BizTimes Milwaukee | September 30, 2019

Representation

MATTERS

COWORKING SPACES HERE TO STAY, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN 14

INCREASING BASE PAY TO $16 PER HOUR WAS JUST A STARTING POINT FOR QUAD 30 FOXCONN’S WISCONSIN PLANS NOW FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY INSTEAD OF TVS 34

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SEP 30 - OCT 13, 2019 » $3.25

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THE FUTURE

OF MANUFACTURING ARRIVES NEXT WEEK REDEFINED • RECHARGED • RETOOLED

OCTOBER 8–10, 2019

Exposition Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park • Milwaukee, WI

A TRADITION SINCE 1989!

The 16th biennial WIMTS has broadened the show’s underlying concept – Advancing Ideas for Future Manufacturing.

CONNECTIONS TO TECHNOLOGY, TALENT & RESOURCES This is Wisconsin’s Largest Manufacturing Event where you will make connections with new technological advancements, potential new employees and new, resourceful suppliers and business partners.

HIGHLIGHT EVENTS & KEYNOTE ADDRESSES ON THE BMO HARRIS MAIN STAGE

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce [WMC] Foundation Business & Industry Luncheon BizTimes Media Next Generation Manufacturing Summit Both events require paid registration

“Industry 4.0: Four IoT Technology Trends That Will Impact Small to Midsized Manufacturers”

“Disrupt or Be Disrupted: Imperatives for Manufacturers in the Age of Disruption”

Presenter: W. Kent Lorenz, Retired Chairman and CEO of Acieta LLC, a leader in automation technology with over 4500 robotic system installs across North America

Presenter: Todd McLees, who has worked with Foxconn to develop a program to find suppliers in Wisconsin and is the founder and CEO of Pendio Group

9 TECHNICAL SEMINARS IN THE HUB PRESENTED BY WEDC

• Productivity + Technology: The • Accelerate Your Export Strategy Path to Modernizing your Business • Supplier Perspective: The Customer Collaboration Model of Today • Removing Metal 3D Parts from • 5-Axis Ain’t That Scary: The Definitive Build Plates with WEDM Guide to 5-Axis Machining • Wearables in the Workplace • Industry Forming Partnerships with • Manufacturing with 3D Printing Local High Schools to Successfully Fill • Automation for the Job Shop World the Labor Shortage

Visit www.WIMTS.com for FREE registration. Questions? Contact Cheryl Luck at 262-367-5500 or Cheryl@EpiShows.com

LOCALLY OWNED FOR 24 YEARS

» SEP 30 - OCT 13, 2019

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BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 25, Number 13, September 30, 2019 – October 13, 2019. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, July and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $42. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2019 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Contents

Representation

MATTERS MMAC initiative tackles lack of management and workforce diversity in Milwaukee

COVER STORY

16

4 Leading Edge 4 NOW

BY THE NUMBERS 5 ON THE JOB WITH… 6 FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION 8 “QUOTE UNQUOTE” 9 BIZ LUNCH 10 BIZ POLL ON MY NIGHTSTAND 11 JUMP START

12 Biz News 12 MADE IN MILWAUKEE 13 MY TAKE

14 Real Estate 38 Strategies 38 ENTREPRENEURSHIP Kathleen Gallagher 39 MANAGEMENT Phil Mydlach 40 TIP SHEET

43 Biz Connections 43 NONPROFIT 44 GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 45 AROUND TOWN 46 MY BEST ADVICE

Special Report 22 Manufacturing

Coverage includes a summary of the Next Generation Manufacturing Summit, an update on Foxconn’s plans for its Mount Pleasant campus, how manufacturers are preparing for a possible recession, hiring issues faced by manufacturers and sale-leaseback opportunities that manufacturers have for their real estate.

WE’RE PROUD TO BE

WISCONSIN’S BANK FOR BUSINESS ™

414-273-3507 | townbank.us JAY MACK President & CEO

JOHN JOHANNES Executive Vice President, Commercial Real Estate

DENNIS KRAKAU Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking

biztimes.com / 3

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES DAILY – The day’s most significant news → biztimes.com/subscribe

ELORA HENNESSEY

NOW

Three universities in Milwaukee celebrate major milestones

By Lauren Anderson, staff writer Three universities in Milwaukee recently celebrated significant milestones with new facilities or fundraising.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced its multi-year fundraising effort has brought in $251 million, the largest in the school’s history, exceeding its original goal of $200 million.

UWM went public with the cam-

paign in 2017, after quietly raising funds since 2012.

“I am profoundly grateful to our donors for the tremendous success of this campaign,” said Mark Mone, UWM chancellor.

“Their generosity will benefit our students, research and community engagement for years to come.

UWM has made extraordinary strides during this campaign.

BY THE NUMBERS Spanish train maker Talgo Inc. plans to add

63

more jobs at its Century City facility on Milwaukee’s northwest side.

4 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

We’ve opened new spaces, launched major initiatives and helped thousands of students through scholarships.”

During the campaign, UWM opened two new buildings on its main campus: the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex and Lubar Entrepreneurship Center and UWM Welcome Center. The university is also planning a $7 million expansion of the Klotsche Center.

It’s also launched several new initiatives during the campaign, including the Connected Systems Institute and the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute.

More than 21,000 donors contributed to the UWM fundraising campaign, nearly half of which were first-time donors.

Also recently, the Milwaukee School of Engineering celebrated the grand opening of the Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall, a new $34 million AI-focused academic facility in the center of its campus.

The four-story, 64,000-squarefoot facility, located at the corner of Milwaukee and State streets, features a graphics processing unit-accelerated supercomputer to be used by students and local industry partners, an auditorium, cybersecurity room, lecture halls and classrooms, and study areas for students.

MSOE officials say the new

computational science facility will position the school as a national leader in artificial intelligence education, deep learning, cyber security, robotics and cloud computing.

The project was funded by a donation from MSOE regent Dwight Diercks and his wife Dian. Diercks, who graduated from MSOE in 1990, is senior vice president at NVIDIA, a technology company based in California.

In addition, Marquette University recently opened a new 44,000-square-foot physician assistant studies facility to accommodate its newly expanded program.

The $18.5 million Physician Assistant Studies Building, located at the northwest corner of West Clybourn and North 17th streets, is the third new building to open on the university’s campus in the past year.

It’s a response to the growing demand for enrollment in Marquette’s PA program. The program received nearly 1,400 applications for the available seats in 2018, and interest continues to grow by approximately 10% per year, the university said.

The new facility will allow the university to produce 75 PA graduates annually, up from 55. Marquette’s PA program was formerly located at the northwest corner of North 17th and West Wells streets in a former clinic that was constructed in 1954. n

ON THE JOB WITH…

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Milwaukee Kayak Co.

By Marla Hiller, staff writer After working for Laacke & Joys and VISIT Milwaukee, Beth Handle decided to open her own kayaking business, Milwaukee Kayak Co., in 2013.

Based in the city’s Harbor District, Milwaukee Kayak Co. rents out its fleet of kayaks, tandem kayaks, canoes and standup paddleboards, allowing boaters to experience and explore the Milwaukee River. Staff members work

with kayakers to find right-fitting life jackets and paddles, and assist them as they launch from the dock.

Though it’s physically demanding, Handle said her job is a “nice, happy, fun place” to be.

The company also teams up with area organizations, such as Milwaukee Riverkeeper and Milwaukee County Historical Society, and hosts educational paddle tours to raise funds for the nonprofits. n

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Handle explains Milwaukee Kayak Co.’s rules, including bringing a water bottle, always wearing a life jacket and avoiding Lake Michigan.

Kayakers are instructed to paddle across the river from the dock to the right side and to treat river traffic as if it were street traffic.

Handle uses a detailed map to show kayakers major landmarks on the river and the time it takes to reach various destinations.

Handle hand-painted the signs around the Milwaukee Kayak Co. boatyard. Her aim was to make the space happy and fun.

5 Milwaukee Kayak Co. employees carry the kayaks down to the dock and help kayakers launch off to start their trip down the river.

6 Kayakers are fitted into a life jacket, given an appropriately-sized paddle and a kayak.

biztimes.com / 5

Leading Edge

BIZTIMES MEDIA – Like us

from

MagneTag

CONCEPT

to

COMPLETION

Milwaukee-based gaming technology startup MagneTag LLC has spent the past seven years developing, perfecting and now marketing its “wearable battle system.” A hybrid between laser tag and sword fighting, the game is played using foam swords and armor that is equipped with magnetic sensors electronically keeping score. MagneTag currently sells its products to entertainment-based businesses and venues in New Zealand, Singapore and Toronto, but the company is working to tap into the local market. Founder Adam Cohen recently rolled out plans for a new event venue in Wauwatosa, called Tag Tosa, where people could play the game and MagneTag could conduct further research and development as it markets the technology to other entertainment-based concepts.

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Late 2012: MagneTag’s first working prototypes were born out of a passion project that Cohen conceptualized in 2010. He had spent the next year tinkering in his basement with wire coils and circuit boards to develop the product’s magnet sensor technology.

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2013: Cohen filed a patent for his technology and officially established MagneTag LLC. After further development with the help of Milwaukee Makerspace, the equipment was ready for testing.

2019: MagneTag entered into a licensing deal with Los Angeles-based MGA Entertainment, which now retails its technology at Target and Amazon under the name Dojo Battle. MGA discovered MagneTag through the startup’s 2018 Kickstarter campaign, which raised $13,000. Finding capital for production remains a major hurdle as the company continues to grow.

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4 Early 2017: MagneTag shifted gears and built four self-service kiosks to place at various bars and entertainment venues, including Bounce Milwaukee in Bay View, The Sugar Maple in Bay View and Mobcraft Beer in Walker’s Point. However, the kiosks “didn’t generate enough revenue on their own,” Cohen said, and the equipment was often misused and not maintained.

6 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

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Mid-2014: Cohen and business partner Jason Hilleshiem produced a fleet of 30 prototypes to bring to various events and festivals, such as Maker Faire Milwaukee and North Avenue’s Summer Solstice Festival. “Just to get the people’s reaction to what we were doing,” Cohen said.

Chris Wilsonmade joined the company later that year.

PRESENTS:

2019

CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

Friday, November 1, 2019 | Registration & Networking - 7:00am–7:30am | Breakfast & Program - 7:30am–9:30am

From Homelessness to Housing Chronic and family homelessness are growing concerns and challenging issues in the Milwaukee area that impact the entire community. Our panel discussion will address the realities of the growing tent city in downtown Milwaukee, hidden homelessness and other housing-related challenges in the region and possible solutions and paths to stable housing, along with ways you can help. Learn more about this important issue and see how you can guide our community toward solutions.

