VO L 1 8 #5 O c tobe r / Nov e m be r 2 0 1 0
Published by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce for Chamber members
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Contents. Volume 18, #5 | October/Novemeber 2010
FEATURES
10
FOOD IS BIG BUSINESS
TNT Crust, Birds Eye Foods and The Dairy Business Association weigh in on trends in food
14 SALM PARTNERS
Salm Partners gives new meaning to the word "partner" in their everyday dealings with business partners
18 THRIVING HEALTH, THRIVING ECONOMY
10
Schwabe North America solidifies former Enzymatic Therapy's presence in - and impact on - the greater Green Bay area
06 BBJ DEPARTMENTS
14 24 18
04 VIEW POINT 06 TECH WATCH 08 BOOK REVIEW 09 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT 24 MEET A MEMBER 26 CHAMBER BRIEFS 28 CHAMBER NEWS
ADVERTISERS VISIT THE GREEN BAY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AT:
titletown.org
PRESIDENT Paul Jadin EDITOR Lori Kaye Lodes GRAPHIC DESIGNER Josh Beaton
27 B aker Tilly 02 B ank Mutual 02 B aylake B ank B ack Cover Cellcom 27 Children’s Hospit al of Wisconsin 01 Future Technologies Inside Front Cover Lambeau Field 22 LAU N C H F I LM.C O M 07 Menominee Casino Resort 01 Network Health Plan 22 NWTC Inside B ack Cover Prevea 23 TD S
COVER IMAGE Josh Beaton
The BBJ is published bimonthly by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 1660, Green Bay, WI 54305-1660. The BBJ is supported entirely by advertising revenue from member companies of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. For information about the advertising rates and deadlines, contact Sales at 920.593.3404. The BBJ (USPS 010-206) is published bimonthly for $18 a year by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 1660, Green Bay, WI 54305-1660. Periodicals postage paid at Green Bay, WI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The BBJ, P.O. Box 1660, Green Bay, WI 54305-1660. PH: 920.593.3423. Copyright© 2008 Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
VIEW POINT TEXT PAUL JADIN
Legislative Scorecard
1. AB-75 - trans fund raid 2. AB-75 - QEO 3. AB-75 - captial gains tax 4. AB-75 - new income tax brackets 5. AB-75 - prevailing wage 6. AB-614 7. SB-1 8. SB-2 9. SB-181 10. SB-409
| BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Hansen
Ellis
2
9
14
18
19
30
NV
Opposed our postion
AB-75 eliminate transportation fund raid (budget bill) AB-75 return to current law on QEO (budget bill) AB-75 current law on capital gains tax (budget bill) AB-75 current law on the new income tax bracket (budget bill) 5. AB-75 current law on prevailing wage (budget bill) 4
Olsen
1
Supported our postion 1. 2. 3. 4.
Cowles
Lasee
Senate
We applaud and thank those legislators who have voted to support free enterprise by resisting new taxes and onerous regulations and we hope to have new allies in that endeavor in 2011.
Leibham
This year, for the first time, NEWCC has chosen to grade our regional delegation of legislators on their votes on items included in that agenda. We hope the report card that follows is useful to you in evaluating your own representative and choosing who to support in November.
Obviously, there are limits to what we’ve been able to include in the report but last year’s state budget is clearly the centerpiece. Votes taken on that one piece of legislation continue to drive the debate in campaigns this year and the impact of those votes will consume our new governor’s agenda for at least the next four years.
Hopper
Our Public Policy Council develops a legislative agenda each year, which our board of directors adopt following some additions, deletions or amendments. From that agenda we take select items that match what our counterparts in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and the Fox Cities haven chosen to lobby and come up with a Northeast Wisconsin Chamber Coalition (NEWCC) legislative agenda.
6. AB-614 health care cost transparency 7. SB-1 state minimum wage 8. SB-2 wage lien priority 9. SB-181 prohibit workplace smoking 10. SB-409 economic development package
1. AB-74 2. AB-75 - prev. wage 3. AB-75 - levy limit 4. AB-75 - production tax credit 5. AB-75 - garbage tax 6. AB-75 - insurance 7. AB-116 8. AB-367 9. AB-696 10. SB-20 11. SB-62 12. SB-181 13. SB-163 14. SB-362 15. SB-409 16. SB-585
Bies
Zigmunt
Ott
Montgomery
Nelson
Tauchen
Perersen
Townsend
Spanbauer
Hintz
Kaufert
Roth
Bernard-Schaber
Soletski
Nygren
Van Roy
Assembly
1
2
3
4
5
6
40
52
53
54
55
56
57
88
89
90
NV
Supported our postion
NV NV NV
Opposed our postion
1. AB-74 create a state income tax credit for health savings account contributions 2. AB-75 prevailing wage changes (budget bill) 3. AB-75 changes to levy limit floor (budget bill) 4. AB-75 restore qualified domestic product tax credit (budget bill) 5. AB-75 removing garbage tax increase (budget bill) 6. AB-75 vehicle insurance changes (budget bill) 7. AB-116 school conference and activities leave 8. AB-367 credit history check 9. AB-696 telecommunications reform
10. SB-20 compensatory and punitive damages and surcharge 11. SB-62 combined reporting (budget repair bill) 12. SB-181 prohibit workplace smoking 13. SB-163 colorectal screening insurance mandate 14. SB-362 mental health insurance parity 15. SB-409 economic development package 16. SB-585 union organizing
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 |
5
TECH WATCH TEXT AL PAHL
Tech meets art
in cooking up campus meals
Technology has crept into many corners of our lives – and stormed into others. Why should food preparation be any different? Technology augments chefs’ creativity at St. Norbert College (SNC) by making recipe research faster, recipe storage and evaluation easier, and keeping track of foodstuffs on hand simpler. It provides new conduits to communicate with customers and even tells you when you’re almost out of thyme. No more running out of your key ingredient halfway through the preparation process. Technology prevents it, in a couple of different ways, for Head Chef Dan Froelich and his dining services staff. The key is FOODTRAK, software that holds all the college’s recipes, tracks the entire food inventory, provides historical ordering data and will, at some point, order future shipments. Because the software knows the recipes and the current stock, it uses the former to update the latter. “Every purchase goes into the computer, and then as recipes are used, the system deducts,” explains Froelich, who counts 2,200 undergraduates among his customers. “Let’s say we are using ground sirloin. It knows we have 600 pounds of that. When we pick the recipe, and tell it how many portions, it deducts every ingredient in the recipe from inventory. That works pretty well for us.” Little question that it’s much more efficient than the six chefs, 10 kitchen assistants, two registered dietitians, baker and lead salad person leaving a series of sticky notes for Froelich and the three-person inventory staff. In the “old days,” (pre-1994), cooks literally walked through the storerooms and looked at all the items, which at least were stored in the same sequence as they appeared on paper. “You’d walk down those aisles and then do the order,” Froelich says. “Now we 6
| BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
do it by recipe, which saves a lot of time. Our business has evolved and if you don’t keep up with the times and technology, you will be left on the side of the road. Just ordering is so much easier online than sitting down with a salesman for hours and going over it. We do all the ordering online.” The 22-year SNC veteran, who annually feeds the Green Bay Packers during their training camp, admits staff doesn’t yet order directly out of FOOD-TRAK, but predicts they will grow into it, as they have into other features of the package. “We had some struggles with it,” Froelich admits frankly, thus lumping himself with every other user of a sophisticated package (if they’re honest). “We didn’t know the software well enough and what its capabilities were. Now, we have our gurus. Our Associate Director of Food Services, Matty Doyle, has spearheaded the whole thing.” The software is a tremendous asset for the accountability part of being head chef. “I can look back and see how many gallons of milk we ordered in the last two years and the price fluctuations, which is great when forecasting menus for next year,” Froelich says “Budgeting and forecasting are much more important; with rising food costs and the economy right now, we have to purchase even more wisely. The more information I can get, the better off we are. We have been very successful in keeping food costs where we need to be.” Software that ties into FOOD-TRAK is also helpful in the creative part of being head chef – not surprisingly, Froelich’s favorite part of the job. “It’s a good tool for me for recipe creation,” he says. “I make up a recipe, it goes into the computer and it produces a cost per person. I have a dollar figure per person that I try to stay under. It helps me stay within (nutritional) guidelines and within food costs. The program does all of that for us.
