Made in Central Wisconsin

WDH, September 23, PAGE

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Farm & Forest Thursday, September 23, 2010

employee profile

Nasonville Dairy Inc.

Ken Heiman Age: 57 Job: Cheese-maker and co-owner of Nasonville Dairy Inc., Marshfield Product: “When we started 40 years ago, we made cheddar cheese. Now we make about 50 kinds of cheese.

And we’re always thinking ahead.”

Heiman and his two brothers became licensed cheese-makers before any of them had a driver’s license. The dairy continues to be a family-run business, producing cheese that is shipped throughout the United States and the world.

“But it’s not with our label. Most of our cheese is wholesale and is a private label,” he said.

The newest cheese developed at the dairy is a marble Jack laced with a strain of Roquefort designed to fit a growing market for a sliceable blue cheese. “It’s perfect for slicing and melting. And it tastes very good,” Heiman said.

— Liz Welter, Gannett Central Wisconsin

Gannett Central Wisconsin Media

1F

Specialization is key at Wausau Paper

By Jake Miller

Gannett Central Wisconsin

MOSINEE — Ever been to a conference and stuck one of those “Hello, My Name is ____ ___” stickers on your chest?

Thank Wausau Paper.

The 111-year-old company that merged with Mosinee Paper Co. 11 years ago makes paper products in central Wisconsin for multiple industries and sells them worldwide.

It produces paper towels and tissue sold often to the janitorial and restaurant industries.

And at its Rhinelander plant, the company makes those stickers that have become convention staples.

Specialization is the name of the game in an industry that’s hyper competitive, said Perry Grueber, director of investor relations for Wausau Paper.

Wausau Paper produces paper used to protect industrial quality steel during transportation and has aggressively jumped into serving the food industry, a growing market for Wausau Paper, Grueber said.

The company has incorporated eco-friendly fibers, or reconditioned fibers from used paper, into its food lines.

The products, for instance, are used to make microwavable covers used in homes, and popcorn bags sold at the movie theaters. Recently, the New York Yankees began buying bags from Wausau Paper for Yankees Stadium popcorn.

Most of the food-grade paper and industrial products are produced at the company’s Mosinee plant. That includes the paper used in a well known product — 3M’s Scotch Blue tapes, which have become popular among interior painters.

“We sell it to every masking tape company,” Grueber said.

More traditional paper prod-

courtesy Wausau Paper

The packaging line at Wausau Paper’s Brokaw mill.

About Wausau Paper Address: 100 Paper Place, Mosinee Founded: 1899 Owner: Publicly traded company; Thomas J. Howatt, president and chief executive officer Number of employees: 2,300 Products: Makes a range of paper and tissue products, including paper used in the food industry, color paper and tape. Tissue and towel products also comprise 33 percent of Wausau Paper’s sales.

How and where products are used: The papers are used for everything from masking tape to food containers around the world, including for janitorial businesses, 3M, public schools, federal buildings and hospitals.

Contact information: Call 715-693-4470, or visit www.wausaupaper.com. ucts still make up 67 percent of Wausau Paper’s sales, but its tissue market is growing.

The company produces paper towels, tissues and dispensing systems used in a number of industries. Wausau Paper does

not sell its products for use in the home.

More than 50 percent of its tissue products are environmentally friendly. Things such as toilet paper are made with 100 percent recycled fibers,

often collected from products such as used copy paper, Grueber said. “(The tissue market) has grown for us very rapidly in the last 10 years,” Grueber said.

Manufacturer finds niche in cranberries

By Adam Wise

Gannett Central Wisconsin

About BDT Inc. Address: 600 25th Ave. N., Wisconsin Rapids Founded: 1974 Owners: Dave and Dan Dix Number of employees: Eight or nine currently, up to 12 with seasonal summer help Products: Primarily cranberry . harvest equipment Where the products are used: Throughout the country and in Canada Contact information: Call 715421-0090, e-mail sales@bdt-fab. com or visit www.bdt-fab.com.

Advertiser index Centergy.................................................... 2 Marth Manufacturing................................ 3

Photos by TOM LOUCKS/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Clockwise from top: Pat Enfield, a machinist at BDT, works on a berry pump at the shop in Wisconsin Rapids. A cranberry drier is assembled. Brothers Dave and Dan Dix, from left, own BDT. BDT makes signs and other items at its shop using a plasma cutter.

Grezenski Forest Products......................... 3 Down on the Farm.................................... 3 Ministry Medical Group............................. 4 Mid State Technical College....................... 5

Mullins Cheese......................................... 5 UMR......................................................... 6 Nasonville Dairy Inc.................................. 7 Kersten Lumber Co. Inc. .......................... 7

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — While BDT dabbles in multiple endeavors, co-owner Dave Dix considers the cranberry industry to be its bread and butter.

The Wisconsin Rapids-based company, which Dix’s father, Dale, and a few others opened in 1974, focuses on creating cranberry harvest equipment such as pickers, berry pumps, dryers and conveyors. The company’s client list stretches as far east as Boston and as far west as California.

“The picker is a fully hydraulic, driveable unit with a head that goes into the cranberry marsh and picks them,” said Dix, who owns the business with his brother, Dan. “On the fresh-fruit end, we got about 500 or 600 man hours into building one harvester; they have about a $70,000 price tag.”

One of the company’s largest projects took place about two years ago when a company in Quebec hired BDT for a complete cranberry dryer installation at a cost of about $1 million.

Business from cranberry growers goes as the price of the fruit goes.

“Right now, the berry prices are on a decline, so then it moves to more of the fresh fruit harvesters,” Dix said. “If the bottom drops out of everything, then we move into other things like the mill work we do.”

Dix said the company has been able to expand its base of customers through trade shows and word of mouth.

“We do trade shows in Boston, Quebec and out West, where they are relatively small,” Dix said. “The cranberry world is kind of a niche group, and they get talking with each other about us.”

