perfect storm is going to create changes in your organization that may be frustrating. It may even make you angry. Change is hard. It might even be expensive…or at least require a reallocation of resources.

There are some organizations that are ready for the storm. They know their business success is integral to the success and happiness of both their employees and customers. They believe that the more satisfied and engaged their workforce is, the more successful they will be. At their core, they have created an attractive and engaging workplace. What is that? A workplace that: »» Recognizes the individuality of each employee. »» Rewards his or her contributions appropriately. »» Is transparent about concerns, B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e

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achievements and the future. »» Celebrates success. »» Is conscious about their culture and employment brand. »» Acknowledges employees as the true assets. »» Treats applicants and candidates as well as it treats its customers.

This doesn’t happen by default. It takes commitment and belief and investment. It is by design.

So what to do about the “perfect storm?”

Don’t take my word for it…start a conversation. Reach out to the people who are responsible for talent in your organization and ask them a few questions: »» Have you found that the recruiting market has changed? »» Are our job postings drawing the quantity and quality of candidate we need? »» Are we experiencing higher voluntary turnover? »» In a competitive job market, how are we differentiated from the companies we compete with for talent?

What should you do if you are not one of those few attractive and engaging workplaces?

When demand exceeds supply, the organizations with the best “opportunity” and best “process” win. »» Look at your career site. »» Is it candidate or employer focused? »» Does it define the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) for talent you’re trying to attract? »» Is it easy for job seekers to understand why they should bring their talent to your organization? »» Look at your job postings. »» Are you still using standard job descriptions (that might be 10 years old) and are full of expectations, knockouts and (too many) bullets? »» Just because everyone is using job descriptions – it doesn’t make them “attractive” or effective.

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ANNE GRACE NIMKE HIRING

»» Saying you offer “competitive benefits” and other buzzwords or euphemisms (like fun, great place to work or flexible) just doesn’t work for today’s top talent. »» Have you updated your application process in the last two years? »» Just as a test, pick a job your company has posted and click apply.

Go through the process yourself, anonymously. Would you abandon it if you were applying and had lots of other choices? »» If your application is “send resume,” do you know what happens if someone does send their resume?

Test it and see. »» Do you thank candidates for applying? Do you let them know when they are not in contention for the position?

Candidates today have choices – the “best opportunity” includes more than the job. The best opportunities encompass your company culture and values and highlight individual employees’ value and “fit.” It includes personal respect and courtesy; frequent, authentic communication; and transparency. It recognizes that both an employee’s work style and lifestyle are taken into consideration, along with business decisions. It recognizes talent and skills are in demand and each candidate is a “customer” for your opportunity. n Anne Grace Nimke is chief executive officer and cofounder of Milwaukee-based The Good Jobs Inc. (www. thegoodjobs.com), a turnkey employment branding solution that provides transparency by quantifying culture to help companies attract, hire and retain the right talent. The Good Jobs helps companies turn their company culture into a competitive recruiting advantage…especially valuable to companies who have a talent need, are proud of who they are as an employer, and want a new way to create awareness and differentiation.

biz connections CA L E NDAR

NONPROFIT DIRECTORY

SBDC Wisconsin will host First Steps to Starting a Business on Wednesday, April 20, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education. The fast-paced, three-hour course assesses the feasibility of starting a business, identifies potential financial resources and evaluates the risks and rewards of the process. Cost is $29. For more information or to register, visit uwm.edu/sce/ courses/first-steps-to-starting-a-business.

SPOTLIGHT

SVA Plumb Financial will host Protecting Your Identity: Top Cybersecurity Threats on Thursday, April 28, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Westmoor Country Club, 400 S. Moorland Road in Brookfield. Data breaches, computer hacks, phishing and ransomware are just a few of the ways fraudsters gain access to personal data.

Using the Savvy Cybersecurity Quick Reference Guide, attendees will learn helpful tips to protect themselves and their families. For more information or to register for this free seminar, visit www.svaplumb.com/events.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce will host Executive Viewpoint: Breakfast & Conversation with Greg Marcus on Tuesday, May 3, from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Wisconsin ClubCountry Club, 6200 W. Good Hope Road in Milwaukee. Share in a candid conversation with Marcus on how his organization keeps on top of the latest trends. Cost is $49 for members and $69 for non-members.