“Everything we do here, we go off a recipe,” he adds. “I don’t like to cook without one; I want balance and consistency. If a student or catering client has something, he or she has to get it the same way the next time. Consistency is important.” Diversity is also important, when you consider this part of the SNC Dining Services mandate: “Through offering international and American regional cuisines, we hope to introduce students to the wonderful world of food.” Froelich, whose SNC customers have included former Polish President Lech Walesa, enjoys in-person research but can’t travel everywhere. “The Internet is just a wealth of knowledge as far as recipes and learning different techniques; it is all there,” he says. “We had a South African artist appearing at our gallery. We had a party and they wanted all South African foods. Well, I had no idea. But I read up online; I read about their culture, what they ate and we were able to create a variety of hors d'oeuvres.” The Internet also plays into the marketing of the SNC chefs’ creations. For starters: Students and staff members can view daily dining-room menus online. That page includes this link: “Don’t see your favorite menu item here? Visit our menu items webpage to find out when it will be served next.” One click later, hungry hordes are studying a list of no fewer than 132 menu items, learning when each will be served next. That information is part of the SNC website. Dining Services also has its own Facebook page. There are no fewer than four Twitter feeds, including Froelich’s personal effort. “I had a great response,” he says. “I send our menus to the students on Twitter. They don’t always look on the website, but if you put it in front of their faces, they appreciate that.” And, no doubt, appreciate the food on their plates even more than the menus on their computer screens.
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What does it take to keep a new food item on the St. Norbert College menu? It starts with a recipe; the fun and creative part of the job for Head Chef Dan Froelich and his staff. “We test them first for taste and presentation,” he explains. “Then we hand the recipe to Melissa DaPra, one of our two registered dietitians. She does the evaluations on what the nutritional values are. If it falls within her guidelines, we put it on the menu. Once it is on the menu, we always give it three chances. If usage is not good after three times, we take if off. If usage is up, we keep it.
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“The whole thing is balance. If I took burgers and chicken strips away, the students would kill me. But, there is also a segment that wants healthy options, maybe vegan or vegetarian, or gluten-free. Our dietitians work with them and let them know on a daily basis what is available to them.”
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 |
7
BOOK REVIEW REVIEWED BY Eileen Below, BROWN COUNTY LIBRARY
Cook This, Not That!: Kitchen Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution AUTHOR David Zincenko and Matt Goulding
PUBLISHER New York: Riverhead Books, 2009
“Cook This, Not That!” comes from (surprise!) the mildly overwhelming team of David Zincenko and Matt Goulding of the “Eat This, Not That!” phenomenon. “Cook This, Not That!” (CTNT) sold 21,387 copies in its first six days. This is not a restaurant copycat book, but one that offers more healthful and cheaper alternatives to chain restaurant fare. Based on the axiom, “You’re in full control” in your kitchen, the authors contend comparable choices can be made from common ingredients in your pantry. Just in case those ingredients are not so common, they thoughtfully provide a list of exactly what you should have, along with every pot, pan, utensil and gadget. Every recipe fits on one page and is easy to follow. Each can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, and nearly all are illustrated with a full-color photograph. Calorie, fat and sodium contents of the original restaurant offering and its healthier counterpart are displayed, and the cost savings per serving calculated. Little tidbits with catchy names like “Secret Weapon,” “Mastering the Technique” and “Scorecard” provide enlightening and entertaining reading. On the downside; fiber, protein and carbohydrate counts are not included. Its small size and 352 pages make it too thick to prop open while cooking. I noticed, too, that often the calorie content is less only because the CTNT portion is smaller than the restaurant’s. And then of course, there are the substitutions that just don’t cut it. Compared to Bob Evans’ Stacked and Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes, the French Toast offering seems pretty lame, although the bourbon called for in the CTNT version could make for some interesting conversations around the water cooler.
8
| BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Additional title available at the
Brown County Library
n Dr. Colbert’s “I Can Do This Diet Colbert, Don Lake Mary, Fla.: Siloam, 2010 n Oxygen’s Pick It, Kick It: Simple Choices, Huge Results Hart, Diane Mississauga, Ont.: Robert Kennedy Pub., 2010 n The Stress-Eating Cure: Lose weight with the No-Willpower Solution to Stress Hunger and Cravings Heller, Rachael F Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale, 2010 n The Rebel Diet: Break the Rules, Lose the Weight Hershberg, Melissa Mississauga, Ont.: J. Wiley & Sons Canada, 2010 n The Cheater’s Diet: Sneaky Ways to Losing Up to 20 Pounds in 8 Weeks Eating (and Drinking) Everything You Love Lippert, Marissa New York: Dutton, 2010 n Urban Skinny: Live the Fabulous Life—and Still Zip Up Shupp, Danielle Guilford, CT: GPP Life, 2010 n The New ME Diet: Eat More, Work Out Less, and Actually Lose Weight While You Rest Teta, Jade New York: William Morrow, 2010
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT TEXT Beth Kneisler, Leonard & Finco Public Relations
How to measure
social media’s
impact
How do you measure social media’s impact? It’s today’s $1 million question. The simple answer is there is no one-size-fits-all response. When we discuss this issue with clients we do two things: make sure there is an understanding of what social media is and isn't, and then discuss what the desired results are before we embark on a social media campaign. Social media is not advertising. As such, it's a mistake to judge results in the same way you judge advertising results. Social media is about increasing brand awareness, building loyalty and interacting with your target audiences in ways not previously possible. It's a powerful form of public relations and community building. What you’ll learn about your company and its products or services may be as valuable, or even more valuable, than what you “get” out of social media. Social media is also not for those who need to control everything. You have to accept that while you can develop, shape and deliver content, you cannot “control” what the response will be. Yes, it can be scary, especially if what’s being said isn’t complimentary but, again, the feedback is invaluable. While an agency can provide a comprehensive analysis of your social media efforts, there are some simple tracking mechanisms you can do on your own. Here are a few examples: • Twitter. Track the number of your followers as well as the number of followers for those who retweet your messages. If you use tools such as HootSuite or TweetReach, you can generate some interesting and useful reports relating to your Tweets. Compare your month-over-month growth rate. • Facebook. An obvious measurement is the number of "likes" for your brand page, but you really need to go beyond that number. Look at things like how many comments you've received or how many people liked your posts. What kind of interaction are you generating? What kind of click through do you have to your website? Also, check out Facebook's Insights for more detailed analysis. • Blogs. Track the number of visitors who viewed your posts or commented. What kinds of reaction/comments are you generating? How many click thrus are you receiving to your other social media or Internet sites?
Beyond the numbers, you also need to focus on: • Sentiment. What’s the sentiment of the posts to your blog? What are they saying on your Facebook wall? Is it positive, negative or neutral? You want people to be engaged in your social media sites and you want it to be positive. If it’s not positive, then you need to give careful consideration to what’s being said and what you need to do about. • Cross promotion. If you build it, it doesn’t mean they will come. You should constantly cross promote what’s on your blog, your website, your Facebook page, etc. Yes, it takes time, but it’s essential to building your brand and your reputation online. As social media becomes a larger portion of your PR mix, you’ll want to do some demographic breakdowns as well. There are numerous social media and online evaluation tools you can subscribe to or purchase that provide extensive analysis. Whatever you decide to do, measure and evaluate on a consistent basis. Chart results monthly, so over the course of a few months you see what trends are developing. Give your social media accounts time to grow. Finally, the one piece of advice we give to everyone embarking on social media use, or already using social media on a regular basis, is to understand that it changes and sometimes it changes rapidly. What is today’s “big deal” may not be tomorrow’s. What we measure today may change in the future, but that’s part of the fun and challenge of using social media. The one thing that is constant is that social media is here to stay.
Beth Kneisler is an account executive for Leonard & Finco Public Relations, a full-service public relations firm specializing in issues management, media, government and community relations, image campaigns, crisis management and social media campaigns. For more information, visit www.LFpublicrelations.com, visit the L&F Facebook page or follow L&F on Twitter: thePRexperts.