Northwind Renewable Energy................... 7 Cars.com.................................................. 8

WDH, September 23, PAGE

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

2F

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Area at the heart of state’s potato chip industry

By Karen Madden

Gannett Central Wisconsin

AMHERST JUNCTION — Heartland Farms annually grows enough potatoes to make a pound of potato chips for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Richard Pavelski, a fifth-generation farmer and the chief operating officer of Heartland Farms, said the central Wisconsin operation is responsible for growing potatoes for about 85 percent of the Frito-Lay potato chips consumed in Wisconsin.

Heartland Farms also grows sweet corn, green beans and soybeans, which are purchased by Seneca Foods.

“We grow local potatoes and vegetables that are coming right back on local shelves,” Pavelski said.

The company has locations in Almond, Amherst Junction, Spring Green and Hancock. The original farm was established near Amherst Junction in 1863

by August Pavelski, the greatgrandfather of Richard Pavelski.

Richard Pavelski and his son, Jeremie, take pride in their efforts to preserve the land. They helped create the agricultural sustainability policy for PepsiCo. Frito-Lay is a subsidiary company of PepsiCo. Heartland Farms uses the latest technology to have the least impact on the environment, Jeremie Pavelski said. The company has GPS-guided tractors, which make it possible to pinpoint the exact location of plants.

This allows workers to apply fertilizers and pesticides only at the

About Heartland Farms

Photos by TOM LOUCKS/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Jeremie Pavelski, left, and his father, Richard, are part owners of Heartland Farms in Hancock. Heartland contracts with other farms in Portage, Waushara and Adams counties that grow potatoes for it. Right: Rye grass is grown to help keep dust down after the potato harvest. Top: Heartland stores and processes potatoes at its Hancock facility. locations they’re needed.

Workers also plant rye in the fields within 24 hours of harvesting crops, helping to control erosion, company leaders said.

Sandhill cranes, deer, butterflies and other native wildlife find homes on the farms, Richard Pavelski said. A large pond on the

Hancock property has become a favorite fishing hole for local children.

The business also takes pride in the communities where its farms are located, Jeremie Pavelski said. It has given $600,000 to local groups, most of which went to schools. Heartland Farms

Address: 907 Third Ave., Hancock, with locations in Almond, Amherst Junction, Hancock and Spring Green Founded: 1863 Owners: Nine owners: Richard Pavelski, chief operating officer and Jeremie Pavelski, vice president, and David Knights, Thomas J. Kennedy, Michelle Peariso, Andria Davisson, Nicole Knights, Joshua Knights and Bradley Knights Number of employees: 95 full-time Products: Potatoes, sweet corn, green beans and soybeans Where products are used: Produces potatoes for 85 percent of the Frito-Lay potato chips eaten in Wisconsin; most Heartland Farms vegetables are purchased by Seneca Foods.

Contact information: Call 715-249-5555, or visit www.hfinc.biz. paid for the weight room at the Amherst high school.

After the company finishes harvesting its potatoes, it allows local residents to go through the fields and gather what is missed by the machines for their own use, Jeremie Pavelski said.

The message the Heartland Farm owners want to get out to the public is that they’re a locally owned company that has been in central Wisconsin for generations.

“I keep saying we’re the bestkept secret in the area,” Richard Pavelski said.

employee profile

Malek Family Stewardship Farm LLC Chris Malek

Employer: Malek Family Stewardship Farm LLC, 5374 State Highway 66, Stevens Point Age: 41 Job: Co-owner and farmer Products: A certified organic farm growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, grains and hay, the Malek Family Stewardship Farm specializes in growing potatoes,

with more than 12 types and numerous cultivars each year. The farm also offers a 20-week subscription for community supported agriculture, in which subscribers receive a weekly assortment of vegetables.

The farm has a diverse customer base, including grocery store chains, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point,

hospitals, food cooperatives and natural food stores in the state.

“We try to grow the cleanest, most nutritious food that we can and do it in a way that conserves the soil, maintains its fertility, and do it in a way that protects the environment,” Malek said.

— Cara Spoto, Gannett Central Wisconsin

Life. Science.

Central Wisconsin ...

Industry driven by next-generation sciences.

Youa Yang picks ginseng seeds at Heil Ginseng farms in Edgar.

With more than 700 manufacturing companies within a 60-minute drive, it’s likely you can bring your supply chain closer to home.

Corey Schjoth/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Ginseng has Edgar roots EDGAR — Joe Heil grew up on a dairy farm, but he wanted nothing to do with milking cows.

So with ginseng abundant in Marathon County, he decided to plant a half acre of the finicky root to see whether he could make it grow.

Eighteen years later, the 39-year-old Heil is running an 80-acre ginseng garden that produces up to 75,000 pounds of ginseng annually.

“It’s definitely been a learning curve,” Heil said. “You can’t just pick up a book and learn to grow ginseng.”

Heil’s ginseng is sold in root form, primarily in China, where it’s used for teas and in medicines. But he does have a foothold in the United States, selling it in markets such as San Francisco, where a large Chinese population resides and seeks the root.

For U.S. customers, ginseng is more often sold in capsule form and, more recently, in energy drinks because of its ability to ward off fatigue, Heil said.

“China is a lot more diverse than we are here,” he said. “In the U.S. it’s mainly taken as capsules or in tea form.”

But what makes ginseng from Marathon County attractive in China, where ginseng also is produced?

Heil said central Wisconsin ginseng is much stronger. For example, one tea bag of Wisconsin ginseng can be used multiple times, while a bag of Canadian or Chinese

About Heil Ginseng

Ours is a diverse, energetic business environment.

Light and medium manufacturers across a range of specialized industries are based in our region, including companies serving the global marketplace from leadership positions. Many of these rely on regional suppliers for materials, components, tooling, assembly, anodizing/finishing and other services.