Following the panel discussion, we will recognize BizTimes Media’s 2019 Nonprofit awards finalists and honorees. The for-profit categories include: corporate citizen of the year, corporate volunteer of the year, in-kind supporter, next generation leadership and lifetime achievement. The nonprofit categories include: executive of the year, nonprofit organization of the year (large & small) and social enterprise.

Panelists Eric Collins-Dyke, MSW, APSW, Homeless Outreach Services Manager, Milwaukee County Housing Division (1) Michael Gosman, Executive Director, ACTS Housing (2) Beth Wierick, CEO, Milwaukee Downtown - BID #21 (3) 1

2

3

Moderator: Lauren Anderson, Associate Editor, BizTimes Milwaukee

2019 Nonprofit Award Finalists

2019 Corporate Citizenship Award Finalists

Nonprofit Collaboration of the Year: • Medical College of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Academy of Science • LUMIN Schools • UMOS

Corporate Citizen of the Year: • The Starr Group • Kapco Metal Stamping • Sargento Foods Inc.

Nonprofit Executive of the Year: • Hector Colon, Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan • Sue Smith, Nativity Jesuit Academy • Mike Thirtle, Bethesda Lutheran Communities

Corporate Volunteer of the Year: • Gwen Erickson, Velvac Inc. • Christy Engel, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield • Kathryn Keppel, Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP

Large Nonprofit (Organization) of the Year: • Zoological Society of Milwaukee • Pathfinders of Milwaukee Inc. • La Causa Inc. • Curative Care Network

In-Kind Supporter: • Tall Guy and a Grill Catering • The Corners of Brookfield

Small Nonprofit (Organization) of the Year: • ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis • Revitalize Milwaukee • Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation Social Enterprise: • Beyond Vision • Alliance for Strong Families and Communities Lifetime Achievement: • Jim Mueller, mueller QAAS

Next Generation Leadership: • Justin Juley, HNTB Corp.

• Jackson Bubolz, Elevated Insurance

Register Today! - biztimes.com/npawards $40/person - $400/table of 10

PLATINUM SPONSOR:

Leading Edge

@BIZTIMESMEDIA – Real-time news

“ QUOTE

unQUOTE

BETH RIDLEY

”

OWNER, THE BRIMFUL LIFE Former Northwestern Mutual executive Beth Ridley founded Milwaukee-based content and consulting company The Brimful Life to help leaders improve organizational cultures and increase engagement, retention, loyalty and productivity. She recently spoke at TEMPO Milwaukee’s Emerging Women Leaders Professional Development Workshop about the lessons she learned from a year-long personal challenge to try one new thing a week n

“If you are leading from a place of passion and purpose, that will exude outward. And people will want to follow you.”

“We do have the power to override our negativity bias to some degree. There are simple things we can do to exercise our brain to be more wired towards positivity. If you want to train your brain to have more of a positive orientation, you have to start incorporating little things into your routine as happy habits.”

“I hatched a plan that, once a week, for a full year, I would challenge myself to do one new thing. And the only criteria is it has to be something that has nothing to do with work. Each of the individual things I did invigorated my day. I got to face my fears in a fun way; I got to challenge myself; I got to learn and grow. After a year of doing this, the cumulative effect was transformative for me.”

“You may find yourselves in situations that are not ideal; you may find yourself in situations where a lot is out of your control, but … the one thing that is in your control is your mindset, how you choose to perceive a situation, respond and react. The good thing is your mindset is always under your control; the bad thing is sometimes it is the hardest thing to control.”

8 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

biztimes.com / 8

1

BIZ LUNCH

Lunch

ALEX SCHNEIDER

Biz DANDAN

WEBSITE: dandanmke.com

CONTRIBUTED

2

A D D R E S S: 360 E. Erie St., Milwaukee

CUISINE: American-Chinese C H E F S: Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite M O O D: Upscale casual PRICING: $10-32 for entrees With diverse culinary experience spanning both coasts, Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite wanted to bring a new style of restaurant to Milwaukee.

While they had seen plenty of “chef-driven, sustainable, seasonal types of restaurants” in the city, they saw an opportunity to carve out a different niche: American-Chinese with Midwest flair. In 2016, the Dan duo opened DanDan in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

“The basis behind our restaurants … is to make food that makes us happy and, in theory, will make other people happy,” Jacobs said.

DanDan has both indoor and outdoor dining options, along with bar seating. The outdoor seating is embedded in a garden, with a red patio covering and string lights. 

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One of the most popular dishes at DanDan is General Tso’s Cauliflower. The dish is made with chili oil, scallions and ginger bok choy. “Over the three years we’ve been open, the cauliflower used to be No. 7 on the list of most sold items and now it’s by far the biggest seller on the menu,” Van Rite said.

Jacobs considers DanDan’s Chicken Wings to be one of the most underrated dishes on the menu. The dish is made with charred pepper sauce, five spice and chili oil. “I would put those chicken wings against anybody’s chicken wings,” he said.

The interior of DanDan is filled with Asian-inspired art and wallpaper. Jacobs and Van Rite drew inspiration from Mission Chinese in New York City when designing the restaurant. “We wanted to make sure the restaurant was fun and energetic,” Jacobs said. Van Rite said they tried to create a “place someone could come to three times a week.” biztimes.com / 9

Leading Edge BIZ POLL

A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.

Should Milwaukee County’s sales tax be increased from 5.6% to 6.5% to increase funding for local governments and reduce property taxes?

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS! Recognize the people and organizations that are making a difference every day by providing superior health care in our region. Winners will be featured in the December 16, 2019 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee.

Categories include: Advancements in Health Care Behavioral Health Community Service Corporate Achievement in Health Care Executive Leadership First Responder Health Care Staff Nurse Physician Volunteer

>>>>>>>>>>

To nominate a hero, visit biztimes.com/hero 10 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

YES:

NO:

57%

43%

Share your opinion! Visit biztimes.com/bizpoll to cast your vote in the next Biz Poll.

on my nightstand...

KERRI BALLIET Transformational coach The Red Baron Group

‘Dare to Lead’

By Brene Brown

IN 2018, Kerri Balliet, a transformational coach at Shorewood-based The Red Baron Group, started She Reads, a women’s business book club.

The club recently read “Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations.

Whole Hearts,” by Brene Brown, which explores courage in leadership, especially in a corporate setting.

Brown is a researcher who focuses on courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy. Her 2012 TED talk “The Power of Vulnerability” is one of the top five most viewed TED Talks in the world.

Balliet sums up Brene’s thesis in “Dare to Lead” as: “vulnerability is the foundation of where we should be coming from in leadership perspective.” The book has been especially meaningful to Balliet, who said exhibiting vulnerability at work can be challenging.

Balliet said it was important for the group to read a book about business leadership that was written by a female. “Dare to Lead,” which comes with access to a workbook of related exercises, helps women develop leadership skills, Balliet said. n

HELIUM LLC LOCATION: Milwaukee FOUNDERS: Ian Buchanan and Jacob Carlson FOUNDED: 2019 PRODUCT: Book delivery WEBSITE: heliumbooks.com EMPLOYEES: 2 GOAL: Improve library circulation and community access to books EXPERIENCE: Buchanan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in accounting and finance and now works as a valuation services analyst at Duff & Phelps. Carlson graduated from UW-La Crosse with a degree in business administration and management and is now a project coordinator at Concentrix.

Helium delivers library books to your door

By Maredithe Meyer, staff writer

AFTER GRADUATING from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017, Ian Buchanan decided to take up a new hobby he didn’t have time for during college: reading. He quickly learned his hobby could be expensive if he read two to four books per month and purchased all of them on Amazon or at other retailers.

So, Buchanan started checking out books at his local library, and noticed inefficiency within its circulation system.

“There’s a database where you can look up books and it will tell you where that book is,” he said. “During one visit, I was going through my reading list at the library near where I was living at the time and none of them were at that library. They were available in the system but they just weren’t where I was. So I thought, ‘Why not make this easier? I’m sure others are having the same problem.’”

Libraries already have a hold system, in which a book that is not available at one branch can be brought to another branch to save the reader a trip.

Buchanan founded Helium with the aim of taking that system one step further by deliver-

ing books right to readers’ doors in one to two days instead of up to one week, the amount of time it typically takes.

“We are taking it that last mile and kind of bringing libraries up to the 21st century in a way and to the world of e-commerce,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan, with co-founder Jacob Carlson, launched the service in early September for Milwaukee County residents. It will be free at least through the end of 2019 to give the company a sense of demand, Buchanan said.

Although there is likely a long path to profitability, Buchanan said, he plans to implement a pricing structure similar to those used by on-demand ride-sharing services, such as Uber or Lyft.

Customers would pay a base delivery fee plus additional travel fees based on distance.

Deliveries will eventually be contracted out, but for now, Buchanan and Carlson are on their own.

“We need to make it worthwhile for the drivers, but we also want to make it cheap for the consumer, so that will be a lot of trial and error, but I have the bones of it worked out right now,” Buchanan said. n biztimes.com / 11

BizNews

Allis Tool & Machine strives to take on big challenges PETER RATHMANN’S philosophy for Allis Tool & Machine Corp. is to run the business like a ship. The message is simple: There is no one else coming to help so everyone has to work together to get the job done.

Rathmann, the company’s president, chief executive officer and co-owner, also is a fan of the pirate Blackbeard and there is a pirate flag hanging over its shop floor, a small reminder of the reward program that everyone participates in based on company performance.

“We’re very horizontal on mission,” Rathmann said. “These guys don’t work for me. They do things for the guy next to them.”

Allis Tool’s history dates back to the 1950s. Rathmann took over in 2017 after several years building his own sales-focused consulting business.

Rathmann has invested in having apprentices at the company, believing the company will only grow by growing its people and acquiring talent is best done through the business equivalent of drafting and developing.

Allis Tool’s work is spread across three shifts, including two groups working four 10-hour shifts per week and a third working three 12-hour shifts on weekends, something Rathmann said was the result of employees seeking work opportunities that matched their own lives.

“We try to do a flexible schedule based on needs,” he said, adding he has also emphasized cross-training across roles and equipment so the company does 12 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

not lose out when someone needs to take time off.

Allis Tool provides a variety of services, including milling, machining, turning, wire EDM and complex assembly for around 17 industries. The business is further diversified by making new parts, repairing older systems and building prototypes. The defining characteristic is the size of the components, anywhere from 20 to 20,000 pounds.

“I don’t do a lot of small stuff.

We’re not good at small,” Rathmann said.

What the company is good at is taking on the projects other shops can’t or won’t try their hand at. Rathmann pointed to a project with a $20,000 casting that required 16 weeks of machining as an example.