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 |
9
COVER STORY
Food is jennifer hogeland TEXT
big business The face of America has changed – an increasingly diverse population and the country’s renewed commitment to health has strongly influenced soughtafter products and services. Businesses have been forced to step up their offerings to meet the challenges posed by the changing consumer. Thriving in today’s business environment is nearly impossible without recognizing the market trends. Area businesses have altered their focus to the changing flavor of consumers not only across the nation but locally as well. Area food manufacturer TNT Crust is bringing in a tortilla line to reach other ethnicities while a passionate Birds Eye Foods product development team in Green Bay explores new frozen food offerings to satisfy consumers. The Dairy Business Association weighs in on how agriculture brings big business to the community.
10 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Wisconsin
numbers
don’t lie
State is still on target as America’s Dairyland
Jennifer Hogeland TEXT
Farmers passionate about working the land and raising animals are helping the state reclaim the title as “America’s Dairyland.” A friendly competition with west coast dairy rival, California, heats up as Wisconsin’s milk production is on the rise. Brown County stands at the top of the dairy producing counties in the state and the country. According to Jayme Sellen, deputy government affairs director of the Wisconsin Dairy Association, Wisconsin ranks 7th in the nation for dairy production. The county has seen a 30 percent increase in milk production in the last two years.
As far as catching up to California, Wisconsin is on its way. Legislation passed in 2006, known as the Livestock Facility Siting law, set uniform standards for establishing new farms. “We’ve seen a steady number in the increase of farms and cows in Wisconsin but California is reaching a level where they can’t grow any more. We have plenty of room left to grow. I definitely think we have the ability to be back on top,” adds Sellen.
The economics of agriculture on Brown County is tremendous. It is a $3 billion industry in the county with dairy accounting for $1.24 billion. Statewide agriculture is an approximately $60 billion industry with dairy at $26.5 billion. “When you look at the percent of the total economy, agriculture in Brown County accounts for 17 percent,” says Sellen. It employs just fewer than 17,000 area residents from farmers to veterinarians to those who work in supply stores. About nine-and-a-half percent of the Brown County’s total income is generated from agriculture, which includes wages, salaries, benefits and profits. While the number of farms have decreased, the number of cows and the amount of production obtained from these cows has increased. Sellen adds, “Agriculture in Brown County is always a constant. We’ve fared well during the bad times.” In 2009 there were 106,000 head of cattle in Brown County; of that 41,000 were dairy cows. Nearly all the farms owned in Wisconsin are family-owned. They are either single-family farms or two families that come together to operate the farm. One dairy cow generates just under $2,000 in direct income for a producer. Each cow creates about $17,000 in economic activity per year with feed expenses, vet services and more. “Cows are actually big business,” adds Sellen. Technology has allowed those involved in agriculture to make a living. “We are feeding cows better food which aids in milk production. We use scientific advancements to grow more food and yield more crops,” says Sellen. “Agriculture has come a long way in the last 20 to 30 years thanks to technology.”
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 11
Fan of frozen foods? Many brainstorms originate with Birds Eye Foods in Green Bay Jennifer Hogeland TEXT Josh Beaton PHOTOGRAPHY
Ideas of fancy in the frozen section often originate right here. Frozen-food provider Birds Eye Foods was bought by Pinnacle Food Group in late 2009. The New Jersey-based company was already home to a handful of well-known brands including Swanson, Duncan Hines, Vlasic, Aunt Jemima and more.
looked at that and recognized what a great team we had in Green Bay. They were concerned about trying to move the group to New Jersey to join the other product development teams. They assumed they’d lose up to 80 percent of the people,” says Gunderson. Rather than disrupt the team, Pinnacle Food Group decided to keep a good thing going where it was. Foodies on board Gunderson cites hiring people passionate about food has been one of the keys to their success. Product developers are determined to spot new trends – looking at magazines for recipes, frequenting restaurants and going to market to see what is upand-coming. “They really stay on top of what is going on,” adds Gunderson. Vendors, from ingredient to packaging suppliers, keep their pulse on the industry and share their street knowledge with these teams. The Green Bay-based frozen food product development team works closely with Pinnacle’s New Jersey marketing team. Together they concentrate on consumers and their needs. Efforts include visiting consumers’ homes and using ethnography to understand what they do, how they are using products, and what they are missing. The frozen food group is then driven to identify gaps and find ways to fill them.
While many changes came with the sale. Pinnacle Food Group kept the Birds Eye Foods product development team, located at 520 N. Broadway in Green Bay, in place. This group then assumed the frozen food product development for the entire company. “There were several brands that Pinnacle had that were in the frozen food category and we became the product development center for all those brands, which includes Hungry Man frozen dinners, Aunt Jemima breakfast items, Van de Kamps and Mrs. Paul’s seafood, and Celeste pizza,” says Karen Gunderson, senior director of product development for Birds Eye Foods (pictured). “It dramatically increased our responsibility and allowed us to grow our team.” Pinnacle Food Group was impressed with the product development done for the Birds Eye Food brands and cited this as one reason for acquiring the company. “Our product development is very innovative. The Birds Eye Steamfresh was a classic example of that,” adds Gunderson. Birds Eye was the first to market the steamer technology. Now nearly every food manufacturer – even the private labels – have taken their lead. “Pinnacle 12 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Catering to cultural and health-oriented desires While the Birds Eye brands include the core vegetables that tend to hit every ethnic group, they continue to explore opportunities to target the growing cultural markets. “I think as a whole Americans are become more globally aware and that has stretched what are looking at,” says Gunderson. “We are investigating how we can incorporate this change into what we are doing – by fusing this into cuisine or by creating something specific for groups like the Latino market.” As far as keeping up with trends, Gunderson reveals the health and wellness craze has made a dramatic impact on the frozen foods industry. Consumers are searching for ways to remove the negative and add the positive to what they eat. “Limiting sodium is huge right now due to dietary guidelines and trans fat is still a major concern among consumers. A large number of people are also looking for things to be added to their food to improve its nutritional value,” she says. Omega-3 is at the top of this list. Frozen food offers consumers the convenience they demand although the industry is challenged by the groups of people looking for fresh and locally grown products. “That is an obstacle we’ve run into and we have to be cognizant of. We are looking at different ways to approach these consumers,” adds Gunderson.
Jennifer Hogeland TEXT Because TNT Crust specialThe U.S. population is becomizes in pizza crusts, adding a ing more diverse and Hispanics tortilla line was a natural fit. Reschke explains tortillas and pizza are the fastest growing segment. crust begin with the same basic inAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, gredients – flour and water. The equipment to unload and move the key ingredients is alHispanics have been responsible for oneready on the plant floor. He adds, “A lot of equipment half of the nation’s growth in recent years; they are doesn’t need to be bought to support the line; it is already in place. The manufacturing requires different equipment but the process expected to account for 20 percent of the country’s population within is still very similar.” the next 20 years.
With the Hispanic population in the U.S. now at over 45 million, businesses are anxious to modify their offerings to reach this market – many businesses can’t afford to overlook the changing face of their consumers. TNT Crust to churn out tortillas Later this year, TNT Crust, part of the Tyson Foods, Inc. family, will join the leagues catering to the Hispanic market. They’ll be installing a new, state-of-the-art, tortilla line in one of their Green Bay plants. TNT Crust recognized the country’s overall acceptance of Mexican cuisine – by both Hispanics living in the U.S. as well as other Americans – and expects this trend will continue. Kent Reschke, complex manager at TNT Crust in Green Bay, explains there has been growing interest from Americans to use tortillas for wraps or in other cuisine; Hispanics rely on them to create authentic family dishes. Tyson Foods, Inc. is the second largest manufacturer of tortillas in the country. They currently produce seven million to nine million pounds of tortillas a week. While Reschke says the pizza crust business is very strong, using the plant’s available space to make tortillas will allow Tyson Foods, Inc. to sell to even more food distributors. The area plant will add another 250,000-to-350,000 pounds of tortillas to their production each week.
Moving with mouth-watering trends Eating trends have always driven TNT Crust’s business. They’ve endured changes in the market and adjusted products to fit consumers’ demands. Microwavable pizzas meant TNT Crust needed to create microwavable crusts. The health craze continues to impact business as people look for lower fat, lower sodium products, even in their pizza. Tortillas then became a marvelous alternative to answer consumer’s “low-carb” plea. “We’ve seen changes in the products we produce,” says Reschke. “We strive to change with the times.”