BizTimes Media is a sponsor of the event. For more information or to register, visit www.biztimes.com/ events/#all-events.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s World Trade Association will host its Wisconsin International Trade Conference on Tuesday, May 10, from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Wisconsin Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee. The annual event brings together more than 500 people involved in global trade to learn from experts, gain perspectives, share best practices and improve business strategies. Keynote speakers include ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO Jonas Prising and Briggs & Stratton president and CEO Todd Teske. Cost is $175 for members, $200 for non-members, $80 for students and $65 for breakfast or lunch only. For more information or to register, See the complete calendar of visit www.wisconsintradeconference.org. BizTimes Media is a upcoming events & meetings. sponsor of the event.

www.biztimes.com

BIZ NO T ES Bank Mutual

ProShip Inc.

Brown Deer-based Bank Mutual announced that several of its mortgage professionals are recipients of the 2016 Five Star Award. The award, issued by Minneapolis-based Five Star Professional, is presented to wealth managers, real estate agents, mortgage professionals, and home/auto insurance professionals in more than 45 markets in the U.S. and Canada. The award recognizes service professionals who provide exceptional service to their clients. The following employees are among the 2016 recipients: Bonnie Bergeson, residential loan officer—Franklin; Bob Bonan, residential loan officer—West Allis; Randy Lucka, residential regional sales manager—West Bend; Thomas Wendt, residential loan officer—Brookfield; Doug Winquist, residential loan officer—Mequon.

Brookfield-based ProShip Inc.’s CVP-500 automated packing solution has earned the SITL Innovation Award in France and the Dutch Packaging Award in the Netherlands. The CVP-500 unique, fit-to-size packing system was developed in the Netherlands

by ProShip parent company Neopost and was recently launched in the U.S. by ProShip. The automated packing system packs single and multi-item orders with variable dimensions in a custom-fit box.

It was awarded the SITL Innovation Award in 2016 for its ability to optimize and speed-up all steps in the package fulfillment process. The Dutch Packaging Award 2016 judges were very impressed with the cost-effectiveness of the CVP-500.

SVA Brookfield-based SVA has been named to the Accounting Today Top 100 Firms list. The list ranks the top accounting firms in the United States by revenue both nationally and regionally. SVA is ranked in the top 60 firms nationally as well as in the top 15 firms in the Great Lakes region.

The Accounting Today Top 100 report provides benchmarking data and analysis and is referred to throughout the year by accounting firms and industry observers. Started in 1987, Accounting Today is a national trade magazine servicing the public accounting profession.

Hilton Milwaukee Hilton Worldwide has awarded the DoubleTree by Hilton Milwaukee Downtown hotel with its esteemed Connie Award. This award designates the hotel as the top performer among DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels for 2015. Named after Mr. Conrad Hilton, the Connie Award is the highest hotel award for all brands across Hilton Worldwide. The winning hotels are the perfect balance of product and outstanding service scores. Located at 611 W. Wisconsin Ave., the DoubleTree by Hilton Milwaukee Downtown is situated in downtown Milwaukee near the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Marquette University, Wisconsin Center, U.S. Cellular Arena and many more downtown attractions. The hotel is owned by local investors Dean Fitzgerald and Ann Neviaser.

To have your business briefs published in a future issue of BizTimes Milwaukee send announcements to briefs@biztimes.com. w w w.biztimes.com

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Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee 759 N. Milwaukee St., Suite 322, Milwaukee 414-223-4611 | www.hpgm.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/hispanicprofessionals LinkedIn: www.Linkedin.com/groups/1830944 Twitter: @HPGMilwaukee Year founded: 2001 Mission statement: To create a dynamic environment for Hispanic professionals to thrive by fostering leadership, mentoring, education, networking and new initiatives that support Hispanics.

Primary focus of your nonprofit organization: Since 2001, HPGM has worked hard to provide professional development resources and networking connections to support the growth of Hispanics throughout every career level, from student to C-suite.