“We do a lot of vetting and co-development with the R&D space,” he said, noting the company had recently set up a dedicated room to bring customer engineers, machinists and other team members together to collaborate.

Taking on the challenges that others pass on doesn’t mean saying yes to everything. Rathmann said the organization has spent a lot of time over the past two years defining what it wants to be as a company, learning to say no and then helping customers find other suppliers who might be a better fit.

“As an organization, now we’re careful to protect our time and understand what could go wrong,” he said.

Allis Tool has a total of 26 work centers in its 40,000-square-foot

A stainless steel part machined by Allis Tool and used in combustion chambers in the aerospace industry.

ALLIS TOOL & MACHINE CORP. 647 S. 94th Place, West Allis INDUSTRY: CNC machining EMPLOYEES: 33

allistool.com

facility and Rathmann said he has invested $1 million in equipment over the past 10 months.

“We constantly listen to the marketplace,” Rathmann said, noting the company’s investments are driven by demand, not a desire to add the latest new features.

Most of the company’s customers are within southeastern Wisconsin, but with the amount of diversity in industries served, Allis Tool sees a different business mix every year. The top 25 customers are constantly changing and around 30% of customers will be replaced in a given year. As a job shop, Allis Tool typically has a backlog of around 60 days.

“The biggest drivers of the market right now are timeliness and quality,” Rathmann said.

To meet those market needs, Allis Tool has emphasized being agile, responsive and accessible, including bringing machinists into planning conversations to help address cost and identify potential issues early on in the process.

Rathmann said customers are increasingly looking for faster turnaround of work, suggesting

the ability to quickly receive items from Amazon has changed expectations. While it can be tempting to move work up for significant customers, he said he has emphasized processing work in the order it was received to avoid complicating operations and causing issues for other customers. Plus, when you are machining massive pieces of metal, there are certain limitations involved.

“The realities are there are physics that have to be respected,” he said. n

ARTHUR THOMAS Reporter

P / 414-336-7123 E / arthur.thomas@biztimes.com T / @arthur8823

MY TA K E

Sales tax proposal

Several local officials want to have a referendum asking voters to increase the Milwaukee County sales tax to 6.5% (it’s currently 5.6%) to provide more funds for local government and reduce property taxes. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett appeared on UpFront with Adrienne Pedersen on WISN-TV Channel 12 to explain the idea.

Meanwhile, in a letter to Republican leaders in the state Legislature, Milwaukee alderman Bob Donovan says he supports the referendum proposal, but says a sales tax increase should only be allowed if it can’t be “mismanaged” by Barrett. n

COME CELEBRATE SOME OF KENOSHA COUNTY’S BEST IN BUSINESS #2019OvationAwards

Thursday, November 7, 2019

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2019 OVATION AWARD WINNERS:

Learn more: kaba.org/ovation-awards

Business of the Year:

Thank you to the 2019 Ovation Awards Sponsors

CATALYST EXHIBITS Small Business of the Year: KITCHEN CUBES Entrepreneur of the Year: MIKE THOMPSON, FAIR OAKS FARMS Forward Awards: ADVOCATE AURORA HEALTH BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF KENOSHA KENOSHA COUNTY SL MONTEVIDEO

TOM BARRETT BOB DONOVAN Milwaukee Mayor

Alderman

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PARKSIDE

supporting sponsors

media sponsor

SUPPORTER WANTS SAFEGUARDS THE FUNDS “On a relative basis, our property taxes are the problem. (But) our sales tax is relatively low. Twenty-five percent of this money, $40 million, would go back to property taxpayers in the form of a credit.

So, right off the bat, $40 million of the $160 million we would raise would go to property tax relief.”

“I urge (Legislative leaders) to scrutinize very carefully the recent proposal … and to ensure that the enabling legislation does as much as possible to prevent the misuse of these funds by the administration of Mayor Barrett … I do not believe that this administration will properly manage this revenue…”

PUBLIC SAFET Y “Right now our budget next year is going to require us to reduce the number of police officers we have. I do not want to do that.

The way for us to avoid that is to have this sales tax so we can have the number of police officers we need.”

“This administration in recent years … has demonstrated an animus towards public safety, with consistent reductions in the staffing of the fire department, a refusal to maintain the sworn strength of the police department, and reductions in necessary equipment purchases.”

WHAT TAXPAYERS WANT “The business community has been very helpful. I think they understand what we’re trying to do. We have to explain it to the voters. I think the voters understand the challenges we face as a city and as a county … I think people understand when you have a sales tax, 25 to 30 percent of it is going to come from visitors.”

“Our residents want safe, clean streets; timely garbage collection; an adequate supply of inspectors tasked with abating nuisances; and a robust fire/rescue service … (Barrett) has diverted millions of federal dollars to the Milwaukee Streetcar and threatens to pour millions of dollars into its continued operation.”

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Join us for an inspirational evening in support of our future female leaders.

Italian Community Center 5:30 p.m.

Tickets

$100 per person Co-chairs: Jen Dirks and Marquette Baylor BGCMilwaukee.org/celebrating-girls.

biztimes.com / 13

Real Estate

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY – The week’s most significant real estate news → biztimes.com/subscribe

SPACES

Spaces has a 43,000-square-foot coworking space at 1433 N. Water St. in downtown Milwaukee.

Coworking spaces here to stay, but questions remain

REAL ESTATE EXPERTS say coworking spaces are likely here to stay, even as they grapple with questions, such as the risk they carry and how they will fare during the next economic downturn.

One sign the industry considers coworking spaces to be more

than a fad came last fall, when Los Angeles-based real estate giant CBRE Group Inc. launched a new coworking brand, Hana. CBRE says the new service is designed to help property owners meet the rapidly growing demand for flexible office space.

Scott Marshall, president and chief development officer with Hana, said the service was born out of CBRE research that showed coworking operations were taking up more and more office space.

“This is truly a way an occupier wants to add flexibility to their portfolios,” he said.

Marshall was among a panel of industry experts that spoke on the topic during Marquette University’s recent National Real Estate Strategies Conference on its campus.

Jason Geer, managing director and head of transaction services with Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate, said the amount of coworking space has grown by about 25% annually over the past decade, compared with 1% annual growth of the office market as a whole.

The coworking craze has spawned a number of brands

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: S T. S TA N I S L AU S C H U R C H Those driving along I-43 south of downtown Milwaukee in recent months may have noticed St. Stanislaus Church covered in scaffolding, including its landmark twin spires.

Since last fall the church at 524 W. Historic Mitchell St. has been undergoing extensive repairs.

Perhaps most notable among the repair work is the re-roofing of the steeple domes with copper material, matching the original material used when the building was constructed in 1872, according to city permit records. When extensive repairs were made in the 1960s, the copper domes were completely removed and reconstructed using aluminum-covered steel, according to the church website.

Columns in the lantern portion of the steeples are also being clad in copper.

The cupola at the west end is getting a similar treatment. In addition, the crosses atop the three re-roofed structures are being re-gilded.

The refurbished domes were installed back onto the building in mid-September.

14 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Marshall said buildings should aim for around 15% to be dedicated to coworking space.

The panel likewise had mixed thoughts on how coworking spaces would fare in the next eventual recession.

The industry’s only reference point is when, during the economic downturn of the early 2000s, Regus filed for bankruptcy protection. The firm, now called International Workplace Group, struggled in the wake of the dot-com bubble.

Liautaud said she expects that in the next recession building owners will see higher vacancies, and they will come more quickly, in coworking spaces. She said the enterprise users are attracted to flexibility of these workspaces because it allows them to downsize quickly once profits start declining.

Meanwhile, Josh Jeffers, president and chief executive of J. Jeffers & Co., said co-working spaces could prove useful to people who had been laid off and wanted to strike it out on their own.

“They don’t necessarily want to work in their basement, and a coworking option could become more attractive,” he said.

Geer said a recession would likely weed out some of the smaller coworking firms, leaving those like WeWork and Hana that have strong financial backing. n

RINKA

looking to replicate the success of established companies such as WeWork. Marshall said Hana is attempting to differentiate itself by focusing on hospitality and worker productivity.

Specifically, Hana is designing its space so that 70% is made up of suites for enterprise users, or large corporations; 20% is high-end meeting space; and 10% is more “traditional” coworking space.

Enterprise users are finding coworking space to be a great option for them, he said. Those larger companies make up about 40% of coworking space users, he said.

“I think a lot of people think all the time it’s just the one-off person that’s using (coworking space),” he said. “But a lot of companies are using it.”

Marshall noted “glossy names” like Nike and Microsoft are among that group.

Even so, uncertainty lingers among investors and lenders over what the future may hold for coworking spaces and the firms that run them. As evidence, look no further than WeWork parent company We Co. and its recent postponement of plans to take the company public. Investors are concerned about WeWork’s actual value and questioned how it would become profitable, according to some national news reports.

Kim Liautaud, managing director and head of U.S. commercial real estate with BMO Harris Bank, expressed similar concerns at the Marquette conference. She said WeWork is a landlord but is being valued like a tech company.

Moreover, BMO takes little chance on lending to buildings that have significant amounts of coworking space. The general rule is BMO looks for less than 10% of a building to have coworking space, Liautaud said.

“Nothing against WeWork or Hana, or any other concept.

It’s new; it has not been tested through a cycle,” she said. “I realize everyone has a good business model; it’s too much risk for us to underwrite. So, we have zero exposure to WeWork at BMO. That’s intentional.”

PARTERRE Recently, crews began moving dirt in preparation for construction of Parterre, the second phase of the Emerald Row apartments development in Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square.

The 240 luxury units will add to the 167 existing units at Emerald Row, located south of West Drexel Avenue and east of South 6th Street. According to the development team, the project is weighted heavily in one-bedroom dwellings, offering a more condensed and urban lifestyle in the area.

The project is financed with a $32 million construction loan, nearly $10.3 million in equity and $7.25 million from the city, including a $2.75 million loan and $4.5 million grant.

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STORY COVER

Representation

MATTERS MMAC initiative tackles lack of management and workforce diversity in Milwaukee

16 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

B

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, staff writer

y 2025, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce wants to see 12,000 more African American and Hispanic employees, and 875 more managers of color, in the region.

That vision traces back to a late 2017 survey, in which Milwaukee area business leaders identified racial disparities as the region’s biggest Achilles’ heel.

It wasn’t the first time Milwaukee’s well-documented segregation problem and racial wealth gap had been identified as liabilities standing in the way of Milwaukee’s economic progress, as assessed by the MMAC’s regular surveys of its members. But it was the first time the issue rose to the top of the list.

“In all the years of doing this (membership survey), the issues tend to be in the same buckets; it’s taxation, it’s infrastructure, it’s health care,” said Julie Granger, executive vice president of MMAC. “And certainly the issue of racial disparity has come up before, but never had it come up so consistently and prominently. (In the 2017 survey) it came up as the number one issue among both our board members and members at large.”