The tortilla line is expected to add 20 to 25 positions to TNT Crust’s already incredibly diverse workforce. “Our employees represent the broad spectrum of those who live in the Green Bay area,” says Reschke. This diversity is something that has been part of the company for many years and mimics Tyson Foods, Inc.’s philosophy “to be a company of diverse people working together to produce food.” They take their commitment to diversity one-step further, seeking out minority-owned and womenowned businesses to help them meet their high standards of creating quality products.
“We had room in our plant and by setting up the line in Green Bay it allows us to have distribution to food service markets in the upper Midwest,” says Reschke. The tortillas made at the Green Bay plant will have national distribution by becoming part of Tyson Foods, Inc.’s distribution network.
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 13
Salm Partners gives new meaning to “partner” Nancy Barthel TEXT Josh Beaton PHOTOGRAPHY
Something very special is happening in Denmark. The village of about 2,000 people is home to Salm Partners. Their business – making sausage – seems to fit this quaint Northeast Wisconsin town. But there’s a lot more to it than that. Salm Partners – and the word “partners” is truly the key to everything – is a company that has garnered nationwide and worldwide respect for its zeal for innovation and new, cutting edge technology in the food industry. And their adaptability – their ability to quickly change gears—is a service they proudly provide. They strive to know what the customer needs before the customer even knows it needs it. Both are advantages a small company has over the large corporation, they say. Since 2005, Salm Partners has been a contract manufacturer of smoked sausage and hot dog products. They do this through new technology collagen co-extrusion, cook-in-package production systems through which they make high-quality extended shelf life products for several leading branded marketers and private label customers. And by summer 2010, Salm Partners achieved a milestone in the food industry. The company currently operates half of all co-extrusion cook-in packaging systems in the United States. It’s all about relationships Food safety is paramount, as is consumer satisfaction. With Salm Partners products, a flavorful, juicy product is the goal with the just-right “snap” experience the consumer enjoys when he or she bites into one of their sausages at the tailgate party or backyard barbecue. Little does the consumer know that that very specific taste experience comes only as the result of the very successful partnerships Salm Partners has with its local and regional suppliers. And that satisfying taste experience has translated into something very concrete: jobs. At nearly six years old, Salm Partners has brought 178 fulltime jobs to Denmark and a regular influx of 30 to 40 temporary positions on an at-need basis. “Partners” and “partnership” are part of the everyday vocabulary at Salm 14 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Partners. Nothing, they say, could be accomplished without partnership. Everyone who works here is a “partner” and seldom is a title used here. The company’s philosophy is simple and spelled out on its website at www.salmpartners.com. “We treat everyone that works at our company as partners. This is not a matter of semantics but a strongly held belief that partners take an ownership interest in the company and will go the extra mile for our customers. You can see the results in our product quality and the resulting positive impact we have had on the marketplace.” “This is huge for Northeast Wisconsin” Food scientist Christopher Salm, Ph.D., along with his three brothers Joe, Pete and Mark, came together in 2004 to found Salm Partners. Their first production rolled off the line on March 21, 2005. Their blue and yellow cross-like logo celebrates their Swedish heritage and depicts the expertise the four brothers brought to their new venture. On paper, Christopher Salm leads the company, but his business card reads simply “partner.” Their company motto, “Partners Thriving Together,” says it all. Salm spent his entire career working with and for some of the biggest names in the food industry including ConAgra for 15 years. It’s one of the largest packaged food companies in North America. “What we would like to brag about are the suppliers. They give us the opportunity to be in business,” he says. Salm Partners began with an, “If we build it, they will come” attitude. The Salm brothers acquired the property, built the building, bought the equipment – and then found its customers. It was a venture Denmark State Bank readily signed on for right from the beginning, says Carl Laveck, executive vice president of Denmark State Bank. The company had no customers when the Salm brothers came to the bank for capital. But Denmark State Bank had confidence in their business plan, he says. Salm Partners has seen significant growth since 2005. They purchased the neighboring building for expansion and today run three production lines. Statistically, start-up operations are risky, with failure rates at 80 percent, says Laveck. But Salm Partners beat the odds he says to become one of the most successful start-ups he has seen in his 40 years in banking. “What leads to the success is the people,” says Laveck. He credits Christopher Salm’s well-rounded background in the food industry. “It’s
tremendously rewarding because he started up with nothing,” says Laveck, adding, “When you consider what that does for Denmark … these are high quality jobs.” He spoke about the “multiplier effect” the success Salm Partners has had throughout the community. “This is huge for Northeast Wisconsin,” says Laveck. Fred Monique, vice president of economic development for Advance, a program of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, explains further. “For example, for every $10 in wages paid by one of Salm's local vendors, the employee buys groceries, gas, etc., at local merchants. These merchants, in turn, have employees who receive salaries and similarly spend the majority of their incomes in our area. So, hopefully, you can see the importance on many local vendors rather than purchasing from vendors located in other areas or states.”
the Salm Partners plant is the envy of fellow food industry professionals. “That’s cool,” says Salm. Trust and transparency What do you get when you purchase a Salm Partners product? The company’s sausage is cooked in the package before it heads to the consumer, meaning that when it comes to food safety, the consumer can trust it to meet the highest standards. “We eliminate all the possibilities,” says Salm. His enthusiasm for his work is obvious as he describes the value their vacuum-sealed products bring to the consumer. “It always tastes fresh when the consumer eats it at home,” he says, explaining, “We produce a better quality product with the technology we have.” That technology translates into cost benefits for the brand marketers they produce for and in the end the consumer as well, says Salm. “Transparency” is another word Salm Partners uses a lot. “Our customer trusts that what we say we’re going to do, we are going to do,” says Salm. For this company, the definition of transparency is “being the same on the outside as you are on the inside,” he says. Denmark State Bank can vouch for that. “Once a month we sit down and go over the numbers and talk about where the company is going,” says Laveck. “We become like a partner in the operation.”
“What we would like to brag about are the suppliers. They give us the opportunity to be in business.” -Christopher Salm, Ph.D., Partner, Salm Partners
Bill Bradley, vice president of commercial lending at Nicolet Bank, agrees. “They are a phenomenal company to work Chris Salm is a Salm Partners LLC founding partner, along with three of his brothers. Chris brings a career with,” he says. “They are understandof product development and business management success to Salm Partners. ing that success on both sides makes everybody win in the end. Part of their success is viewing their bank as their financial supplier.” Regular quar“Fun after 50” terly meetings with Nicolet Bank are part of Salm Partners’ operations. And to think that Salm Partners began with a long-ago pipedream. “We need to understand their business,” says Bradley. As a result of these communication efforts, “There are never any surprises. We always Some 30-plus years ago, college sweethearts Susan and Christopher know ahead of time what they’re thinking.” Salm married and already these then 20-somethings were looking ahead. “Fun after 50” is what they called their game plan. And indeed, says Salm, Partnerships build a company developing Salm Partners has been fun for he has brought together good So what goes into making that package of sausage you’ll pick up at the friends he’s made in the food industry over the years to partner in building grocery store this weekend? the company. “It wasn’t scary at all,” says Salm of starting the business from scratch. There is the meat, of course, but there is also the blending of that meat with just the right seasonings and covering the sausage with a casing. “We’re only in existence because of our suppliers,” says Salm, adding, Then there is packaging and the logistics of transporting products in and “People don’t know about us because publicity doesn’t help our business out of the facility. And all of this must be done with the utmost regard for model.” Their products though carry a wide variety of recognizable labels. food safety. It’s the openness with which Salm Partners chooses to run its They make and package for the #1 and #2 brand market sausages in business that they succeed so well in the marketplace say their supplier America as well as the #1 hot dog brand market in the country. The tech- partners. nology they use to do so was pioneered in the Netherlands and today BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 15
Partners, “we have some other manufacturers,” he says. ‘They’re like family’ Plenty of other local suppliers have shared success with Salm Partners as well. “We were thrilled to be able to start with them and grow with them,” says Karen Naze, vice president of operations with WS Packaging, the number one label company in Wisconsin. Their relationship works for lots of reasons, but most notably Naze says, “We have a lot of the same business ethics and goals. We really mirror each other.” Partnering with local businesses is rewarding, she says. “It’s nice to be able to focus locally, growing the economy and growing each others business,” she says. “They’re like family.” Hardwood Smoke condensate is applied to the sausage to deliver just the right color and smoke flavor.