Address: 1313 S. Third Ave., Edgar Founded: 1992 Owner: Joe Heil Number of employees: Four Services: Operates an 80-acre ginseng farm.

How and where products are used: Heil sells ginseng root in New York, San Francisco and other U.S. cities with large Chinese populations, but most of the company’s ginseng is shipped to China.

It’s used in a variety of products, ranging from tea to medicines.

Contact information: Call 715-352-7200. ginseng would make only one cup of tea.

“Due to the climate and land our root gets a much more bittersweet taste. It smells a lot stronger,” Heil said.

Growing ginseng is no easy task. Because ginseng grows under shade and beneath straw, the environment is constantly moist, making the prevention of disease difficult.

Snails and slugs also present problems.

Life for ginseng farmers became a little more difficult 10 years ago, when prices began dropping from $60 a pound to $25 a pound, Heil said.

Increased production in Canada and China has been a huge factor in declining prices, Heil said, although the trend is slowly shifting again.

Centergy is an organization working in central Wisconsin to address workforce, business and community development needs. We’d like to help your business find strategic partnership opportunities in our region. Visit our Web site or contact: Barb Fleisner Executive Director, Centergy, Inc. 500 First Street, Suite 15 Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 843-9563 bfleisner@centergy.net

Life. Science. Connecting to Tomorrow.™ 5001172603

By Jake Miller

Gannett Central Wisconsin

The perfect place for your business.

Visit us at centergy.net

WDH, September 23, PAGE

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

Thursday, September 23, 2010

3F

H&S builds farm implements for big names

By Molly Newman Gannett Central Wisconsin

MARSHFIELD — In its 43 years of business, H&S Manufacturing Co. Inc. has expanded its product line from tools for small dairy farms to products for the whole farming industry.

President Chris Heikenen said the family-owned company now has three locations — the headquarters and final assembly facility in Marshfield, a manufacturing facility in Clintonville and a distribution center in Ripley, N.Y. It employs 250 workers, with 135 based in Marshfield.

H&S makes products for brands under each of the three major farming equipment companies: John Deere, Case New Holland and AGCO Corp.

“I think it’s an indicator that we build a quality brand,” Heikenen said.

The product line includes forage boxes, manure spreaders, hay rakes, grinder/mixers, baleage wrappers, windrow mergers, trailers, farm wagons and feeder wagons.

“We’ve been really aggressive about adding new products over the last 15 years,” Heikenen said.

The company prides itself on providing a wide range of product models, Heikenen said. There are 25 varieties of hay rakes, with prices ranging from $4,500 for a small farm to $32,000 for the largest farming operations.

“We really consider every one of those market segments important,” he said.

Jamie Schmidt, general foreman

About H&S Manufacturing Company Address: 2608 S. Hume Ave., Marshfield Founded: 1967 Owners: Heikenen family; Chris Heikenen, president Number of employees: 250, with 135 in Marshfield Products: A variety of farm equipment, including manure spreaders, hay rakes and forage boxes. It is the largest hay rake producer in North America.

How and where products are used: From small farms to corporate farming companies, the machines are used to spread manure, bale hay, haul equipment and feed animals.

Contact: Call 715-387-3414, e-mail geninfo@hsmfgco.com or visit www.hsmfgco.com.

Photos by Laura Schmitt/Gannett Central Wisconsin

at the Marshfield assembly facility, said workers there weld and paint about 20,000 different parts to include on products of up to 6,500 parts each.

There are two main assembly lines, and the product being assembled changes seasonally.

“To keep the guys working, we’ve been welding ahead,” Schmidt said. “We’ve really been juggling to keep everyone working.”

Heikenen said the recession has hit all the product lines H&S makes, which is unusual because mance has resulted in reduced machines at a dealer,” Heikenen said. “Now, we’re only keeping four of the diversity of its products. field inventories.

“In the past, we had kept 10 or five.”

Most of all, a poorer retail perfor-

Above: Jesse Krueger welds parts at H&S Manufacturing in Marshfield.

Left: A trailer is packed with parts that will be shipped to H&S Manufacturing’s eastern warehouse.

Employees take pride in Domtar

By Dan Richter

For Gannett Central Wisconsin

ROTHSCHILD — Take a look around you. You might find a brochure advertising some vacation destination, or maybe an invitation to a wedding or bridal shower.

Chances are, the paper used to make both came from a mill right here in central Wisconsin.

Domtar Corp. is a Delaware-based company with locations across North America, including pulp and paper mills in Rothschild and Nekoosa.

The Rothschild mill began as Marathon Paper Company in 1909, with its first paper rolling off its machines a year later.

In 1973, the mill assumed the name Weyerhaeuser, which was used until 2007, when it was purchased by Domtar.

At the Rothschild mill, Domtar uses maple and other woods to produce a highquality, uncoated paper under the Cougar brand name.

About 150 tons of paper are produced at the Rothschild mill annually, most of which is used in the commercial printing industry for items such as annual reports, advertising inserts and high-end invitations.

“We’re in a very competitive global market,” said Scott Mosher, manager at the Rothschild and Nekoosa mills. “We see paper products coming to North America from overseas producers in China and

Indonesia, so our goal is to service our customers very quickly with quality products.”

Along with competitors around the globe, Domtar also has faced a new threat: green living.

With many people and companies going paperless, Mosher said Domtar has experienced a drop in paper demand and has scaled back production — from 15 million tons of uncoated free-sheet paper produced in Rothschild in 1999 to 10 millions tons in 2009.

“With e-mail and other electronic substitutions, there’s less demand for paper,” Mosher said. “But people should remember that trees are a renewable resource and, if they’re not harvested, they’ll over-mature and decay, which also isn’t the best for the environment.”

Looking into the future, Mosher hopes opportunities such as a proposed WE Energies biomass generating plant on the mill’s property will help give Domtar a competitive edge and keep the company going strong.