Other focuses of your nonprofit organization: HPGM’s mission paves the way for Milwaukee-area Hispanic professionals to thrive by creatively fostering leadership, mentoring, education, networking and new initiative opportunities.

HPGM also provides scholarships for both graduate and undergraduate Hispanic college students to increase graduation rates in Milwaukee, and showcases Hispanic talent with professional leadership awards.

Number of employees at this location: Three – Griselda Aldrete, president and chief executive officer; Kim Schultz, associate director of corporate events; and Marina Arias, executive assistant and marketing coordinator.

Key donors: GE Healthcare, BMO Harris Bank, Associated Bank, Northwestern Mutual, Johnson Controls, We Energies, Rockwell Automation, Kohl’s Corp. and more.

Executive leadership: Griselda Aldrete, president and CEO Board of directors: Tracey Carson of Mortenson, Safar, Kim; Jaime Delgadillo of

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Northwestern Mutual; Raquel Filmanowicz of BMO Harris Bank; Roberto Gutierrez of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation; Trevor Kubatzke of Milwaukee Area Technical College; Victor Miranda of GE Healthcare; Sharon Reed of EY; John Utz of Associated Bank; Oscar Tovar of the Office of the Mayor; William Welburn of Marquette University; Dimas Ocampo of RC Insurance Services Inc.; Michael Laliberte of UW-Milwaukee; Cris Ros Duckler of Public Allies; Homero Noboa of Johnson Controls; Tony Mallinger of Metal Era Inc.; Nicole Langley of ManpowerGroup; and Fernando Delgado of Johnson Controls.

Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? Yes Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: Share information about valuable programming, as well as scholarships and leadership awards. Become a member to increase the connectedness of our Milwaukee professional community Key fundraising events: HPGM Five Star Gala In celebration of HPGM’s 15th anniversary, the nonprofit will host its 2016 Five Star Gala, presented by longtime supporter BMO Harris Bank with contributing sponsor Johnson Controls, to be held on Saturday, May 14, at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. Part of the night’s events will include highlighting HPGM’s successful student programs, and announcing the launch of a new undergraduate scholarship program.

All funds raised at the 2016 HPGM Five Star Gala will support new initiatives, scholarships and the growth of the organization.

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biz connections PER SO NNE L F I L E Luke Will has been

■ Architecture

Herriges

Submit new hire and promotion announcements to www.biztimes.com/submit/the-bubbler

hired as a financial advisor at the Waukesha office for Waddell & Reed, an asset management and financial planning company. He specializes in working with sportsmen that have a passion for the outdoors.

Yahr

AG Architecture, Wauwatosa, has made several new additions to its staff.

Bill Herriges has been named project architect and project manager at AG. Additionally, Stephanie Yahr and Fischer Daniel Fischer have also been hired full-time at the firm.

■ Banking & Finance Waukesha State Bank has hired Lynn Boelter as vice president – commercial banking officer.

Wisconsin Bank & Trust has named James Lotter its Sheboygan County market president. In this role, Lotter is responsible for maintaining profitability for the Sheboygan market and building new business and commercial lending, as well as managing overall lending, deposits and treasury activities. He will also oversee banking products and services for small and medium-sized businesses.

■ Building & Construction Mark Lillesand has been promoted to vice president at CG Schmidt, Milwaukee.

He previously served as managing director.

■ Education Jess Owens has been hired as senior public relations strategist for Carroll University, Waukesha. She will manage media relations for Carroll University on local, regional and national levels and also support organizational communication needs in the areas of project management, community engagement, special events and social media.

■ Health Care Laura O’Donnell has been appointed vice president and general counsel for GE Healthcare, Waukesha.

O’Donnell joined GE in 2009 and has held a series of leadership roles in

GE Healthcare, including general counsel for Global Services & Privacy and chief compliance counsel. Prior to GE, she served as chief compliance officer at Zimmer Holdings USA and was a partner at Faegre, Baker & Daniels.

has joined Probst Law Offices, Wauwatosa, as an associate attorney.