“It’s a very dynamic business,” says Wayne Harris, partner and supply chain manager with Salm Partners. He came to company having spent his career in logistics. “I could never have imagined all the different levels that affect the business. The communication is critical so your supplier needs to know what your forecast and needs are going to be.” Steve Huntington is a partner and chief financial officer for Salm Partners. His name is well-known in business circles in Northeast Wisconsin and it was Christopher Salm who pursued him to come on board. Business is simply done differently here, says Huntington. “We assume that people are doing their best,” he says. “We implement technology that our suppliers develop.” And if Salm Partners is successful, then they are too, he says. Daryl Shackelford, vice president at RapidPak, a division of Alkar/RapidPak in Lodi, can attest to that. They’ve built five packaging machines for Salm Partners. That includes their latest which was installed this summer and still has patents pending. He describes it as, “a miracle of new technology.” Salm Partners was the first to purchase the packaging machine. Besides its ability to meet Salm Partners’ production needs, what makes the packaging machine unique is that it saves energy while using less floor space. “That’s big in the meat industry,” he says, where climatized space is at a premium. As a result of their success with Salm Partners, “We’ve sold several of them since Salm bought the first one,” he adds. Also working with Salm Partners is American Foods Group. They supply beef products to Salm as well as aid in the logistics of moving product in and out of the Salm Partners’ production facility through their America’s Services Line. “They have done a great job,” says Jeff Jones, executive vice president of sales at American Foods Group. Of their relationship with suppliers, “It’s unique to the industry,” he says. As a partner with Salm Partners, American Foods Group does pre-mixing of raw materials. “One of the new lines developed because of Salm,” Jones points out. He estimates American Foods Group made a quarterto a half-million dollar investment on the pre-processing line that he says brought eight to 10 new jobs to their company. “And now,” besides Salm 16 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Bryan Hollenbach, vice president and area general manager for Green Bay Packaging, concurs. Their company supplies packing boxes for Salm Partners. “They’re very honest people,” he says, noting the value the company brings to the community. “It’s always rewarding to work with a local company.” Some of Salm Partners’ products contain cheese and it is Thiel Cheese in Hilbert to which the company turns. “Chris and I met each other in some past lives,” says Wayne Casper, president and CEO. He appreciates “multi-level relationships” like the one Thiel Cheese has with Salm Partners. Red Arrow of Manitowoc supplies Salm Partners with its liquid smoke flavorings. That company is the world’s largest supplier of liquid smoke and has expanded its business to offer Salm Partners and other companies the collagen that serves as the casings for the link sausages. Salm has “a great pedigree in the meat industry,” says Gary Underwood, president and CEO of Red Arrow. “He doesn’t really have any real levels of bureaucracy or other corporate hurdles,” he says of Christopher Salm. “We don’t just supply product and that’s it … we’re there when issues have to be resolved.” Underwood noted that many people don’t realize “how important of a technology hub Wisconsin is.” Receptive to change Making sausage products is one thing; keeping track of it is another. Dave McArt, an accounts systems consultant with Heartland Business Systems in Little Chute, worked along with another business partner Schenck, S.C., to provide Salm Partners with real-time information on product through use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). This is “a very dynamic, growing business,” says McArt, which needed to move into real-time manufacturing. Salm Partners wants to be cutting edge, which makes it an exciting company with which to partner. “Visionary” is the way McArt describes the way Christopher Salm leads the company. “They’re always looking for the next new mousetrap,” he says. Tom Maurer, director of Schenck Technology Solutions, agrees. “They’re
looking for cutting edge technology that will make them more efficient … they’re very receptive to change.” Salm Partners could have built in a variety of locations, but Northeast Wisconsin is where they wanted to be for one important reason. “The workforce is very good,” says chief financial officer Huntington. As a partner at Salm Partners, it is Sally Wheelock’s role as human resources director to hire, schedule and provide training for fellow partners. When production needs warrant it, she turns to three temp agencies to fill their regular requirement of 30 to 40 temporary partners. Those agencies are Great Lakes Staffing, QPS Employment Group and Encadria Staffing Solutions. At peak times, they have used as many as 55 temporary partners. “They work right alongside the full-time partners,” she adds. In meeting Salm Partners’ needs, “They have been absolutely stellar. You think HR is HR is HR, but there’s a lot more to it in the food industry.” She’s worked in HR in other fields. For her, Salm Partners is the place to be. “We’re here to do the best that we can do without the trappings of the hierarchy. It makes it a much more fun place to be,” she says.
and enjoyed,” he says. His advice to anyone in the business world is simple, “Don’t burn any bridge.” Miron Construction, Van Oss Electric, Maribel Heating and Plumbing, and Great Lakes Mechanical, all are among the partners he works with, he says. Northeast Wisconsin’s food industry supply chain There’s plenty that other businesses can learn from the success Salm Partners has had because through its partnerships with local and regional suppliers. "We need to do more to promote the tremendous infrastructure in place in the Brown County area for the food processing industry,” says Ray Kopish, vice president of member services with the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. “Many of our Chamber members are important components in that supply chain. This consists of custom machine shops, packaging and converting companies, labeling operations, lab services, marketing companies and much more. There’s plenty of capacity to grow successful agribusiness as exemplified through many of the companies featured in this issue."
She is looking forward to growing the business further by enlisting training assistance from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC). Corporate Training and Economic Development at NWTC has planned upcoming educational opportunities for their operator partners. Supervisory and leadership development is also planned. Wheelock is pleased NWTC has customized programs that are “Salm specific.” NWTC is a wonderful local resource, she emphasizes. “We’re all excited about it,” she says. “They’re growing by leaps and bounds out there,” says Laurie Radke, dean of corporate training and economic development at NWTC, noting, “We have been a strategic partner in their economic vitality.” NWTC in many ways is a “one-stop solution provider” for business, she says. Don’t burn any bridge Though the Salm family doesn’t readily talk about it, there’s personal pride in how the founding of Pictured: Ring rope sausage line. Smoked sausage rings are conveyed from the cooking tower to the Salm Partners has positively impacted the local vacuum packaging machines. economy. They were raised on a farm in rural De Pere where the 11 Salm kids learned about hard work from their parents. The four brothers are pleased their mother got to see Salm Partners have “Bringing positive change to the food industry through new technology its first success. production systems to deliver the best in consumer preferred products to our customers.” That’s the mission statement Salm Partners lives by. Mark Two of the four original founding partners in Salm Partners, Joe and Pete, Salm says he’s had people ask him why he and his brothers Christopher, have retired from the business. Continuing with Christopher is Mark Salm. Pete and Joe hadn’t started the business 20 years earlier. The answer is With a career spent in paper mill maintenance and construction, his ex- obvious: they couldn’t have done it without the life experiences they each pertise has been critical to growing the business. He traveled a good deal brought to the table. “It was a synergy that comes along once in a lifetime,” with his work prior to the founding of Salm Partners. He says he was in he says. Las Vegas six years ago when Christopher called to ask, “`How would you like to build a sausage plant? You would get to stay at home.’” His response was quick. “Yes, I’m in,” Mark recalls. He has a rule of thumb as he chooses partners who do maintenance and construction for Salm Partners. “It’s who we associated with in the past BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 17
Schwabe Americans spend $25.2 billion a year on dietary supplements. Whether it’s fish oil to help our hearts or ginkgo biloba to sharpen our brains, we take these nostrums because we believe they’ll help us thrive.
helps bodies and local economy thrive Lee Marie Reinsch TEXT Josh Beaton PHOTOGRAPHY
and create 100 new jobs. Since that announcement, the company has been gradually moving in that direction, with fall 2011 as the target for fully integrating its other U.S. property, Nature's Way in Utah, into the Green Bay site.