Data bear out what more than 500 corporate executives and business leaders agree is a glaring problem.

A recent study of metro Milwaukee and 20 of its peers (similar-sized U.S. metro areas) – commissioned by MMAC in response to the survey results – showed the region ranks poorly on several Julie Granger measures related to the financial health of minorities in the region.

Milwaukee’s ranking when it comes to African American prosperity? Last among 21 medium-sized cities.

Its Hispanic prosperity? Last again.

The prosperity gap between African American and white residents, and between Hispanic and white residents? The widest among peer cities.

“What the data confirmed and amplified was what we intuitively know is a big issue in Milwaukee, but somehow when you put it in black and white, you can see how stark the difference is,” Granger said.

Making Milwaukee a “region of choice” That data is the catalyst behind a new fiveyear initiative for the MMAC. At the chamber’s biennial All Member Meeting on Sept. 26, leaders unveiled its “Region of Choice” initiative, which includes two targets to increase the diversity of southeastern Wisconsin’s workforce by 2025.

The first is to increase diverse management among chamber member organizations – a group that includes about 1,800 employers – by 25%. The second is to increase total employment of African American and Hispanic workers by 15%.

Currently in metro Milwaukee, African American employees make up about 14% of the total employment among firms with over 100 employees, and just under 5% of management. Hispanic/

Latino employees make up 8% of all employees and 3.4% of managers.

If MMAC’s initiative is successful, the combined number of African American and Hispanic managers in the region will increase from 3,500 to 4,375 in five years. And the total employment of those groups will increase from 81,000 to 93,000.

MMAC is asking the region’s CEOs to sign a corporate pledge, vowing to report the company’s baseline data for African American and Hispanic employees, participate in best practice sharing with peers, review its strategies annually, publicly acknowledge its participation in the pledge and recruit others to join. As of Sept. 23, 61 CEOs had already signed on.

Granger said management diversity has been identified as one area that MMAC can use its platbiztimes.com / 17

STORY COVER

Steps to building a more diverse company Participants in the MMAC’s research process made recommendations of practical ways in which companies can pursue a more diverse workforce.

They include: »» Investing in employee resource groups.

»» Board sponsorships for people of color.

»» Hiring an external facilitator to lead critical workshop conversations, in which people can share their real-life experiences.

form to move the needle on a multi-faceted issue of racial inequality.

“When you look at an organization like ours ... and our role in the community as a chamber of commerce for the region, said in its most basic terms, our role is to reduce the liabilities that exist in the community and enhance our assets,” Granger said. “So that’s really how we’re approaching this problem; it’s to say, what can we, as a business community representing 1,800 member businesses, do to impact these numbers?”

The current labor market has presented a strong business imperative to do so.

The widening gap between job openings and workers ready to fill them could result in about 35,000 unfilled openings in the region in the next three years, according to MMAC. Meanwhile, the city of Milwaukee’s population has decreased for four consecutive years, running counter to national trends, in which peer cities have experienced growth over the past decade.

Compounding on those factors is an aging workforce, changing community demographics and the importance millennial employees place on workplace diversity and inclusion.

»» Including diversity and inclusion metrics in company’s compliance report.

»» Integrating mentorship to lead people of color through the corporate ladder.

»» Targeting younger, school-aged children to build the talent pipeline.

»» Developing a public scorecard rating companies’ diversity and inclusion metrics and the population the company serves, partners with or provides business.

»» CEOs should experience the culture of their employees and observe those who are not in managerial roles.

»» Building objective measures that are publicly shared.

»» Developing a standardized scorecard with performance criteria for identifying employees with high potential.

»» Creating space for internal/external coaches to be assigned to AfricanAmerican and Latino employees.

18 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Christopher Rowland This isn’t the time to leave any segment out of the talent pool.

“We are at a crux in time when leveraging different talent pools is going to be imperative for organizations to remain sustainable for the future,” said Christopher Rowland, chief diversity officer of Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup and a member of the MMAC committee that steered the diversity and inclusion research work. “It presents a great opportunity to think a little bit differently, challenge ourselves individually and collectively on how we engage certain populations to meet the demands of this talent shortage that we’re in.”

“The intent of diversity is not solely just because it’s the right thing to do,” he added. “It’s because it provides business value, makes organizations stronger, makes communities stronger. It creates growth.”

Milwaukee’s historical disparities Racial disparities in the corporate sector – and the region’s chasmic racial prosperity gap – are the result of several historical forces, including the

boom and bust of the manufacturing industry, the resulting loss of jobs in the 1980s, the disinvestment in central city neighborhoods, homeownership challenges and the Great Recession, according

Eve Hall to Eve Hall, president and chief executive officer of the Milwaukee Urban League.

“At one point, Milwaukee was a great place for African Americans, owning homes, education, sending their children off to school, because there were jobs that really presented a variety of skills,” Hall said. “The jobs that were available didn’t necessarily require a college or postsecondary degree, so it made it much easier for all parts of the community, especially the African-American community, to participate. Once that was lost, we began to lose ground.”

The struggle to recoup lost jobs combined with the lasting impact of restrictive housing practices and high incarceration rates, particularly among black men, have contributed to troubling data that have earned Milwaukee’s spot on some unfavorable lists, including the most segregated U.S. cities and, recently, the “worst cities for black Americans” list released by 24/7 Wall St. Those bleak statistics can negatively influence professionals’ desire to stay in the area when advancing in their careers, according to Hall.

“As much as there are many attempts by many different diverse groups to come up with ways in which we’re more closely working together and trying to expand perspectives on how communities of colors are seen, those who are trying to pursue jobs, if they’re outside of Milwaukee, always have to be concerned about whether they’re going to be welcome (here),” Hall said. “So, we have a lot of work to do, especially when we’re talking about maintaining talent or encouraging people to look at different opportunities, whether here in the city or outside the city.”

The research Underpinning the MMAC’s 2025 goals is eight months’ worth of data gathering, focus groups, feedback and planning.

That process involved surveying minority managers from some of the region’s largest employers, including Advocate Aurora Health, Ascension, Northwestern Mutual, GE Healthcare and Froedtert Health, to understand the main barriers to advancement among minority employees.

In total, representatives from 27 corporations and five public entities (the city of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and Milwaukee Area Technical College) opted to participate in the research process.

Segregation among Milwaukee’s communities – and the impediment that presents to creating cross-cultural social networks – emerged as a recurring theme in focus group discussions. Mistrust and tenuous community bonds lead some minority professionals to believe Milwaukee isn’t the place to start a career, and many said they only remain in the city because of family, MMAC documents show.

“That was a theme that kept coming up: even if you feel like you’re in a great place in your job, you’ve been given opportunities, you have great relationships with coworkers, you’re probably not going to stick around long if, when you go home at night, you don’t feel welcome in the community in which you live and your kids get educated,” Granger said.

Other quantitative data underscored issues

with company culture.

Just over half of African American managers polled, and 45% of Hispanic managers, reported feeling they had to downplay their culture in the workplace.

Two percent of African Americans, and 3% of Hispanics polled, reported having an internal executive caucus to advocate for their racial groups’ talent advancement.

“The same issues kept coming up over and over again,” Granger said of the survey responses.

“And they had to do with needing more representation in leadership positions, wanting their companies to be more transparent about how people actually get promoted and what are the pathways to that promotion, making sure that the HR processes were set up so there was a diverse team involved in the interviewing and hiring process.”

Participants in the research process also offered several recommendations of practical ways in which companies can pursue a more diverse workforce.

Among them were: investing in employee re-

Maria Monreal-Cameron, former president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, (center) leads a discussion regarding increasing civic engagement among Hispanic residents in the region, as part of the Hispanic Collaborative’s ongoing work.

source groups (ERGs), hiring an external facilitator to lead critical workshop conversations, reporting diversity and inclusion metrics in compliance reports, building a pipeline early by targeting school-aged children, providing mentorship to lead people of color through the corporate ladder and developing a standardized scorecard with performance criteria for identifying employees with high potential.

Rowland acknowledges that the process will

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index,” which ranked Milwaukee 39th among the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas on measures such as education, prosperity and health.

Those behind the effort note that, at a time when Milwaukee struggles to bring in new residents, its Hispanic population has driven the region’s net population growth over the past two decades. Yet, Hispanic workers are underrepresented in higher-wage occupations. They are employed at less than half the rate of the overall workforce in occupations paying a median wage of at least $60,000, such as management, business and financial operations, health care practitioner and computer and mathematical occupations, according to a recent Wisconsin Policy Forum study.

The collaborative targets three strategic priority areas: finding strategies to move Hispanics to higher-paying and higher-skilled positions; increasing the number of Hispanic-owned businesses by linking them to the region’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem; and increasing Hispanic civic participation through voting, public service and advocacy.

STORY COVER

Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Marcus Theatres, was among those participating in a recent Hispanic Collaborative community working group meeting.

a smaller company around best practices.

“There is room to grow and room to learn for companies of any size,” Granger said.

Other initiatives

look different for each company. An organization with 75 employees will pursue workforce diversity differently from a large corporation with an established diversity and inclusion arm of the company.

“There is not one silver bullet … one solution will not fix the issue,” he said.

For a small- or mid-sized company, working toward a more diverse workforce could start by offering an unconscious bias training class. Or it could band together with other companies to form employee resource groups. Or a larger company with more resources and experience could mentor

MMAC’s effort coincides with several other recent efforts to promote economic and workplace equity in the region.

Separate from the Region of Choice initiative, a group of Milwaukee’s prominent Hispanic business and community leaders unveiled in January a concerted effort – called the Hispanic Collaborative – to improve economic opportunities and representation among Latinos in the region, with the ultimate goal of making metro Milwaukee one of the nation’s top 10 Hispanic communities.

The Hispanic Collaborative, which is also affiliated with the MMAC, is more than two years in the making.

It was prompted by a Greater Milwaukee Foundation-commissioned study in 2016 that examined the impact of Milwaukee’s Latino community. That study led to the creation of a “Hispanic well-being

Nancy Hernandez Nancy Hernandez, former president and founder of ABRAZO Multicultural Marketing and Communication, is leading the collaborative. She said there is “a lot of synergy” between the collaborative’s work and MMAC’s initiative.

For example, MMAC’s research revealed that Hispanics with bachelor’s degrees are less likely to choose to work in corporate settings than the population as a whole, including the African American community. That trend is one factor that could

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influence earning potential for Hispanic workers, Hernandez said.

“That’s something we’ve been able to uncover in tandem (with MMAC’s initiative), and hopefully we’ll be putting together some greater awareness around that and strategies, along with other educational initiatives, so we can close that gap,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Diversity Leadership Society of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County is simultaneously working toward a 2025 goal of its own: reducing unemployment among African Americans in the Milwaukee area by 15%.