■ Hospitality Linda Gulrajani, CRME, vice president of revenue strategy & distribution for Marcus Hotels & Resorts, Milwaukee, has been named chair of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International’s Revenue Management Advisory Board for the 2016-’17 term.

The Marcus Corp., Milwaukee, has named John Murray vice president of human resources. Murray has 25 years of experience in labor and employment law. Prior to joining The Marcus Corp., he was a shareholder at the law firm of Lindner & Marsack in Milwaukee for seven years.

■ Nonprofit Nancy Major, a prominent nonprofit executive with an extensive background in leadership, management and business operations, has joined Stillwaters Cancer Support Center, Waukesha, as its new executive director.

Peil

Klitzing

Victoria Peil has been promoted to customer relations manager for Elmbrook Humane Society. Natalie Klitzing has also been promoted to shelter operations manager.

■ Professional Services

■ Insurance McClone Insurance, Menasha, has hired Troy Carlson as a strategic risk advisor. In this role, he is responsible for helping companies build strategies to drive down risk. Carlson also provides technical expertise and strategic direction for personal risk areas, HR and employee benefits as well as financial departments.

Valuation Research Corp., Milwaukee, has named Seth Eatman to the firm’s Milwaukee office as a real estate appraiser. He has experience in the region and will join the real estate valuation team.

■ Retail Michael Scaffidi has joined the sales man-

■ Legal Services Lindsey White, an experienced lawyer with a

agement team at David Hobbs Honda, Glendale. He has 30 years of pre-owned vehicle sales experience.

background in family law and estate planning,

Applause!

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biz connections

n GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR VOLUME 22, NUMBER 2 APRIL 18 - MAY 1, 2016 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION E-MAIL: circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING E-MAIL: ads@biztimes.com EDITORIAL E-MAIL: andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER

Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Jon Anne Willow jonanne.willow@biztimes.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Sarah Sinsky sarah.sinsky@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR

Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com MANAGING EDITOR

Molly Dill molly.dill@biztimes.com REPORTER

Corrinne Hess corri.hess@biztimes.com REPORTER

Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com REPORTER

Ben Stanley ben.stanley@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR OF SALES

Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

Maribeth Lynch mb.lynch@biztimes.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Amber Stancer amber.stancer@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Kevin Gaschk kevin.gaschk@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com ART DIRECTOR

Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

INTERN REPORTER

Upholsterer

Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com

This photo, taken circa 1930, shows employees outside an upholsterer and carpet layer business in Milwaukee.

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

Additional images can be viewed online at www.mpm.edu.

Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —

COMME NTA R Y

More companies moving downtown

D

owntown Milwaukee is on a roll.

The apartment development boom is showing no signs of slowing down.

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. is building a $450 million office tower on its headquarters campus. Construction will start soon on a new $500 million arena.

On top of all that, an increasing number of companies are choosing to move their offices to the downtown area.

The latest is marANDREW WEILAND Editor BizTimes Milwaukee

keting firm Bader Rutter, which announced recently that it will move from Brookfield to an office building development planned at the former Laacke & Joys site downtown along the Milwaukee River. Bader Rutter’s move, which will occur next year, will bring 220 employees to downtown.

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Decision Resources Group, which has its U.S. headquarters in Burlington, Mass., will move from Greenfield to downtown Milwaukee. The firm recently signed a lease for the entire 15th floor in the 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. building. The company has 200 employees in Greenfield that will move downtown.

REV Group will move its corporate headquarters from Orlando to the Milwaukee Center office tower in downtown Milwaukee. The company will have 20 to 25 employees in the office.

In 2015, Plunkett Raysich Architects moved its headquarters from the far northwest side of Milwaukee to a building just south of the Historic Third Ward, bringing about 60 employees to the area near downtown.

In late 2014, The Dohmen Co. moved its headquarters from Menomonee Falls to the Third Ward. The company has about 185 employees in Milwaukee.

The Schlitz Park office park, located just north of downtown, has attracted B i zT i m e s M i l w a u k e e

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several companies from the suburbs, including Trusted Media Brands (formerly Reader’s Digest Association Inc.), which moved its office from Greendale to Schlitz Park in 2014, bringing 200 employees to the downtown area. Also in 2014, HSA Bank moved from Glendale to Schlitz Park.