The Green Bay economic community hopes German supplement maker Schwabe will help the area thrive, now that it's making the former Enzymatic Therapy its North American headquarters. “Their staying in Green Bay has a significant impact, because the city of Green Bay and Northeast Wisconsin could easily have lost 300 jobs,” says Derek Lord, director of economic development for the City of Green Bay. Schwabe Pharmaceuticals of Karlsruhe, Germany, bought Enzymatic Therapy in 2008. “What many people expected was that we'd be sold and senior staff members here would lose their jobs," says President and CEO Randy Rose. "But the Germans did their due diligence." Schwabe's leaders from Karlsruhe found the facility in Green Bay’s Randy Rose, president and CEO, Schwabe North America I43 business park far surpassed any they had seen before, in cleanliness, state-of-the-art equipment and general organization, Rose says. And they seemed to like the Green All of Schwabe's North America's manufacturing operations, distribution, Bay community. laboratory services, legal, human resources and regulatory departments have moved or will move to Green Bay within the next year. “Not only did Schwabe announced in 2009 that it would invest $10 million into the they provide a great benefit to the community by staying and retaining Enzymatic Therapy site, build a 100,000-square-foot distribution center their existing positions, but they are investing in and adding value to the 18 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
community,” Lord says, referring to the new distribution center and jobs. It’s the largest investment Schwabe has made outside Germany, Rose says. They're here for the long-haul: “Schwabe doesn’t make short-term investments." The state of Wisconsin helped sweeten the deal with an incentive package of $400,000 in "forgivable" loans and $500,000 in tax breaks. Schwa-who? While Schwabe (it’s pronounced schwobba) may not be a household name, some of its products may come close. Nature’s Way herbal supplements can be found at grocery stores like Copps and Festival Foods, and Enzymatic Therapy's Remifemin menopause relief, Whole Body Cleanse and Pearls probiotic supplement seem to be everywhere. Enzymatic Therapy products are sold in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Singapore, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as online and also locally at eight independent health stores.
Andy Schleis loads an HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) instrument with samples to begin assaying vitamin potency.
Schwabe has several other brands, including lines solely for health professionals.
"One of our inspectors says we were way above the status of some of the pharmaceutical companies he’s seen." -Randy Rose, President and CEO, Schwabe North America
The market for supplements is flourishing, according to Rose, and it’s showing no signs of withering any time soon. “Trends in the United States with baby boomers and healthcare, and changes in healthcare legislation and healthcare costs are providing us with a great opportunity to improve people's health naturally,” Rose says. “We are in a growing category and are experiencing tremendous growth.” Last year, Schwabe did more than $740 million in sales worldwide and dedicated more than $37 million to research and development. The Food & Drug Administration estimates there to be some 29,000 varieties of dietary supplements on the market. Schwabe and its subsidiaries make 800 different kinds – from Enzymatic Therapy's Sea Buddies children's vitamins to Schwabe Pharmaceuticals' ginkgobiloba, which is used in Europe to treat Alzheimer’s disease. 140 years young and still going strong Dr. Willmar Schwabe founded Dr. Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals company in 1866 in Leipzig, Germany. It’s grown steadily over its 140 years, expanding and acquiring existing supplement operations around the world, including Nature’s Way in Springville, Utah, which
it's in the process of moving to Green Bay, and Enzymatic Therapy in Green Bay. Schwabe has six operations in Germany, with headquarters in Karlsruhe, and 20 subsidiaries and joint ventures. Worldwide, Schwabe employs 3,700 people. In North America, Schwabe has two operations in Canada and one in Mexico, in addition to its new Green Bay home. Not including field people (sales representatives and dealers who are at large) Schwabe employs 331 people in Green Bay. “That’s up from 270 in October 2008,” Rose says. “About 50 people who were part of the Springville (Utah) operations have transferred roles or have committed to transfer.” Going with the flow Charlie Bennett is one of those employees who chose to relocate. He and his wife moved with his job with Nature's Way in Springville, Utah, to Green Bay earlier this year. “It’s a first-rate company," Bennett says of Schwabe. "They really went above and beyond to make us comfortable and help us make the transition, and they gave everyone (in Springville) a chance to come to Wisconsin." Bennett says he's worked at other companies that have consolidated, moved or transferred jobs and weren't so nice. With those companies, Bennett says, "you are just a number. It's an obnoxious situation to be in," Bennett says. Bennett is a maintenance mechanic for Schwabe. Right now his job has him making sure equipment moved from the Nature's Way site in Utah meshes with Green Bay equipment. He says he's happy about his new setting and glad he opted to transfer with the company. "The neat part about (being treated well by Schwabe) is it encourages you to work harder, because it’s nice to be able to work for someone who is nice to you." Bennett and his wife bought a house in Allouez and closed the deal in mid-August. Even though he'll be paying more in taxes here, he's still content with his choice. "Housing taxes are three to seven times what they are in Utah, but the house you can get is a lot better; the housing BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 19
the Springville, Utah center didn't have the flexibility. And Green Bay just felt better. "Culturally, Green Bay is closer to the feeling you would get in Karlsruhe, Germany," Rose says. "And our workforce here has a very high work ethic." Lord and others suspect something else played a role: That darn good quality of life here. “When it came down to the parent company interviewing current employees about job satisfaction, quality of life, the community and the ability to attract new workers to the community (the result was) Schwabe chose Green Bay,” says Paul Jadin, president of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. “The Green Bay image was something we did not have to work real hard at selling.”
Amanda Ellerman prepares media for microbiological testing.
index here is a lot lower," Bennett says. "The house we bought you couldn't have touched for much less than $300,000 or $400,000." Why here? Schwabe could have chosen any of its properties in Canada. Or Mexico. It could have chosen the Nature's Way plant in Springville, Utah. But it chose Green Bay as its North American hub. “It was a competitive project,” Lord says. “When the city (of Green Bay) and the state of Wisconsin can compete nationally and win nationally for a project like this and come out on top, it should provide a lot of confidence to the community.” While a company choosing to establish its continental headquarters in a relatively small city such as Green Bay would be newsworthy any time, it’s especially remarkable because of the state of the national economy, Lord says. “Their story stood out because of the timing. Their project really provided a good boost in economic activity in the region at a time when not a lot of companies were growing employees and making investments,” Lord says. “It provided lot of confidence in the Green Bay market surviving and faring well.” Rose says the building and site here are more amenable to future growth and change, whereas
Brittany Brodziski prepares samples for analyzing vitamin potency. 20 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Before the decision was made, a few city officials and then-Secretary of Commerce Dick Leinenkugel met with Schwabe executives to sell them on Wisconsin.
“We talked about the labor force and taxes, but the owners were more curious and asked more questions about the recreational amenities, the workforce, neighborhoods, the schools," Lord says. "We went through the spiel about taxes and their first question was, ‘What's there to do outside, what are your neighborhoods like, what are your schools like?’ I think it made the difference,” Lord says. Quality top priority The nutritional supplement industry can be an easy target for criticism. History's shown consumers enough quacks and snake-oil purveyors to blacken the industry's image. Incidents of toxic metals such as lead and chromium turning up in food, toys and even toothpaste imported from China have turned casual shoppers into more wary label-readers.
Consumer Reports came out with a story in September about supplements to avoid (Schwabe wasn't mentioned) because they might pose health risks. The story also cited cases of prescription drugs like Viagra and steroids showing up in supplements promoted as natural. The New York Times ran a story recently cautioning consumers about pesticides and other contaminants that turned up in some supplements (again, Schwabe was not mentioned). Vitamin companies don’t have to meet FDA authorized drug facility standards, but Schwabe has a habit of going above and beyond expectations, according to Rose. His facility is an FDA-authorized drug facility, which means that if it wanted to, Schwabe could legally produce prescription drugs. “Our intention is to raise and further the Dave Pigeon transfers a pallet of raw materials in the warehouse on Challenger Drive. quality and quality assurance of our product,” Rose says. “We want to establish a higher standard in the industry. One of our inspectors says we Sullivan lived in several places around the Midwest during his first seven were way above the status of some of the pharmaceutical companies years in the pharmaceutical industry. An alumnus of St. Norbert College, he’s seen." Sullivan wanted to come back. In the past few years, the FDA has revised its regulatory rules, and Schwabe wants to not only meet but exceed those strictures. “Our intention is to go well beyond those standards and to be seen literally as a gold standard,” Rose says. The company increased its quality and regulatory staff to meet this need, Rose says. Ingredient-testing is done at many levels of production, ensuring an herb is what it's supposed to be and not something else. Schwabe does randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trials on its products to make sure they're safe and that they work. "There is no possibility of adulterating or contraindications here," Rose says. "The German standard is to be absolutely above reproach.” It helps, too, that Schwabe has its own botanical plantations on four continents so they don't have to depend on dubious sources for their ingredients. In 2009, Enzymatic Therapy, Inc. became the first U.S. nutritional supplement company to earn the Drug Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The manufacturing facility is also organically certified, certified kosher and Parve, and has received good manufacturing practices (GMP) certification from the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation, www.nsf.org).