“For the Rothschild employees, there’s a lot of pride attached to what we make because it’s such a high-quality product that can be used literally anywhere,” Mosher said. “There’s some prestige in making paper that could be turned into an invitation and sent to Australia or Argentina.

It’s amazing to think where our work can end up.”

Contributed photo

Jeff Feck of Wausau works on the manufacturing line at Domtar’s Rothschild paper and pulp mill.

visit www.wisrapids.com

Farm

Down on the

New Kids Activities FREE PARKING FREE ADMISSION

Saga of Frank & Rinie Goes On

Harvest & Crafts Festival 2010 Sept 25th - Get Healthy --- Stay Healthy - Essential Oil Demonstration & Body Blade Exercise Demo Oct 2nd- KIDS DAY - 1pm Rapids Intense- A-Flyers(Dog Relay Races) Agility&Obedience Demos Oct 9th- Pioneer Day - Wakely Inn Blacksmith & Pottery Making Oct 15th- Friday Evening Haunted Hayrides & Spooky Woods 5-9 Oct 16th- Spooky Saturday - 2pm Halloween asylum presents a Magical Musical Show w/ DJ Tom Ziegler Haunted Hayrides & Spooky Woods 5-9 Oct 23rd- Pumpkin, Gourd & Herb Day - 1:30 How to paint a birdhouse gourd by Tammy Bauman October 30th- Special Sales - Kids Halloween Party

Corn Mazes

Wednesday - Saturday: 10 am to Dusk Sunday: 11am to Dusk Closed Monday & Tuesday • School Tours available Visit the Farm Animals where they live! Hayrides 12-4 pm on Weekends

5001168567

Purchase your pumpkins, Gourds & Squash, Bales & Shocks, Bake Sale Daily, Fall Crafts, New Crafters, Food Tents, Florals, Yard Art....And More

1011 48th Street South • Wisconsin Rapids 715-423-7663 or 715-423-5678 • reinkesdownonthefarm.com

www.marthwood.com

For your forestry needs, helping create a better tomorrow - TODAY! - M.F.L. Harvesting - Selective Harvesting - Wildlife Management - Forest Health - Certified Foresters/Licensed Realtor CONTACT: James Grezenski, Stevens Point, 715-344-0878

Forester Scott Wessel 715-572-9180

Forester Floyd Matteson 715-572-9187

Grezenski Forest Products

3158 County Rd., X North • Stevens Point, WI 54481 715-344-0878 • 1-866-344-0878 • Fax: 715-344-1470 Email: jmgfp@choiceonemail.com Web: grezenskiforestproducts.com

5001171953

Address: 200 N. Grand Ave., Rothschild; 301 Point Basse Ave., Nekoosa Founded: 1909 President, chief executive officer: John Williams Number of employees: About 400 at its Rothschild mill, and about 450 at its Nekoosa facility.

Products: Domtar’s Rothschild facility is a pulp and paper mill that produces high-quality uncoated paper used primarily in commercial printing. Its Nekoosa mill produces uncoated paper, used primarily in business and financial communications, colored paper and other speciality papers.

How and where products are used: Uncoated paper produced in Rothschild is used to print items such as brochures, magazine inserts and invitations. Paper produced in Nekoosa is used to print items such as books, as well as credit card and ATM receipts.

Contact information: Call 715-359-3101, Rothschild; 715-887-7111, Nekoosa; or visit www.domtar.com.

5001160927

About Domtar Corp.

WDH, September 23, PAGE

4F

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

Thursday, September 23, 2010

NewPage puts stamp on paper market

By Cara Spoto

Gannett Central Wisconsin

WHITING — If you have ever paged through advertising circulars, gripped a long neck beer bottle or tore open a sauce pouch, you’ve probably had your hands on NewPage paper.

Headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, NewPage Corp. is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America, based on production capacity, and makes much of the newsprint, specialty, coated and supercalendered papers used in commercial printing, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts, newspapers, packaging applications and direct mail advertising.

The company employs roughly 2,360 people at its papermaking operations in Biron, Stevens Point, Whiting and Wisconsin Rapids.

In addition to Wisconsin, NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nova Scotia, Canada. The company has an annual production capacity of approximately 4.4 million tons of paper a year.

Although the company itself was founded just five years ago, the mills that make up NewPage’s local operations have rich histories. The Biron operation, for instance, began as a sawmill in 1873. The company’s Stevens Point and Whiting operations also have production history’s dating back more than 100 years, as does the Wisconsin Rapids mill.

For Cory Boettcher, marketing and strategy manager for specialty papers, what’s most exciting about

About NewPage Corp.

Address: NewPage is headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio with area locations in Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids and Whiting.

Founded: 2005 Owners: Publicly traded company Number of employees: 2,360 employees in Wisconsin Products: A variety of paper products, including much of the coated papers found in magazines and advertising circulars.

How and where the products are used: The company’s coated and specialty papers are used in magazines, books and advertising circulars, and in food and drink labels.

Among its customers are book and magazine publishers, food and beverage companies, printers, and the U.S. Postal Service.

Contact information: Call 715-345-8060, Stevens Point; 715-422-3111, Wisconsin Rapids; or visit www. newpagecorp.com. working for NewPage is the level of innovation the company continues to bring to operations and product development.

“If you trace back the history of our company, we have been around for decades,” Boettcher said. “That’s a

source of pride, but with that comes the fact that as a company we have always had to innovate.”

A major source of pride for Jim Sheibley, director for specialty business and product development, is the sustainable nature of the

Rolls of paper at the Stevens Point division during papermaking. company’s forestry. What’s even more important is that the emphasis on sustainable forestry is something that is supported by loggers, landowners, state foresters and

tribal governments.

“We are able to maintain our operations...while assuring both the region, as well as our customers, that we are working with a sustain-

photo Courtesy NewPage

able resource,” Sheibley said.