The former Pabst brewery complex is also attracting office tenants to downtown.

SafeNet Consulting consolidated its Third Ward and Wauwatosa offices by leasing space in the Pabst Professional Center building. TCF Bank opened an office in the building, moving about 30 employees there from Bayside. Klement Sausage moved its corporate offices from the Bay View neighborhood on the city’s south side to the Pabst Professional Center.

More companies are likely considering a move to downtown. Johnson Controls is considering plans for a new lakefront office tower. Master Lock has been scouting several downtown sites and could relocate its headquarters from Oak Creek.

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What is driving this interest in downtown? Years ago, many residents moved to the suburbs as suburban sprawl took hold in the post-World War II freeway era. As residents moved out, many businesses followed them. That flow has been partially reversed as some young professionals and empty nesters are moving downtown, fueling the apartment development boom.

As more people move downtown, the area has become more vibrant and interesting.

Notably, several new critically-acclaimed restaurants have opened in the downtown area in recent years.

Some companies are moving downtown, at least in part, to offer a more interesting work environment in a vibrant urban setting that will help attract employees.

“We’re excited about our move to a new downtown headquarters,” Bader Rutter said in a LinkedIn post on its planned move downtown. “The inspiring, collaborative space will help us fulfill our vision to create a destination agency that attracts talent from across the country.” n

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biz connections

A Panel Discussion with Business Expert Gene Marks U.S. Cellular hosted an interactive panel discussion at the Pfister Hotel on March 31 that focused on key election-year topics and how they could affect businesses. The discussion was led

by Gene Marks, a columnist, author and small business owner who writes for publications such as the Washington Post and Forbes magazine.

1 Jess Feucht and Matthew Tiefenbrun of U.S. Cellular.

2 Rich Wales of U.S. Cellular, Aaron Schoonover of U.S. Cellular, Dana Schoonover of Arsenal Advertising and Edward Perez of U.S. Cellular.

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3 Steven Kugler of U.S. Cellular and Chuck Smith of Current Electric.

4 Kellie Szabo of U.S. Cellular, Tyler Corrigan of RF Technologies and Shane Arman of Ketchum.

5 Donna Porter and Edward Perez of U.S. Cellular.

6 Business columnist Gene Marks speaks at the event.

7 Gene Marks, Andrew Berg of Wireless Week and Tim Sheehy of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

8 Andrew Berg of Wireless Week and Tim Sheehy of MMAC. Photos by Ben Stanley and courtesy U.S. Cellular

You can see these photos and other business people in the news by clicking Multimedia on the navigation bar at ‌

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www.biztimes.com w w w.biztimes.com

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ERICH SCHROEDER PHOTOGRAPHY

the last word

Great staff is your key to success “More than 20 years ago, as sole owner of our rapidly growing company, I spent considerable time thinking about the future of the firm and in what direction we should be headed. Thinking about our future, I needed to reflect on what made Ruekert & Mielke so successful and a great place to work. The answer was clear: it was our staff and the clients we work for. Many of our staff have been with the firm for more than 20 to 30 years and many of the communities we serve have been our clients for more than 50 years.

“Focusing on that realization, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan appeared to be the best opportunity 58

William Mielke

to reward the people who helped create our success and gain the confidence from our clients. We established our ESOP nearly 20 years ago and as of the end of 2015, we are now 100 percent employee owned. With the full conversion to a 100 percent ESOP came management’s responsibility to better educate each staff member as to how his or her efforts directly relate to our bottom line and his or her financial future.

“This effort, coupled with our new management team, has helped us to realize a new level of energy and personal responsibility for our success. Our staff is now more educated on our financial status and more involved in

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CEO Ruekert & Mielke Inc. W233 N2080 Ridgeview Parkway, Waukesha Industry: Civil and municipal engineering Employees: 92 www.ruekertmielke.com

teams to accomplish our projects. The increased involvement of our staff has created a noticeable difference in the firm. I am convinced that the more a company values its staff, the more success it will achieve in the future.” n

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