According to a 2017 report from the National Urban League, the Milwaukee metro ranked last among 71 urban areas for its unemployment gap between African American and white Americans.

Unemployment for black Americans was 13.8%, while unemployment for white Americans in the area was 2.7%.

The United Way donor network plans to change those statistics by financially supporting adult education and transportation programs, advocating for laws that reduce employment barriers for non-violent offenders and researching why diverse talent leaves the region at high rates.

Samantha Mitchell Samantha Mitchell, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County’s engagement manager for diversity and inclusion initiatives, said the work to reduce African-American unemployment feeds into the goals MMAC is pursuing around workforce and management diversity.

“We’re connecting people to employment; you have to start with diverse thought and get all the

key players at the table and figure out ways to get people closer to employment,” Mitchell said. “It’s important for every company to have diversity, equity and inclusion at the top of their strategic plans, which is what United Way is really honing in on now.”

While existing groups have worked for years to promote economic and professional equity – organizations like the Milwaukee Urban League and Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, among others – Hall said she’s optimistic about the ways in which the MMAC coalition can enact change.

“What I appreciate about this new initiative by MMAC is that you now have a collective group of high-level executives and CEOs who are recognizing the racial disparities, who are recognizing the fact that we really need to keep identifying ways to create a culture and environment here that offers opportunities, such as getting more people in management and C-suite positions, as well as looking at all other factors that can make or break our efforts of talent attraction,” Hall said.

A breakout group discusses solutions for increasing prosperity among Hispanic workers in the region during a recent Hispanic Collaborative community working group meeting.

Granger has described the cultural change that MMAC is seeking as a “journey of a thousand steps.”

She’s confident now is the time to embark on it.

“The realities of the talent crunch employers are currently facing is, ready or not, we have a severe talent crunch on our hands,” she said. “If we don’t look at maximizing all the talent that we have, whether that’s people who are currently on the sidelines or those currently within the ranks of our workforce and could ascend to higher positions, that’s just withholding our own growth. We have to get out of our own way.” n

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Special Report MANUFACTURING & LOGISTICS

If a recession is coming, manufacturers want to face it head on IT WAS NOT LONG AGO that manufacturers in southeastern Wisconsin were riding high. Boosted by tax cuts and a generally strong economy, the Marquette-ISM Report on Manufacturing posted its highest reading since at least the start of 2014 at 75.24 in February 2018.

Any reading above 50 for the index indicates growth in the sector and that month’s report was full of positive readings. New orders, production, employment, backlog and exports were all growing. Nearly three-quarters of respondents expected conditions to improve in the next six months.

Still, the report also had some warning signs.

Respondents cautioned that tariffs on steel and aluminum could cause price increases over the long-term. They also fretted over inconsistent customer demand, shortages of trucks and labor and growing lead times for electronic components.

In the 18 months since that high-water mark, the region’s monthly index has been down more times – 10 in total – than it has been up. The trend has been worse than that. The six-month average of the index has been down in all but two months, and in three of the past four months the index has been below 50, an indication the sector is contracting.

With declining sentiment, continuing global trade tensions and slowing international markets, it would be easy to think manufacturers are staring down the barrel of their biggest economic downturn since the Great Recession.

But while there are certainly challenges and signs of a slowdown, the current market might be better described as one of cautious optimism for manufacturers, particularly for the small and medium-sized companies that make up a large portion of Wisconsin’s firms.

26 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

“Overall, the middle-market seems to be holding its own,” said Jerry Murphy, partner-in-charge of the manufacturing and distribution practice at Illinois-based advisory firm Sikich, which has clients throughout Wisconsin.

Murphy said Sikich’s clients have not verbalized concerns about a recession and they generally seem to be feeling good about the economy.

He cautioned that smaller firms may not have the same visibility into future economic activity that large multi-national companies do.

Kelly Rudy, president of The Paranet Group,

MARQUETTE – ISM REPORT ON MANUFACTURING

n MILWAUKEE-AREA PMI

n

6-MONTH AVERAGE

SOURCE: MARQUETTE-ISM REPORT ON MANUFACTURING

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer

a Wauwatosa-based professional development membership company that works with manufacturers, said her sense is that manufacturers expect to see a recession at some point, but do not anticipate it will be severe.

“Most people agree there is going to be some minor downfall,” she said.

Nate Hoffman, president of Waukesha-based operational efficiency firm Carrus Group, said given the level of activity in recent years, some amount of slowdown might have been expected.

“It’s plateaued, but the level of the plateau is still very, very high,” he said. “People are still very, very growth-minded.”

Whether a recession is imminent or years away, the ups and downs of economic cycles suggest one will arrive at some point. The question for manufacturers is how best to prepare for a potential downturn.

Murphy suggested starting at the top line of the business.

“Obviously sales is your lifeline or your oxygen. It creates the cash flow needed to run your business, so I think a lot of folks are really trying to focus on making sure they have a good steady stream of sales,” he said.

With many manufacturers experiencing strong orders within the past few years, Murphy cautioned that it is easy “to take your eye off the ball.”

“The sales are robust and you don’t always focus on your sales and marketing efforts and diversification of customers,” he said.

Rudy said for some companies it may make sense to pursue product and market diversifi-

Special Report MANUFACTURING & LOGISTICS cation, but for others that is difficult to do and it might make more sense to go after market share.

She said companies need to do what is smart for them while still taking on some risk.

“You can’t be completely risk averse. If you’re completely risk averse you’re not going to succeed,” she said. “Status quo is not good enough because there are other people out there who are not staying at status quo.”

Beyond diversifying or seeking market share, Hoffmann said it is a good time for companies to address their challenges and bottlenecks, things like plant layout, dated equipment or repeated processes.

“It’s time to get your house in order,” he said.

“All of that stuff is going to become a heavy backpack in a downturn.”

Rudy said many companies seem to be holding off on large capital expenditures.

“If people are investing in their company, they’re really investing in some low-cost initiatives to find areas of waste and continuous improvement so they can get more capacity out of what they have,” she said.

Murphy said clients that are expanding or making significant investments are doing it when they have certainty about the customer demand to

utilize, and pay for, those expansions.

“It’s sometimes a lot to bite off, but they know that having that additional business will be beneficial to them when there is some sort of a change in economic conditions or a customer experiences a slowdown,” Murphy said.

He acknowledged those bringing on new business need to also work hard to continue meeting the expectations of their current customers.

“They’re willing to go through some pain in taking on additional work to help weather a storm,” Murphy said. “It’s a mindset that business owners have been taking on since we came out of the Great Recession to make sure they don’t experience the same hardship they did in ‘08 and ‘09.”

Rudy and Murphy both also pointed to a need for manufacturers to manage their inventory, although Murphy noted that companies have to work together to keep components and products available.

“There has to be a healthy mix of material throughout the supply chain,” he said.

Many businesses have also been very intentional about limiting the amount of debt they carry, Murphy said. He and Rudy both noted businesses are seeking to build up cash reserves.

Having ready access to cash serves two purposes, they said. It provides a buffer in the event that orders slow in a downturn and also makes it possible to act quickly on investment opportunities during or after a slowdown.

Economic cycles come and go and being prepared for a recession’s aftermath might be as important as being ready heading into one. To that end, many manufacturers have worked extremely hard in recent years to attract and retain new employees.

“The common opinion seems to be that this (recession) is not going to be that long,” Rudy said.

“They definitely don’t want to do layoffs. They are going to do everything they can to protect against doing that because really, long term, they are going to be screwed after the recession (if they do).”

She pointed out a brief downturn could be shorter than the time it takes for a company to hire and onboard a new employee.

Rudy said that in the Great Recession, many companies were paralyzed and caught flat-footed by the downturn. This time around, she said it seems like companies view it as a business challenge that they are not afraid to take head-on.

“It just feels like people are grabbing the bull by the horns,” she said. n

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Special Report

TROY FREUND

MANUFACTURING & LOGISTICS

Quad ACT program helps new hires see a path to operating the company’s equipment.

Increasing base pay to $16 per hour was just a starting point for Quad Manufacturers face hiring challenges

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer PERHAPS IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE that Quad/Graphics Inc. saw a two-fold increase in applications when it boosted its starting wage by $2 to $16 per hour last fall.

The increase was the result of an analysis that considered the unemployment and labor force participation rates along with Quad’s ability to attract talent that would join and grow with the company.

The unemployment rate in Wisconsin has not been above 3.2% for two years, while the state’s labor force participation rate has dropped from 68.5% to 67.2% since mid-2017, a decline of more than 27,600 people from the workforce.

“Base pay was not the first thing that it pointed to,” said Artell Smith, vice president of talent at Quad.

He said the company’s review led to changes in recruiting practices, training for managers on how to welcome and engage new workers and an evaluation of how Quad would accelerate wage increases for new hires as they acquire new skills.

“The benefit of the change in the base rate is not fulfilled unless you can say to the employee ‘In 24 months, if you follow our process, learn the new 30 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

skills, participate in our program, you could be at 18 (dollars) or higher and then with 24 months after that you could easily be at 20 (dollars) or higher,” Smith said.

Many manufacturers have for years lamented the difficulty in finding and keeping employees.

One of the common critiques of companies has been that manufacturers should be paying more.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests wages are pushing higher. The average hourly pay for production workers in Wisconsin was $21.59 in July, up 5.8% from the previous year.

In the first seven months of 2019, the state has averaged a 4.2% increase in pay for production workers, which would be the strongest year of wage growth since 2007 if it continues for the full year.

It is not just entry level or production employees where companies are finding challenges.

Milwaukee-based Brady Corp. has been making significant investments in research and development, but the company has found it difficult to hire people to fill innovative roles with unemployment around 3%.

“When you are down at that level, it is a longer process and certainly a more dynamic and interactive process than you historically have had to have

to bring in the best talent,” Michael Nauman, president and chief executive officer of Brady, said on a recent earnings call.

Nauman added it is important for the company to still find employees who are a good fit for Brady.

He noted there was a situation recently where he thought Brady would hire a number of candidates but decided against it because of a lack of support from the team they would be joining.

“We are not going to settle,” he said. “We will not bring in people that we don’t believe will be strong contributors, but even more importantly, will really love working at Brady and being part of Brady.”

Racine-based Twin Disc Inc. has dealt with a significant number of retirements in recent years.

John Batten, the company’s chief executive officer, remarked on a recent earnings call that the company had not brought on that many new hires in decades.

“We hadn’t had a hiring ramp up like that since probably the late ‘60s, early ‘70s,” he said. “It just took a while to get people trained and up to speed, particularly on some of our new products that are a lot more technical and more complicated to build.”