“There will be more trees in the future than there are today. And there are more today than there were a few decades ago.”

employee profile

Sandhill Cranberry

Jim Shampeau Employer: Sandhill Cranberry, 7070 Hemlock Road, Vesper Age: 48 Job: Sales and operations manager for past five years. Jim and his wife, Trudy, 47, oversee the plant operations and employee hiring, which enables owner Dan Wampler to concentrate on the growing operations.

Product: Sandhill Cranberry supplies fruit for about 80 percent of the organic cranberry market. The company uses every bit of the cranberry, even the skins and seeds left from making cranberry concentrate. A company in France uses the fruit for making vitamin supplements. Sandhill Cranberries can be found in central Wisconsin under the Sandhill Cranberry label or under the Nature Ripe Farms label.

“We’re the No. 1 suppliers of fresh, organic cranberries in the world,” said Shampeau, a disabled veteran who worked hard to find employment. After continually being told he couldn’t do the job, he’s now happy to work at a business he loves.

— Karen Madden, Gannett Central Wisconsin

MAKE SURE IT’S A

GOOD YEAR

FOR MORE THAN JUST THE CROPS

YOU DEPEND ON YOUR BODY EVERY DAY TO GET THE JOB DONE. SO WHEN IT COMES TO KEEPING YOUR BODY HEALTHY, YOU CAN DEPEND ON US. Ministry’s primary care and occupational health services are designed with workers in mind, offering services like injury treatment and management, and wellness assessment, keeping you healthy and doing what you do best.

Get to know Ministry Medical Group services better at ministrymedicalgroup.org

today. tomorrow. together.

®

WDH, September 23, PAGE

Thursday, September 23, 2010

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

5F

Ocean Spray feeds worldwide cranberry demand

By Nathaniel Shuda Gannett Central Wisconsin

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — From Asia and Australia to Europe and North America, chances are those who enjoy snacking on Craisins are consuming a product made in central Wisconsin.

Ocean Spray Cranberries owns and operates the world’s largest sweetened, dried cranberry processing plant in Wisconsin Rapids, said Fran Podvin, board chairman of the Massachusetts-based fruit product giant.

“About 30 percent of our business is export, meaning 30 percent of the products that come into Wisconsin Rapids from around the area are sent out (to) the rest of the world,” said Podvin, also a south Wood County resident, Wisconsin Rapids attorney and partner at City Point Cranberries in Pittsville.

After Ocean Spray completed a two-phase 125,000square-foot expansion of the Wisconsin Rapids plant in January 2009 — the addition of two sweetened, dried cranberry production lines doubled the size of the facility and tripled its employee base — production exceeded the company’s expectations, Podvin said.

In recognition of that success, the facility garnered Ocean Spray’s plant of the year award two years in a row, and company leaders honored plant manager Kirk Willard with its most recent President’s Award of Distinction for his efforts associated with the expansion.

“The plant has been an extraordinary success,” Podvin said. “It’s a really great tribute to the employees of that plant. They have been able to be exceedingly efficient and make a lot more cranberry products.”

One of the ways Ocean Spray leaders work to promote the company’s product in foreign markets is through education, Podvin said, calling it a very important focus.

“A lot of the people don’t know what a cranberry is let alone a cranberry product,” he said. “We spend a great deal of time trying to get them to learn about it.

“We’re very much hopeful we’ll be able to create demand, and I’m very hopeful we’ll be able to have some expansions.”

About Ocean Spray Cranberries

Photos by Dan Young/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Cranberries move down a conveyor belt at Ocean Spray Cranberries in Wisconsin Rapids. Top: Ocean Spray is in the Wisconsin Rapids Westside Industrial Park.

Address: 3130 Industrial St., Wisconsin Rapids Founded: 1930 Owners and operators: Agricultural cooperative, with about 750 growerowners; Fran Podvin, board chairman; Randy Papadellis, president and chief executive officer Number of employees: About 2,000 companywide, with about 160 at the Wisconsin Rapids plant Products: Ocean Spray mainly processes the fruit for use in juice and other cranberry products, most notably its sweetened, dried cranberry snack, Craisins.

How and where products are used: Ocean Spray products are distributed throughout the world.

Contact information: Call 715-422-4200, or visit www.oceanspray.com.

employee profile

Plum Creek Timberlands Todd Watson Employer: Plum Creek Timberlands, 999 Third Ave., Suite 4300, Seattle. The company owns thousands of acres throughout central Wisconsin, including forests in Big Flats, Rome, Saratoga and Nekoosa.

Age: 44 Job title: Senior resource forester

Years on job: With Plum Creek just more than five years; forester for 22 years Job: He manages Plum Creek’s land base in central Wisconsin, which primarily is in Adams and Wood counties. As part of the job, he establishes and oversees forests and helps protect endangered species such as the

Karner blue butterfly.

Product: The company grows trees and sells the raw materials to pulp and saw mills.

“I like being outside and being responsible for our natural resources.”

— Karen Madden, Gannett Central Wisconsin

WDH, September 23, PAGE

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

6F

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Plover’s Okray Farms keeps it in the family

By Nicole Strittmater

WDH, September 23, PAGE

Thursday, September 23, 2010

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

7F

employee profile

Wisconsin Homes

Gannett Central Wisconsin

Photos by DOUG WOJCIK/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Tom Beers Employer: Wisconsin Homes Age: 60 Job: Plant and safety manager since 1992 at Wisconsin Homes in Marshfield Products: Wisconsin Homes builds modular homes.

It distributes its products throughout the state and as far west as North Dakota, as far south as Mississippi and as far north as Canada.

“We build probably the finest modular home in the industry. We are very much customer-driven. A customer picks out the cabinets, and we make them here. We can make pretty much anything. When I’m on the line, I look at the details. It doesn’t happen often, but if I find something, the guys fix it. We’re proud of what we make here.”