Sullivan has been in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry for 15 years and worked for three very large companies before migrating home to Green Bay. “My aspirations were to work with a smaller, local company, one that contributes greatly the community,” Sullivan says, adding that involvement with his alma mater, St. Norbert College, plays an important role in his life. “A lot of small communities suffer from brain drain, where people leave to go to larger communities. My wife and I did that and then we came back to Green Bay with the full intent of setting up shop here,” he says. Sullivan says he also missed the sense of community that the area provides. His previous three employers were large pharmaceutical companies of some 100,000 employees each, and Sullivan craved a more personal experience than the one he had with them. “Working for a company with 100,000 people worldwide, you really are a number, with little voice to influence the trajectory of those companies,” Sullivan says. “I feel that this is the type of organization where the environment and the size fosters open communication and encourages you to influence change externally as well as internally.”
Coming home Matt Sullivan, national sales director for Schwabe's Integrative Therapeutics division, which markets a line of supplements to medical professionals, says he was very happy to not only land a job in a community he and his wife loved, but to land one with a world-class company. “This is a destination employer,” Sullivan says.
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 21
Thank you ,
A Day For NWTC donors!
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Educational Foundation recognizes your commitment to education and investment in tomorrow’s workforce. We sincerely appreciate the generosity of all the A Day for NWTC donors.
Leadership Level
Dominion Foundation President Level Fox Communities Credit Union Georgia Pacific Norman and Shirlyn Miller
Partner Level
Bay Tek Games FEECO International, Inc Encap PCM Employees Credit Union Ashley Britsch Knetzger Memorial Fabio Perini
Pioneer Credit Union STRIDE Davis & Kuelthau SC Jim and Betty Strohschein Lee and Kathy Anderson M&I Bank
Advisor Level
Green and Gold Hosta Society Patricia VanEssen Robert E. Lee & Associates Optima Machinery Corporation
Building Inspectors Association Northeast Wisconsin Cathy Dworak Team Industries Dr. Moira Kraft & Dr. CJ VanSistine Energy Control & Design Cleaning Systems Cherney Microbiological Services Retirement Plan Advisors ThedaCare Ruth Clark
Director Level
AgVentures, LLC NWTC - Central Region Thomas Pfister Memorial Citizens Bank Wolf River Media Dick and Karen Blahnik Lee and Gwen Hoffmann Bob Burns Total contributions:
$80,525
For more information on giving opportunities; Contact Crystal Heckel, (920) 498-5541 or crystal.heckel@nwtc.edu
Green Bay Chamber Bay Business Journal
22 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
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Lisa Bauer
Director, environmental and sustainability programs, Green Bay Packaging Inc.
Company overview: Green Bay Packaging, a privately held third-generation corporation with 26 facilities in 14 states and Mexico, has two mills, 15 corrugated shipping container divisions, a folding carton plant, coated product facilities and forest lands. The company has one of the first closedprocess-water mills in the world. Bauer’s role: As the director of environmental and sustainability programs, Bauer facilitates environmental compliance, sustainability and product guarantee. Bauer emphasizes the uniqueness of the company in that it is really a full-circle process, from the integration of trees grown on the company’s own timberlands in Arkansas and Oklahoma, into the manufacture of the product, and on the other side, recovery of old corrugated containers into 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. Education: Bachelor’s in chemistry-business, University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and master’s degree in environmental science, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. Military involvement: On April 1, Bauer was promoted to the rank of US Navy Captain. Previously, she served on active-duty as an industrial hygiene officer at Charleston, S.C. Bauer admits that a benefit to being involved in the military is acquiring leadership skills and travel to diverse and austere places. The geology and landforms in countries are of particular interest to her. Staying busy: “I work a lot,” proclaims Bauer. When she’s not working or participating in the military, she finds herself occupied with renovating her house. “My family is my balance baseline,” says Bauer of her two very active children, husband and yellow lab. “I think that when you like what you’re doing, it brings about a certain passion and energy.” Avid reader: Bauer admits that she is a bit of a reading nut. “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell is one her favorites. Bauer particularly enjoys reading non-fiction. “You learn from reading but reality always exceeds fiction,” she says. Creative side: In her spare time, she loves to stay busy quilting, doing needlework and her latest endeavor, making handmade soap. “The chemistry involved behind ingredients in handmade soap is fascinating,” says Bauer. Tech gadget she can’t live without: Her GPS. This handy gadget is one travel companion that saves her a lot of frustration and reduces stress. Mentor: An admiral in the military and a corporate executive are two of Bauer’s mentors. She recommends that everyone find a mentor. “We underestimate mentorship.” Advice: “Always look for opportunities to learn. Get out there and do something. Get involved,” comments Bauer.
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Steve Siewert
Director, low voltage, RCDD, Northern Electric, Inc. On Northern Electric: With the recent launch of its Low Voltage Division, Northern Electric Inc. (NEI) has the capability of offering businesses more options, including surveillance, paging, structured cabling, access control and cable television. “We can do it all,” says Siewert. Low voltage experience: Siewert has been with NEI for just under two years but has had 16 years of experience in the low voltage field. With NEI, Siewert says “the opportunity to work with existing customers that NEI has built is exciting, but it’s also exciting to build new contacts.” On RCDD accreditation: Recently, Siewert received his Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) certification. “It’s much like receiving a master’s on the electrical side of things,” says Siewert. Not only does the RCDD give credibility to the division, but it also allows Siewert to provide low voltage design to customers and meet the specifications for many public bid projects. Education: Siewert, a Hortonville native, attended school through his senior year at Hortonville. He then went on to receive his associate’s degree from Fox Valley Technical College. Love for the outdoors: Siewert loves to be surrounded by nature. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing and hunting at his cabin in Laona, Wis. What would he do with $1,000,000: “I would buy a chunk of land in Alaska or another secluded place and spend a lot of time there,” says Siewert, reaffirming his passion for the outdoors. Love for travel: Siewert loves to travel with his daughter and girlfriend. “My favorite place was Disney. It was amazing to see the smile on my daughter’s face.” He will also travel to Yellowstone soon. What keeps Siewert motivated? “I enjoy trying to become more and more involved in every aspect of the business. It’s great to watch the business grow,” he says. What do you enjoy most about your job? “I really enjoy the diversity. Each day has new and different challenges ranging from meeting with customers to discuss project design and implementation to providing project costs for, in some cases , several million dollar projects. The telecommunications industry is constantly evolving so providing smarter and more efficient solutions for our customers is exciting.” If you weren't working in the low voltage division at NEI and pursued a different career, what might you have pursued? “I enjoy the construction trades so even though it’s not drastically different from my current position I would enjoy being an electronic project manager.” What's your favorite thing to do in Green Bay? “I’m assuming every Green Bay resident would have the same answer: Go to Lambeau Field and watch the Packers win.”
Do you know of an interesting Chamber member who warrants a "Meet the Member" profile on these pages? Send up to a 50-word description of the person you think should be highlighted to Lori Kaye Lodes, editor, at llodes@titletown.org for consideration.