Batten said it has taken time to get new employees trained, but productivity is starting to improve as people get six months to a year of experience with the company.

Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Quad, said part of the challenge in raising wages is that the investment is made up-

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Special Report MANUFACTURING & LOGISTICS front but it takes time to realize the benefit.

“It’s a little bit of a white-knuckle thing to do,” he said on a recent earnings call, adding that investing in wages and training is paying off.

“We are seeing the productivity improvements and it’s pretty amazing what our team has done,” Quadracci said.

Quad’s training has come primarily in the form of two programs.

The first, Zero-to-60, focuses on helping employees get acclimated during their first 60 days with the company. The idea is to offer structured onboarding to help someone learn how to do their job and navigate around the plant safely.

“That has proven to be a really significant draw into the company as well as to retain the new workers when they get here,” Smith said.

The second program is called Accelerated Career Training, or ACT. It provides deep technical instruction on running Quad’s machinery and handling continuous improvement efforts. It also offers a clear training plan for employees to progress in the company.

“At the end of it, our stated objective to new employees as they come in is we want you to become an operator of our machines,” Smith said.

Ryan Festerling, president and chief operating officer of Brookfield-based QPS Employment Group, said it is good for companies to take a programmatic approach to bringing on new hires, but great companies are ultimately differentiating themselves by how they treat their employees.

“I don’t care if you work for a company of four people or a company of 40,000, these are all people that we work with and you can’t take a programmatic approach to caring for people,” he said.

Festerling added that QPS regularly reviews data with its top customers and, regardless of how established a company’s programs are, turnover and engagement metrics can show which supervisors are doing well or poorly in caring about the people who work for them.

In some ways, the enhanced training programs took Quad back to its roots.

“In the early days of Quad, there was a very high-touch, personalized training approach to new hires coming in,” Smith said. “As the company grew and in some ways became more differentiated in the services, the local organizations, the plant specifically went down a more customized route for what was appropriate for their plant.”

The new programs helped add a more stan-

dardized, consistent and rigorous approach throughout the company, Smith said.

He added that Quad also went back to new hires from recent years to evaluate their wages and make pay adjustments based on technical skills, development and performance track of employees.

Smith said the investment in training and wages has paid off in employee retention.

“When an employee came in at $14 an hour, $15 an hour, it was not so complicated for them to go somewhere down the street and get $15.50, but it is a little harder to go from $16 to $17 in the current pay market for the manufacturing kinds of jobs,” Smith said.

Part of the challenge is getting employees to five, seven or 10 years with the company.

“The message from the marketplace has been that in order to improve your wage and career prospects you need to change jobs,” Smith said. “We have to constantly renew our retention approach so that somebody is really feeling the pull year after year. They’re growing, they’re improving their wage, they’re increasing their span of control … it’s a steady march and by the time they get to 10 years of employment with us, they feel really good about being with us and the career they’ve developed.” n

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SHAPING THE FUTURE Manufacturing Matters! 2017 will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee on February 23rd, 2017. The theme of this year’s conference is Shaping the Future, and the conference features 18 breakout session in six tracks including: Growth • Operational Excellence • Human Capital Management C-Suite Essentials • Technology & innovation Wisconsin Manufacturing P L AT I N U M S P O N S O R

Nworkforce GS SPPOONNchallenges P RL EASTEI NN TAs UI M SSOO RR : and trends are

on the minds of most manufacturers, we are pleased to announce this year’s keynote presenter is Kip Wright, Senior Vice President of Manpower, North America. Kip will discuss G O key L D workforce SPONSORS trends and what manufacturers can do to secure and develop their current and future workforces.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017 • 7:00 - 11:00 AM Wednesday, October 9th, 2019 WI Manufacturing & Technology Show at Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park Kip Wright

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REGISTER TODAY! Are you letting the disruptors control you, or are you building a “Proactively Adaptable Organization” www.manufacturingmatters.org

The Connections Your Join us for the annual Next GenerationShaping Manufacturing Summit, featuring a lively interactive discussion with chief executive officers and leaders of southeastern Wisconsin manufacturing companies. These CEO’s will share their company’s ideas and best practices for competCompany’s Future 1 in the 21st century.

2 ing in a global marketplace and how they strive to be “proactively adaptable” world-class manufacturers

3 Next generation manufacturing companies are making connections with other businesses Proactively adaptable organizations look beyond their own four walls and next purchase order and are preparing for the inevitable disruptors in to drive innovation. They are also connecting machines to improve productivity, reacting today’s business environment. Hear from industry leaders who are creating processes and a culture of innovation, as well as methods of talent to connections between economies and markets, and striving to connect with their attraction, that will drive innovation in their business. future workforce.

Moderated Panel: Join us for the 14th Annual Next Generation Manufacturing Summit on Oct. 9. CEOs from • Jim Hawkins, CEO - Kenall Manufacturing (1) the region’s leading manufacturers will discuss how they make these connections and will 4 5 • Jim Leef, President - ITU AbsorbTech (2) share best practices that help their businesses succeed. Following the presentations and • John W. Mellowes, CEO - Charter Manufacturing Company, Inc. (3) discussion, make sure to attend three of the following roundtable sessions where area • David Werner, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Director, Industrial Adhesives and Tapes Division (IATD) - 3M (4) manufacturing leaders will share their ideas and best practices on these topics: Moderator - Joseph Weitzer, Ph.D., Dean - Center for Business Performance Solutions, Waukesha County Technical College (5) » Maximizing your supplier’s capabilities – » Accessing Tax Savings in Your Facility and Presenters: From Local Concept and Design to Global Operations 2017 at the Hyatt Regency • John Batten, President & CEO, Twin Disc (1) Manufacturing » Manufacturing Best Practices: TurnMatters!

Export Efforts Intowill take place in Milwaukee on February 23rd, 2017.

The theme of this year’s Export Revenues » Monetizing Your Facilities — Whether • Bill Berrien, CEO, Pindel Global Precision (2) » conference Building a Customer Experience Expanding, Relocating or Just Remaining 2features 3 4 5 is Shaping theCenter Future,1and the conference 18 • Ken Bockhorst, President & CEO, Badger Meter, Inc. (3) to Drive Sales and Increase Customer » Monetizing Your Innovation breakout session in six tracks including: • Jeffrey Dawes, President & CEO, Komatsu Mining Corp. (4) » Preparing for a Successful Business Engagement » CBD - The Good, Bad and Ugly Transition & Leaving a Meaningful Legacy • Stacy Peterson, CEO, Connoils, LLC (5) Growth • Operational Excellence • Human Capital » Developing a Company Culture to Optimize » Preserving Your Business Through The program continues with roundtable discussions.

The CEO panel and roundtables will address a variety of topics including: Management C-Suite Essentials • Technology &and innovation Productivity Succession Estate Planning

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Special Report MANUFACTURING & LOGISTICS

A rendering of the Fii Smart Manufacturing Center planned for Foxconn’s campus in Mount Pleasant.

Foxconn’s Wisconsin plans now focus on technology instead of TVs

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer FOXCONN INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OPERATES more than 44,000 CNC machines across its global operations. At one point, the company’s standard procedure was to replace the cutting blade in its machines every day.

“We didn’t know when the blade was going to go bad and we couldn’t risk that a CNC machine would go out during the middle of production,” said Richard Vincent, chief business officer of Fii. “A blade is $18. If the machine goes down it would cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars in lack of output.”

But changing out thousands of blades every day isn’t exactly an efficient use of time and resources, so Fii set about studying around 10,000 of its machines using deep learning and artificial intelligence.

The study showed blades could actually last around 14 days on average. Foxconn also discovered a sensor put on the machine would detect a certain frequency when a blade was within a day or two of failing.

“Now we replace the blades every 14 days and we have an alert that if that frequency comes up we know that at the next shift change that particular machine has to be changed,” Vincent said. “We saved a lot of money because now we don’t have to have 40 people changing the 34 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

blades every single night.”

Vincent said Foxconn’s approach to AI focuses on mixing the domain knowledge of operators and engineers with the capabilities and techniques of data science. Most attempts to apply AI in an industrial setting fail, he said, because data scientists lack an understanding of the specific applications they are trying to improve.

Part of Foxconn’s business model in Wisconsin will now rely on the manufacturer’s ability to help other companies leverage technology for the same kind of outcomes as Fii’s CNC project.

“We’ll teach local companies how to do AI in their environment the right way,” Vincent said.

“We’re going to charge for it, but I mean that’s how we’re going to make money, but we make money and they learn how to do things and their manufacturing process is better and they can grow and hire more people.”

Vincent said the model for Foxconn in Wisconsin is reliant on the company bringing new technologies to the region, using those technologies to establish new business lines that in turn grow revenue and then create jobs.

“It works in this order,” he said. “It doesn’t work in the other order. It doesn’t work where you bring in a thousand people and you figure out what they’re going to do. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Foxconn’s original plans for its Wisconsin campus called for a massive 22-million-square-

foot manufacturing campus that would produce the largest LCD screens in the world from a Gen 10.5 factory. That vision was enough for the state to offer $3 billion in incentives, plus hundreds of millions more in local investments, in exchange for a $10 billion investment and the creation of 13,000 jobs.

Those plans changed for a number of reasons. New York-based Corning Inc. wanted more incentives to build a needed glass factory, the development of other Gen 10.5 plants created a global oversupply and slowing growth and trade tensions added uncertainty to the picture.

Foxconn now says it is building a nearly 1-million-square-foot Gen 6 fab in Mount Pleasant because it provides additional flexibility.

“We’re going to create the Gen 6 fab to build as many things as we can,” Vincent said. “Large screens, if it makes sense. Small screens, if it makes sense. We have to have the ability to have options to grow that business.”

The Gen 6 fab is just one part of the new vision Foxconn is painting for the Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park, the 3,000-acre swath of land in Mount Pleasant where the company has begun setting up operations.

Vincent equated the park to a mall, saying Foxconn would be providing the anchor tenants and working to bring in other businesses to fill out the rest of the space.

The Gen 6 fab is the responsibility of SIO International, one of the Foxconn companies included in the original contract with the state.

The other recently announced anchor development is a smart manufacturing center and

high-performance computing data center to be operated by Foxconn Industrial Internet, Vincent’s company. Fii was not among the companies on Foxconn’s incentive contract, meaning the deal with the state would need to be amended for Fii’s jobs and investment to qualify for tax credits.

The manufacturing center will be a 260,000-square-foot factory that will primarily build components for server racks, although Vincent said the company will have plenty of options in how to use the facility.

“When we first had the concept for it, the idea was you could take a sheet of metal in one side and out the other side would pop a high performance computing server,” Vincent said. “Now that we’ve been on the ground for a little while we’ve recognized that that is one potential application, but we see lots of other applications.”