— Liz Welter, Gannett Central Wisconsin

About Okray Family Farms Inc. Address: 3001 River Drive, Plover Founded: 1905 by Joseph Okray Sr. Owner: Joseph Okray Employees: 10 Products: The farm has about 1,900 acres of potatoes, 2,400 acres of sweet corn, 875 acres of field corn and 1300 acres of snap beans, as well as peas, cranberries and soybeans.

How and where products are used: The farm sells products to retail outlets such as Roundy’s, Winn-Dixie and Walmart.

Contact information: 715-344-2526, e-mail dick@okray.com, or visit www.okray.com.

Your self-funded plan gives you control.

We’ll help you keep it.

employee profile

Mullins Cheese

Self-funded health plans help you better manage and control your spending while still keeping the ability to tailor a plan to your workforce. UMR is the country’s largest TPA. We help more than 1,000 businesses and close to 3 million plan members get the right care at the right price at the

Luke Mullins

right time. As part of UnitedHealthcare, we can offer you the scale, reach and cost savings of a national company.

Employer: Mullins Cheese Age: 26 Title: Manager Job: After 13 years with the family-owned company, Mullins does anything and everything having to do with the business, from bookkeeping to shipping product to working on the process line making cheese.

Products: “It’s a family business, and it means a lot to be a part of that process. It makes me pretty proud.

Working in this business is gratifying. I have a good feeling about the products we make. It’s unique, and it’s not a job for just anybody. You have to put your heart and soul into it.”

— Dan Richter, for Gannett Central Wisconsin

But you still get the next-door attention and customized solutions of a local TPA. Find out what we can do for you at umr.com, call 1.866.881.0800 x6263 or contact your broker.

Photos by Xai Kha/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Ron and Sue Swan of Mosinee stand in front of their 60-acre Christmas trees farm, Swan’s Christmas Tree Farm. Below: Ron shears lateral branches off a pine tree at his farm.

Wisconsin has ‘happy trees’

By Keith Uhlig

Gannett Central Wisconsin

WAUSAU — Although Christmas trees are disposable products used only a few weeks a year, they are an economic driver that generates income for growers large and small across central Wisconsin.

More than a dozen Christmas tree growers in Marathon and Lincoln counties are members of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association, and there are plenty of other growers who are not association members, said Charles Newby, association president.

Come holiday time, trees from the area end up all over the world, Newby said, and growers range from part-time hobbyists to wholesale growers who devote thousands of acres to the business.

On the small end of the spectrum is Newby, 68, the owner of Newby’s Evergreen Farms, a 20-acre Christmas tree farm on Highway J near Wausau.

Newby is a retail grower, meaning he sells his own trees off of a lot in Wausau or from his farm where customers can cut their own, sit by a fire and soak up the holiday ambiance.

“Anybody can grow a tree and anybody can sell a tree,” Newby said. “We’re selling an experience.”

H e ’s b e e n g r o w i n g trees as a side business since 1970. His main jobs, before he retired, were park director for the Wausau/Marathon County Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department and after that as operations manager for Central Wisconsin Airport.

He got into Christmas tree growing because “it was something I could do part time, and I thought it would be good to do after retirement,” Newby said.

Newby sells anywhere from 1,200 to 1,300 trees

NOW BUYING STANDING TIMBER CALL US FOR BEST PRICES Give our foresters a call We have been in business for over 50 years Payment up front on jobs

© 2010 United HealthCare Services, Inc. No part of this document may be reproduced without permission.

Contact Information: Phone: 715-449-2518 CST | Fax: 715-449-2967 Address: 295 Hwy 45 | PO Box 245 Birnamwood WI 54414

per season, most of which end up in homes in central Wisconsin.

His operation sits in contrast to that of Central Wisconsin Evergreens, n e a r M e r r i l l , w h i ch devotes nearly 1,000 acres to trees. Central Wisconsin Evergreens sells its trees in bulk only.

“We sell to Christmas tree sales lots, big-box stores that sell trees, and other wholesalers,” said Kurt Helmstadter, sales manager for the business.

Helmstadter said trees from Central Wisconsin Evergreens end up in all states east of the Rockies, and across Canada.

Owner Fred Latzig Jr. started the business in the 1970s. The Latzig family owned a large operation, and family members started their own farms, Helmstadter said.

Central Wisconsin is strong in terms of Christmas tree growth for several reasons, Newby said.

In years past, when today’s Christmas tree farmers established their operations, land was relatively cheap, making it

Central Wisconsin’s Leading Renewable Energy Provider.

www.northwindre.com

cost effective for a grower to begin a building business. The soil around the area is right for growing evergreens as well, Newby said, and the

weather also is generally good for the trees.

Helmstadter agrees.

“Evergreens grow here naturally,” he said. “It makes for happy trees.”

A variety of specialty flavored cheeses and cheese curds made fresh Monday-Friday

A crafter of award-winning cheeses on the same site since 1885

Nasonville Dairy

5001160289

Members of the Okray Family Farms Inc. team stand near the mural dedicated to the family members as part of the company’s centennial celebration. Below: Okray Family Farms Inc. sign. Left: Peggy McCarville sorts potatoes. Far left: Potatoes are bagged and placed on pallets for shipping at Okray Family Farms Inc.

5001159821

PLOVER — Okray Family Farms Inc. has come a long way from when it began on the square in downtown Stevens Point in 1905.

Joseph Okray Sr. started the company, then called Joseph Okray and Brothers, by buying and selling potatoes from local farmers, as well as furs from local fur dealers and farmers.

It’s been in the family ever since, and now the farm in Plover has about 1,900 acres of potatoes, 2,400 acres of sweet corn, 875 acres of field corn and 1,300 acres of snap beans, as well as peas, cranberries and soybeans. The products are packaged and sold to retail outlets, such as Roundy’s, Winn-Dixie and Walmart both in the Midwest and across the country.

Primarily its customers are east of the Mississippi River.