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 25
Chamber briefs
Advance/economic development
Leadership Green Bay
Government affairs
MEMBER SERVICES
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved promotions for nine (9) UW-Green Bay faculty members at the Board's June meeting. Associate Professor Meier Russ of the Cofrin School of Business was advanced to the senior rank of professor (a/ka/ full professor). Meier has been a member of the Advance board of directors since 2002 and is the outgoing chairman of the Advance Incubator committee…In September, Advance celebrated 25 years as a program…
The Good Government Council met on Aug. 19 and endorsed Reid Ribble for the 8th District Republican nomination…The Postal Service announced on Aug. 2 that all plans to end mail processing in Green Bay (with loss of postmark) have been shelved; it's now studying whether to merge Oshkosh operations up to Green Bay. The Chamber had waged a nearly year-long campaign to stop the move and hundreds of members participated by sending messages to officials though our political Action Center online….We sent a letter to the EPA on the subject of proposed revisions to the MACT (maximum achievable control technology) rule for industrial boilers that, if not changed, could cripple our large industrial companies….We're joining WMC and other chambers to call attention to the recently released Wisconsin Competitiveness Study proposing to "Accelerate Wisconsin" by reforming the Department of Commerce….We joined the "Finding Forward" movement to enact a state constitutional amendment to protect the state transportation fund from raids to support general fund expenditures….We wrote the DNR concerning changes to the federal Class 1 air boundary in northern Wisconsin which could bring members with major source air permits under new regulations. The DNR staff's proposed change is an arbitrary one that violates a longstanding agreement between the State of Wisconsin and the Forest County Potawatomi. Our most serious concerns were addressed in the rule adopted by the DNR board at its August meeting…We wrote US Rep Steve Kagen to support his efforts to pass a bill that would restore federal funding for the Green Bay Transit system…Along with other members of the Great Lakes Metro Chambers Coalition we wrote the President and Congress calling for an immediate and lasting solution to the Asian Carp problem by permanently separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds…We weighed in with messages to key county supervisors supporting the Brown County Sheriff Department relocation to the former S & L Motors Building in Bellevue…The Ritter Forum on Public Policy, working with St. Norbert College and the Ritter Family Foundation, held a forum on July 27 attended by a record number of elected municipal officials and fire chiefs from throughout the county. Since the meeting, we have heard a lot of concerned reaction to a study the union (IAFF Local 141) commissioned on formation of a metro area fire district with taxation powers, and their call for state enabling legislation. We are working very carefully with elected leaders to examine the study, but we have emphatically NOT endorsed it…
26 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
The Leadership Green Bay Class of 2010-11 kicked off its year with its Welcome Breakfast on Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the Tundra Lodge. Mayor Jim Schmitt and Chamber Chairperson Gail McNutt welcomed the class and Jeff Mirkes, graduate of the first LGB class, presented on the progress/success of Green Bay and Leadership Green Bay. Class members spent Sept. 9 & 10 at the Blue Harbor Resort, Sheboygan, for their opening retreat… A new component of the LGB curriculum for 2010-11 is online learning provided through a partnership with NWTC that will enhance the communication with class members…
The chamber’s annual dinner is set for Monday, Oct. 18, at the KI Convention Center and will feature John Zogby, Zogby International, renowned pollster, as the keynote speaker...The Chamber will host CEO and CFO Roundtable informational meetings on Friday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 29, 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Chamber office. To RSVP, or for more info, please contact Marilyn Heim at 920.593.3419.
Partners in Education
Partners in Education developed and submitted the successful application for the Greater Green Bay Area to be named as one of the nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance and ING for 2010. Our 2010 recognition marks the third win for Greater Green Bay in the competition. This designation was won by numerous organizations making youth a priority by implementing programs that help keep children in school and prepare them for college and the 21st century workforce. This award includes communities served by the 10 school districts in the Greater Green Bay Area—Ashwaubenon, Denmark, De Pere, Green Bay, Howard-Suamico, Luxemburg-Casco, Pulaski, Seymour, West De Pere and Wrightstown…Michael Frohna, president of Bellin Foundation, is the chairperson of the Partners in Education Executive Board for 2010-11. The Partners in Education Executive Board started a strategic planning process on June 23 and will continue the work through their monthly sessions with the goal of taking the partnership for our community from “good to great” in the next 20 years of existence… Partners in Education has restructured its staff. Lisa Schmelzer will be the Youth Apprenticeship program manager; co-staffing the program with Vice-President of Education & Leadership, Nancy Schopf; both will be working to place students at area businesses for training in their future career pathways. Julie Maino, currently half-time with administration, will also be working half-time in education & leadership as education program assistant… Plan to shop at Barnes & Noble on Oct. 16 and eat at Chili’s from Oct. 20-Nov. 18–mention Partners in Education and a percentage of your purchase will be donated to Partners in Education… Oct. 20 kicks off the 18th annual Golden Apple Awards campaign and the 2010-11 Partners in Education fund-raising campaign for Partners in Education memberships. A Partners in Education membership supports PIE programming for area youth and workforce development with multiple
corporate benefits including table/tickets to the April 20 Golden Apple Dinner Program. Volunteers are needed for Oct. 20; call 437-8704 of you can volunteer an hour or two hours of your time; The 2010 PIE Career Expo is set for Dec. 2 at Shopko Hall. Help 5,000+ sophomores plan for their future career. For more details contact Brian Johnson at bjohnson@titletown.org.
We’ve changed (sort of). For more than 75 years, you’ve known us as Virchow Krause, one of the country’s strongest accounting and advisory firms. We have simply changed our name, cementing our commitment to Baker Tilly International—the world’s 8th largest network of accounting firms—further enhancing our ability to help clients around the globe.
Current
Current - Young Professionals elected new officers and committee chairs with terms beginning Sept URRENT 1. They are: Ashley Groskreutz, Schreiber Foods, Inc., steering committee chair; Chad YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK Heath, Alliance Insurance Centers, LLC, steering committee vice-chair; Kristin Kent, WFRV Channel 5, secretary; Mary Frank, Wisconsin Public Service, membership relations chair; and Lisa Christensen, Wipfli LLP, event planning chair. Departing steering committee members with terms expiring on Aug 31, 2010 include: Colleen Cantwell, Humana Inc.; Justin Rebman, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network; Michelle Stokes, American Transmission Co. LLC; Molly Vandervest, Downtown Green Bay, Inc. & Olde Main Street, Inc.; and Peter Weiss, Notre Dame de la Baie Academy; Current’s annual leaders’ luncheon was held on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at Tundra Lodge Resort & Conference Center.
C
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Make sure your insurance plan includes Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley • Pediatric specialists and subspecialists from allergy to urology. • Fox Valley’s top-level intensive care nursery. • The only hospital in the region that treats children exclusively and has pediatricians on site 24/7. It’s easy to see why Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley means the best care for kids. And just in case your child ever needs more, we’re your connection to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, rated one of the best in the nation. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley 130 Second St., Neenah (920) 969-7900 chw.org/foxvalley
BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10 | 27
CHAMBER NEWS
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Gandrud Chevrolet, Nissan, Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate a new showroom for its Nissan offerings on Aug. 19 with (from left): Jim Thyes, Bayland Buildings (contractor), Larry Zimmerman, service director at Gandrud, and Dan Mangless, vice president with Gandrud.
Current hosted a Healthy Eating event at The Marq on Tuesday, Aug. 17. Pictured (from left) at the event are Mary Koltz, Greater Green Bay YMCA; Ross Barrette, Wisconsin Public Service; Alese Jahnke, Integrys Energy Group; and Holly Nerat, Integrys Energy Group.
Don Beebe’s House of Speed celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 9. Pictured are owner Scott Smith and his students.
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GO TO www.titletown.org FOR THE LATEST UPDATES IN CHAMBER NEWS AND EVENTS
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Wal-mart on the east side of Green Bay hosted a ribbon cutting for its grand opening on Aug. 18. Pictured center is Duane Van Straten, store manager.
More than 800 people attended the Welcome Back Packers Luncheon; here, Sue May of Avastone Technologies escorts Aaron Rodgers to a table of guests.
28 | BBJ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 10
Leadership Green Bay recruits participate in team building at the program’s opening retreat at the Blue Harbor Resort on Sept. 9 and 10. Pictured from left are: J.D. Murphy, Marcus Reitz, Lisa Evenson, John Smith, Joey Cheng, Jeff Johnson, Stephanie Walker, Garov Bansal, John Manse and Dan McIver.
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