Vincent said Fii will need to run the factory differently from its facilities in China, which primarily produce a high volume of products with little variation.

“That model doesn’t work in North America in the electronics space. It just doesn’t make sense from a cost standpoint,” he said. “We’re designing the factory to be a high-mix, low- to medium-vol-

ume factory in North America but utilizing all of the high-performance, high-capacity capability we have in China.”

Fii has already announced plans to build selfserve coffee kiosks for Texas-based Briggo in its Wisconsin facilities and another deal to make smart home security products for San Jose-based Qolsys.

The first plans released for the high-performance computing data center called for a spherical structure that evoked images of Epcot or the Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee. Foxconn, however, asked Mount Pleasant to put those plans on hold while it considers design options.

Vincent said the data center is an important part of Fii’s strategy of offering technology solutions to customers and partners using AI. “In order to do a lot of AI you need very fast computers,” he said. “To enable both what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to do for the community, we need the ability to have high-performance computing.”

Beyond offering AI capabilities that help manufacturers improve their operations, Vincent said there are plenty of other potential applications. He pointed to health care in which AI can dramati-

cally improve the accuracy of mammograms by focusing the attention of radiologists in potential problem areas.

Foxconn’s Wisconsin project is now under new leadership after Louis Woo, a special assistant to Foxconn founder Terry Gou, stepped down earlier this year. Jay Lee, a board member and vice chairman for Foxconn parent company Hon Hai Precision, has been designated to oversee the project.

Lee is a University of Cincinnati professor and was previously vice chairman of Fii before stepping down for a similar role at Hon Hai. Vincent said Lee’s presence has helped unify the various Foxconn businesses operating in Wisconsin behind a single mission.

“Now what we have is a more cohesive group of people where everyone has said, ‘Yes, you are the guy,’” Vincent said, noting it was difficult for Woo to influence the project in some cases because he was not actually part of any of the Foxconn companies operating in Wisconsin.

“We’re standing up a lot of things all at once in a very fierce environment and at a very fast pace,” Vincent said. “Hopefully in the next three or four months you’ll start to see some things happening that will show, OK, they’re not just talking.” n

Plasti-Coil / Tri-Tec Corp Manufacturing

9-2019 Plasti-Coil-otl.indd 1

9/10/2019 9:59:28 AM biztimes.com / 35

Special Report MANUFACTURING & LOGISTICS

Harken Inc. sold its Pewaukee headquarters for $15 million in a sale-leaseback transaction.

Hot industrial real estate market presents opportunity for manufacturers Sale-leaseback option may be attractive

BY ALEX ZANK, staff writer AT A TIME when investors are setting their sights on buying up industrial properties in southeastern Wisconsin, companies that own the buildings in which they operate stand to benefit.

James Barry III, president of real estate brokerage firm The Barry Co., said there are lots of prospective buyers out there who are willing to pay companies big money for their industrial buildings and in turn lease them back.

“I think it’s a good time to contemplate a sale-leaseback (transaction) because the demand for that type of investment product is as strong as I’ve ever seen it,” he said. “That is reflected in a larger number of buyers who are looking for that sort of product and are willing to pay competitive prices and very low capitalization rates for sale-leasebacks.”

Milwaukee was named one of 14 U.S. markets that stand out as a strategic option for industrial real estate investors looking for opportunities outside of primary markets, according to a recent report from real estate firm CBRE. This is due to the region’s “booming manufacturing industry and excellent market fundamentals,” the report said.

The Milwaukee market’s industrial vacancy rate is at a cyclical low, while asking rates are at their highest level since CBRE began tracking the market, according to the report.

Specifically, the region has seen its industrial vacancy rate drop from 6.9% in 2013 to 3.4% in 2019, while average asking lease rates have increased from $3.72 to $4.25 per square foot during the same period. In addition, there has been more than 18 36 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

million square feet in positive net industrial space absorption in the region over the same period.

“It certainly is an opportune time in the market for companies to monetize their real estate,” said Trent Poole, first vice president with CBRE’s Milwaukee office. “Industrial and manufacturing are kind of the darlings of the market right now.”

Poole noted two reasons for this: The current peak pricing exceeds the peak in the previous cycle, and most manufacturers are performing very well.

He added that investors are chasing yield.

Whereas in primary markets yields are less than 5%, in Milwaukee they’re in the 6-8% range.

While some companies have taken advantage of the market and used sale proceeds to reinvest in their business or expand, plenty are still opting not to sell, Barry said.

In fact, Milwaukee is unique relative to other metro areas when considering how many companies own their own buildings, he added. In many other cities, Barry said, about one-quarter of companies would own and occupy their own buildings while the remaining three-quarters would be leased.

“In Milwaukee, it’s reversed,” he said.

Poole said contrary to what some may think, it is better if companies sell their buildings while their financials are strong. Most companies are looking to monetize when they’re not performing as well and may leave capital on the table, he said.

One company that recently sold and leased back its building is Pewaukee-based Harken Inc. The manufacturer of marine hardware and accessories sold its 170,000-square-foot industrial

facility, located at N15 W24983 Bluemound Road, to a local investor for $15 million. The property has an assessed value of about $9 million, according to Waukesha County records.

At the time the deal was announced, Harken said the building sale would help accelerate its growth. It was considering some strategic acquisition opportunities in its marine and industrial markets.

Barry, along with The Barry Co. senior vice president David Buckley, brokered the Harken deal.

Market drawbacks Of course, the market presents potential issues for manufacturers as well.

This is particularly true for those looking to move or expand into a different or new building.

Barry said vacancy rates are as low as he’s seen, especially in areas like Kenosha County where vacancy is near zero. He noted there is some speculative industrial development happening, but not enough to relieve the demand in that area.

Not only is it a challenge to find existing product, building new also has its own challenges, such as rising construction costs, Barry said.

While there is certainly a shortage of land to develop in eastern Waukesha County, it’s easier to find sites ready for development south of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Poole said.

But then there’s the concern of finding enough workers. In the Racine and Kenosha area more manufacturers are moving in, competing with large companies that are already established there, such as Uline and Amazon.

Poole said his office conducted a study of the labor market in the Racine and Kenosha area a couple years ago and found general labor rates increased 50% in a five-year span.

“We are seeing an increase in the cost of labor down there,” he said. n

JOHN BATTEN Twin Disc

BILL BERRIEN Pindel Global Precision

KEN BOCKHORST Badger Meter Inc.

JEFFREY DAWES Komatsu Mining Corp.

If manufacturing’s golden years are still to come, connections will help industry get there

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer THE COMMON NARRATIVE is that the best years for manufacturing in America, particularly Wisconsin, are gone, lost to automation and globalization. Bill Berrien disagrees.

“I think our golden years are ahead of us,” said Berrien, chief executive officer of New Berlin-based Pindel Global Precision.

He argues that the continued rise of automation, technology and greater computer processing power will help U.S. manufacturing, which stands to benefit from a well-educated workforce, quality infrastructure, available capital resources and creative thinking.

For Wisconsin and the Midwest, a long history in manufacturing and the domain knowledge that comes with it “is going to be hugely valuable,” Berrien said.

“I think we’re pretty uniquely positioned,” he said.

He is one of five panelists speaking at the 2019 BizTimes Next Generation Manufacturing Summit. Jeffrey Dawes, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Komatsu Mining Corp.; John Batten, president and CEO of Racine-based Twin Disc Inc.; Ken Bockhorst, president and CEO of Brown Deer-based Badger Meter Inc.; and Stacy Peterson, president and CEO of Big Bend-based Connoils LLC, will join Berrien on the panel. In addition to hearing from the region’s top executives, attendees will also participate in roundtables focused on specific issues facing manufacturers.

Event sponsors include 3M, BMO Harris Bank, David & Kuelthau, GSC, CG Schmidt, CiftonLarsonAllen, Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership and Vistage. Registration is available at biztimes.com/mfg.

The theme of this year’s summit, taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at the Wisconsin Manufacturing and Technology Show, is focused on “the

connections shaping your company’s future.”

Connections are a key part of where Berrien gets his optimism for the future of manufacturing in Wisconsin. At a basic level, it is about knowing he can turn to other companies in the region to get work done outside his typical capabilities.

But connections are also shaping how work gets done inside and outside of companies.

For example, at Twin Disc, which makes transmissions, particularly for the oil and gas and marine industries, Batten is confronted with the rise of sensors and electronics in engines. The new technology generates plenty of data that can improve performance, but the tricky question is who owns the data.

“That’s an ongoing conversation,” Batten said.

Beyond navigating data complexities, advancing technology also requires more partnerships and cooperation to deliver a final product than ever before. Unlike the automotive industry where a large OEM can set a standard for suppliers to follow, the markets Twin Disc serves are fragmented.

“There’s no set standard on where our industry is going for boats, for frac rigs, for rock crushers and things like that. Every customer is going to do it different; every piece of the powertrain is going to do it differently to emphasize their product,” Batten said.

“You still have to pick the right customer, but then to provide them the solution, you have to pick partners to provide you with products for a system that you think is going to work for their application,” he added.

Badger Meter has been on a technology journey of its own in recent years as once very mechanical water meters have transitioned to cellular models that can communicate data every 15 minutes. The transition has required partnerships with companies like AT&T for cellular communication and with startups that bring new technology to the company.

STACY PETERSON Connoils LLC

“While the technology is evolving it can be really effective to do a partnership first,” Bockhorst said. “Then after you gain the knowledge and have a good understanding of where the markets are going, that’s when it makes more sense to acquire if you can.”

At Connoils, a manufacturer and distributor of bulk oil and bulk oil powder, Peterson is used to working with her customers, a group that ranges from giants like Unilever to startups that do not even have a name. Working across international markets and industries from food and beverage to health and beauty to sports nutrition requires constant strategic decision making.

“It’s kind of a decision-making process of working with the big guys and getting a huge order and then being able to supplement your time, if you have it available, for those smaller people,” she said.

On top of the complexities of multiple industries and countries, Connoils is also managing work in the rapidly evolving and growing CBD industry. Peterson said open and honest communication is key to her success.

“In the food industry and anything that’s regulated like we are, you have to make sure you don’t make any changes without notifying customers,” she said.

If something goes wrong with the machines Komatsu builds, chances are Dawes will hear about it.

“They’ll call me directly,” he said of his customers, noting the $30 million price tag for the company’s largest shovels.

But Dawes also has confidence in the quality of the machines because of its workforce, noting that was a major reason why Komatsu chose to build its planned $285 million headquarters in Milwaukee.