In central Wisconsin the farm’s main retailer is the Roundy’s grocery store chain, which has a large presence in the Midwest, said Dick Okray, secretary/treasurer of the company.

Over the years the company changed its name to Okray Produce Co., and finally to Okray Family Farms in 1986.

Currently with 10 employees, Joseph J. Okray is the president and Michael J. Finnessy is the vice president.

“It’s evolved into a much bigger industry-wide business. I think it really speaks volumes for the fact that the members of our family stay involved with the industry,” Okray said. “They’ve got their fingers on the pulse of the markets, and we have a strong commitment to making sure that this generation and the next generation continues to go down this road.”

The farm sells to individuals and businesses alike in minimum 50-pound units.

It also sells restaurant-sized potatoes in 50-pound cartons.

10898 Hwy 10, Marshfield, WI 54449 • Ph: (715) 676-2177 N14505 Sandhill Ave. (off Hwy 29), Curtiss, WI 54422 Ph: (715) 223-3338

Energy Independence Starts with the Sun!!!

WDH, September 23, PAGE

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

6F

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Plover’s Okray Farms keeps it in the family

By Nicole Strittmater

WDH, September 23, PAGE

Thursday, September 23, 2010

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

7F

employee profile

Wisconsin Homes

Gannett Central Wisconsin

Photos by DOUG WOJCIK/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Tom Beers Employer: Wisconsin Homes Age: 60 Job: Plant and safety manager since 1992 at Wisconsin Homes in Marshfield Products: Wisconsin Homes builds modular homes.

It distributes its products throughout the state and as far west as North Dakota, as far south as Mississippi and as far north as Canada.

“We build probably the finest modular home in the industry. We are very much customer-driven. A customer picks out the cabinets, and we make them here. We can make pretty much anything. When I’m on the line, I look at the details. It doesn’t happen often, but if I find something, the guys fix it. We’re proud of what we make here.”

— Liz Welter, Gannett Central Wisconsin

About Okray Family Farms Inc. Address: 3001 River Drive, Plover Founded: 1905 by Joseph Okray Sr. Owner: Joseph Okray Employees: 10 Products: The farm has about 1,900 acres of potatoes, 2,400 acres of sweet corn, 875 acres of field corn and 1300 acres of snap beans, as well as peas, cranberries and soybeans.

How and where products are used: The farm sells products to retail outlets such as Roundy’s, Winn-Dixie and Walmart.

Contact information: 715-344-2526, e-mail dick@okray.com, or visit www.okray.com.

Your self-funded plan gives you control.

We’ll help you keep it.

employee profile

Mullins Cheese

Self-funded health plans help you better manage and control your spending while still keeping the ability to tailor a plan to your workforce. UMR is the country’s largest TPA. We help more than 1,000 businesses and close to 3 million plan members get the right care at the right price at the

Luke Mullins

right time. As part of UnitedHealthcare, we can offer you the scale, reach and cost savings of a national company.

Employer: Mullins Cheese Age: 26 Title: Manager Job: After 13 years with the family-owned company, Mullins does anything and everything having to do with the business, from bookkeeping to shipping product to working on the process line making cheese.

Products: “It’s a family business, and it means a lot to be a part of that process. It makes me pretty proud.

Working in this business is gratifying. I have a good feeling about the products we make. It’s unique, and it’s not a job for just anybody. You have to put your heart and soul into it.”

— Dan Richter, for Gannett Central Wisconsin

But you still get the next-door attention and customized solutions of a local TPA. Find out what we can do for you at umr.com, call 1.866.881.0800 x6263 or contact your broker.

Photos by Xai Kha/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Ron and Sue Swan of Mosinee stand in front of their 60-acre Christmas trees farm, Swan’s Christmas Tree Farm. Below: Ron shears lateral branches off a pine tree at his farm.

Wisconsin has ‘happy trees’

By Keith Uhlig

Gannett Central Wisconsin

WAUSAU — Although Christmas trees are disposable products used only a few weeks a year, they are an economic driver that generates income for growers large and small across central Wisconsin.

More than a dozen Christmas tree growers in Marathon and Lincoln counties are members of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association, and there are plenty of other growers who are not association members, said Charles Newby, association president.

Come holiday time, trees from the area end up all over the world, Newby said, and growers range from part-time hobbyists to wholesale growers who devote thousands of acres to the business.

On the small end of the spectrum is Newby, 68, the owner of Newby’s Evergreen Farms, a 20-acre Christmas tree farm on Highway J near Wausau.

Newby is a retail grower, meaning he sells his own trees off of a lot in Wausau or from his farm where customers can cut their own, sit by a fire and soak up the holiday ambiance.

“Anybody can grow a tree and anybody can sell a tree,” Newby said. “We’re selling an experience.”

H e ’s b e e n g r o w i n g trees as a side business since 1970. His main jobs, before he retired, were park director for the Wausau/Marathon County Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department and after that as operations manager for Central Wisconsin Airport.

He got into Christmas tree growing because “it was something I could do part time, and I thought it would be good to do after retirement,” Newby said.

Newby sells anywhere from 1,200 to 1,300 trees

NOW BUYING STANDING TIMBER CALL US FOR BEST PRICES Give our foresters a call We have been in business for over 50 years Payment up front on jobs

© 2010 United HealthCare Services, Inc. No part of this document may be reproduced without permission.

Contact Information: Phone: 715-449-2518 CST | Fax: 715-449-2967 Address: 295 Hwy 45 | PO Box 245 Birnamwood WI 54414

per season, most of which end up in homes in central Wisconsin.

His operation sits in contrast to that of Central Wisconsin Evergreens, n e a r M e r r i l l , w h i ch devotes nearly 1,000 acres to trees. Central Wisconsin Evergreens sells its trees in bulk only.

“We sell to Christmas tree sales lots, big-box stores that sell trees, and other wholesalers,” said Kurt Helmstadter, sales manager for the business.

Helmstadter said trees from Central Wisconsin Evergreens end up in all states east of the Rockies, and across Canada.

Owner Fred Latzig Jr. started the business in the 1970s. The Latzig family owned a large operation, and family members started their own farms, Helmstadter said.

Central Wisconsin is strong in terms of Christmas tree growth for several reasons, Newby said.

In years past, when today’s Christmas tree farmers established their operations, land was relatively cheap, making it

Central Wisconsin’s Leading Renewable Energy Provider.

www.northwindre.com

cost effective for a grower to begin a building business. The soil around the area is right for growing evergreens as well, Newby said, and the

weather also is generally good for the trees.

Helmstadter agrees.

“Evergreens grow here naturally,” he said. “It makes for happy trees.”

A variety of specialty flavored cheeses and cheese curds made fresh Monday-Friday

A crafter of award-winning cheeses on the same site since 1885

Nasonville Dairy

5001160289

Members of the Okray Family Farms Inc. team stand near the mural dedicated to the family members as part of the company’s centennial celebration. Below: Okray Family Farms Inc. sign. Left: Peggy McCarville sorts potatoes. Far left: Potatoes are bagged and placed on pallets for shipping at Okray Family Farms Inc.

5001159821

PLOVER — Okray Family Farms Inc. has come a long way from when it began on the square in downtown Stevens Point in 1905.

Joseph Okray Sr. started the company, then called Joseph Okray and Brothers, by buying and selling potatoes from local farmers, as well as furs from local fur dealers and farmers.

It’s been in the family ever since, and now the farm in Plover has about 1,900 acres of potatoes, 2,400 acres of sweet corn, 875 acres of field corn and 1,300 acres of snap beans, as well as peas, cranberries and soybeans. The products are packaged and sold to retail outlets, such as Roundy’s, Winn-Dixie and Walmart both in the Midwest and across the country.

Primarily its customers are east of the Mississippi River.

In central Wisconsin the farm’s main retailer is the Roundy’s grocery store chain, which has a large presence in the Midwest, said Dick Okray, secretary/treasurer of the company.

Over the years the company changed its name to Okray Produce Co., and finally to Okray Family Farms in 1986.

Currently with 10 employees, Joseph J. Okray is the president and Michael J. Finnessy is the vice president.

“It’s evolved into a much bigger industry-wide business. I think it really speaks volumes for the fact that the members of our family stay involved with the industry,” Okray said. “They’ve got their fingers on the pulse of the markets, and we have a strong commitment to making sure that this generation and the next generation continues to go down this road.”

The farm sells to individuals and businesses alike in minimum 50-pound units.

It also sells restaurant-sized potatoes in 50-pound cartons.

10898 Hwy 10, Marshfield, WI 54449 • Ph: (715) 676-2177 N14505 Sandhill Ave. (off Hwy 29), Curtiss, WI 54422 Ph: (715) 223-3338

Energy Independence Starts with the Sun!!!

WDH, September 23, PAGE

CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACK

Made In Central Wisconsin

8F

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Cranberry business leads to sweet success

By Deb Cleworth

Gannett Central Wisconsin

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — With more than 3,000 customers throughout the nation and the world, business couldn’t be sweeter at Urban Processing in Wisconsin Rapids.

The 9-year-old company, which produces cranberry products, started with bulk distribution throughout the country, followed by retail products. “Our retail side started very small in the beginning, and now we’ve grown to a full line of products,� said Steve Berlyn, general manager and chief financial officer with the company.

Carrie Betz, owner of Cranberry Connections in Wisconsin Dells, said finding products from Wisconsin-based companies is becoming more and more difficult. “It’s just devastating to see that happen,� Betz said. “Nowadays it’s just getting harder and harder to find items locally. It’s just nice to have such great quality available from a Wisconsin company. “We’ve been in business six years, and they were one of the original companies we worked with,� she said. “They are just a great company to work with.�

Berlyn credits top-quality products and outstanding customer service for the company’s success. “We’re able to do a lot of unique things for our customers, and they like that,� he said.

The sweetened-dried cranberry is the No. 1 bulk product. And retail? “I’d have to say our chocolate-covered cranberry; they’re very good,� Berlyn said, with a knowing laugh.

Betz was quick to agree. “The one thing that they do better than anyone else in the world, is their chocolate-covered sweetened dried cranberries,� she said. “Something about their chocolate is just above and beyond and their sweetened-dried cranberries are just plump and moist and excellent quality.�

Urban offers gift baskets, fundraising opportunities and wedding gifts and favors. “If a customer comes in and asks for something, we see if we can do it, and we usually do,� Berlyn said. “And then it turns into a potential market for us.�

Those ideas might soon be available to customers. “On the retail side, we are looking at coming up with some new products,�

Berlyn said. “We have some new ideas we want to launch, probably next year.�

Cranberry syrup is one of the most popular products sold at Urban Processing.

About Urban PROCESSING PHotos by TOM LOUCKS/Gannett Central Wisconsin

Address: 6011 Washington St., Wisconsin Rapids Founded: 2001 Owners and operators: Dan and Cheryl Urban Employees: 48 Products: Cranberrybased ingredient and retail products and gift items How the products are used: Bulk sales, grocery stores, specialty markets, online purchases Contact information: Call 715-423-5200, e-mail information@urbanprocessing.com, or visit www. urbanprocessing.com.

Clockwise from top: Debbie Duehlmeier of Urban Processing shows the company’s display at the Port Edwards Fun Fest. Tim Oleson inspects juice during production at Urban Processing. Cranberry soap is just one of several popular products made by Urban Processing. Julie Molski checks the acidity using a titrate device in the lab at Urban Processing.

# % " " " " '

" % '" &' $ '

$" " & "% # % '" & ' " ' " ' ' " &% $"" $" $ " & " " ' %