“The reason we (will build) it right here is because of the people, the quality of the engineers that we’ve got here and the quality of the operators we’ve got in the plant,” he said. “Somebody who can weld two pieces of 6-inch thick steel pipe is an absolute magician. That’s a skill set that’s very, very rare and that’s one of the reasons why we stayed here.” n biztimes.com / 37

Strategies ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Progress for Wisconsin venture capital Badger Fund of Funds makes an impact WHEN Badger Fund of Funds was still an idea, Ken Johnson shared with me one of his motivations. He was excited about the chance to build a next generation of home-grown venture capitalists across the state of Wisconsin.

That resonated. During more than two decades as a newspaper reporter, I saw very few venture capitalists based in Wisconsin, and even fewer who moved here from somewhere else.

How can we create more startup activity if we don’t have more venture capitalists to organize and manage their part of the equation?

Ken worked as a chemical engineer, then a university technology licensing manager, then pretty much willed himself into venture capital. He became one of the most successful early-stage venture capitalists in the state. And he’s remained one of the most stubborn guys you’ll ever meet. When he gets an idea in his head, no matter how much or how little anyone around him cares, Ken doesn’t let go of it.

Badger Fund of Funds was no exception.

In early 2014, the state of Wisconsin chose Sun Mountain Kegonsa – a partnership between Ken’s Kegonsa Capital Partners and New Mexico-based Sun Mountain Capital – to receive its $25 million investment in a new venture capital effort.

Ken and his partners began searching for fund managers. Imagine trying to find young potential venture capitalists in a state with few38 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

er than 6 million residents that deploys less than 1% of all the venture capital raised in the U.S. This wasn’t like driving around the dairy state looking for someone who knows how to make cheese.

When Sun Mountain Kegonsa identified potential VCs, it offered a rigorous training program that tested their ability to succeed in a very difficult endeavor. Ken’s sales pitch went something like this: “Most fail, but if you can get through my training, you can quit your job and go for a year with no salary while you try to raise money for a fund that might or might not be successful and then you might have a shot at being a real venture capitalist.”

So, five years later, how far has Badger Fund of Funds come?

Two Badger Funds — Idea Fund of La Crosse and Winnebago Seed Fund (Neenah) began investing in late 2017. Rock River Capital Partners (Madison) began investing in 2018.

Less than two years in, at the end of 2018, the first three Badger funds had invested more than $7 million in 11 Wisconsin-based companies.

Three more Badger Funds — Bold Coast Capital and Forward Capital Fund (both Milwaukee) and Winnow Fund (Madison) are working to get up and running. There’s a seventh fund in the works that hasn’t yet been identified.

If we include follow-on investments the funds are making into existing portfolio companies, I’d estimate Badger funds are investing about once a month in a Wisconsin company. As the newer funds get up and running, that will likely grow to several investments a month.

About 80% of all venture capital dollars are concentrated in four states — California, Massachusetts, New York and Texas. Neighboring states have put much more capital into startups.

Illinois, Indiana and Michigan have all put more than $200 million into venture funds that invest in their startup companies.

So, it will probably take more to get Wisconsin in the game, but we should celebrate our successes. Consider this one: Curate Solutions, a Madison startup with web-sweeping technology, raised $1.65 million late last year in a venture

deal that attracted out-of-state venture funds from Ohio and Los Angeles.

The funding round was led by Idea Fund of La Crosse and its managing director. That managing director is Jon Horne, one of Wisconsin’s new home-grown venture capitalists. n

KATHLEEN GALLAGHER Kathleen Gallagher is a Pulitzer Prizewinning writer and executive director of the Milwaukee Institute, a nonprofit that supports advanced technologies and highgrowth businesses to help the region thrive.

She can be reached at Kathleen@mkei.org.

Strategies MANAGEMENT

Take control of your schedule Tips to help you find an extra hour every workday THINK of what you could do if you could take control of your schedule to find an extra hour each week. And now think of what your company could do if each and every one of your employees found an extra hour of time in their week. What would be the productivity impact of all that extra time? What about the financial impact?

The answer isn’t to add more hours—it’s to maximize the time you already have.

THE IMPACT OF DISTRACTION We all struggle with not having enough time.

But the root of the problem is often that the time available isn’t being used efficiently.

Do any of these stats sound familiar? »» People switch activities—such as making a call, speaking to someone, checking email, or working on a document or project—every three minutes. »» On a typical day, office workers are interrupted about seven times per hour, or 56 times per day. »» On average, people devote 11 minutes to a project before being distracted.

Professional success has a lot to do with understanding what it is that you do that adds value to your organization, and yourself personally.

This sounds obvious, but when you look at how people spend their time and destroy momentum by allowing their time to be fragmented, it’s clear that many don’t understand the power and value

that creating momentum produces in one’s professional life.

The effect of managing your time well will produce significant financial rewards. How do I know? Many years ago, when I was focused on improving my own overall effectiveness and impact as the founder and CEO of a rapidly growing business, I was able to apply several key principles to take back control, improve my work-life balance and increase my personal productivity and income.

Here are some tips to help you get started on the same path.

TRACKING One of the first things I ask clients to do is to simply note how many interruptions they encounter, how many times they start and stop a specific activity. After you do this for a week or two, it will become very clear very quickly how much time you are losing to unscheduled interruptions and distractions.

EVALUATING Next, pay attention to how many of these interruptions are preventable. Urgencies pop up, and that should be expected if you’re running a department or business. But non-urgent interruptions, conversations, emails, and meetings, those can be controlled and scheduled.

TIME CHUNKING This is simply reserving blocks of time for a specific activity, and being consistent with this from week-to-week throughout the year. For example, at one of the companies I founded, I started holding all my internal meetings on Monday and Friday mornings. I also reserved specific blocks of time, daily and weekly, for people to access me regarding the priorities that popped up that needed my attention or input. This gave my team access to me daily during a specific time of the day, as opposed to me having a steady stream of interruptions throughout each and every day.

MOMENTUM Clarity and prioritization is a big part of cre-

ating significant momentum for yourself, your team and your company. Be clear about how you create value for your organization. What are your two or three money-making activities?

What can’t be delegated? These activities get priority as you design your workweek.

Don’t spend your days fragmenting yourself, diminishing your overall effectiveness by switching between activities that require deep thought with activities that require less concentration. Create momentum for yourself by combining the concept of time chunking with category management.

In other words, reserve specific blocks of time daily and weekly for specific activities. Create momentum for yourself by developing a weekly cadence, one that reserves times for the deeply cranial activities and other times for the less heady stuff.

SELF ASSESS It’s important to check in with yourself to see how much of your distractions are self-generated. You don’t have to check your email, Facebook or the news every five minutes.

Leaders are sometimes the worst offenders when it comes to interruptions, so make sure to practice what you preach. If you follow these tips, you can reduce fragmentation and bring a sense of control to a hectic workplace—and you’ll see the effects in productivity and overall effectiveness. n

PHIL MYDLACH Phil Mydlach is a leadership coach and the owner of Mydlach Management LLC (mydlachmanagment.com). Previously, he founded and later sold two technology service companies. He can be reached at (414) 315-0523. biztimes.com / 39

Strategies

Tip Sheet Overcoming public speaking jitters

N

Sarah Gershman, speech coach and president of Washington D.C.-based communications firm Green Room Speakers, notes that the fear of being watched is the most common public speaking concern among her clients.

That fear dates back to prehistoric times when humans associated being watched with a threat to their survival. “Public-speaking anxiety is in our DNA,” she says. As a solution, she urges public speakers to pay less attention to themselves and focus more on helping their audience.

She then suggests three ways of using generosity to combat public speaking anxiety:

ervousness about speaking in front of a crowd is normal—even for seasoned executives.

In a recent article published

by Harvard Business Review,

1. Prepare with your audience in mind When preparing to give a speech or presentation, don’t start with the topic you are speaking about, but instead the audience to whom you are speaking. Ask these questions: Who will be in the room? Why are they there? What do they need? After iden-

tifying the audience’s needs, both spoken and unspoken, “craft a message that speaks directly to those needs.”

2. Refocus before speaking Anxiety levels are highest in the minutes before speaking. During that time, firmly remind yourself of your purpose: to help the audience. Gershman says doing that before four to six presentations will train your brain to be less nervous.

3. Eye contact is key A common public speaking mistake is scanning the crowd without truly connecting with audience members. Gershman recommends speaking to an audience as individuals by “making sustained eye contact with one person per thought.” This can be hard to practice, but it will eventually help you calm nerves and foster connection with the audience. Don’t forget to look at those sitting at the far edges of the room. n

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BizConnections BIZ PEOPLE

Advertising Section: New Hires, Promotions, Accolades and Board Appointments

MANUFACTURING Perlick is pleased to announce Josh Jarvis joined our growing company as Customer Service Manager.

In his new role Josh will work to ensure total customer satisfaction and strive for continuous improvement within the organization. He will manage our expanding team of customer service representatives dedicated to providing the highest level of service in the industry. Prior to working at Perlick, Josh spent eleven years at Everbrite.

Based in Milwaukee for over 100 years, Perlick designs, engineers and manufactures luxury refrigeration equipment and systems for the bar and beverage and home industries.

BANKING

SCIENCE

Heartland Bank and Trust Company announces that Matt Monroe is serving as Vice President, Commercial Lending in the Lake County, Kenosha County area at the bank’s 485 Lake Street branch in Antioch, IL. Monroe earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Communications from Carthage College, and is a graduate of the American Banker’s Association’s Commercial Lending School. Also, a member of the Leadership Kenosha class of 2015, he remains active in community leadership as a Board of Directors member, Downtown Kenosha Inc., and the Kenosha Creative Economy Strategic Planning Committee.

LifeWise hired Jamie Raganyi as certified food scientist. She is responsible for development of flavor modulators and testing products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content and adherence to government and industry standards.

NONPROFIT Terri Steidl, retired COO for Good Feet Store, has joined the Grand Avenue Club BOD. Terri’s prior work experience includes 25+ years of corporate management and retained search experience with Abbott, Bucyrus, Western Publishing.

EDUCATION LUMIN Schools has announced the promotion of Nicole Schmidt to Vice President and Chief Academic Officer. Nicole will lead the implementation of academic and professional programs, fostering student achievement and teacher development.

To place your listing, or for more information, please visit biztimes.com/bizconnect

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NONPROFIT CRISTO REY BREAKS GROUND ON NEW $33 MILLION CAMPUS Cristo Rey Jesuit High School has $8 million left to raise to complete the $33 million fundraising goal for its new campus in Milwaukee’s Clarke Square neighborhood.

School leaders and about 800 students, families, staff and corporate partners recently celebrated the groundbreaking for the new 100,000-square-foot school at 1818 W. National Ave. It will replace the high school’s current 45,000-square-foot location at 1215 S. 45th St. in West Milwaukee.

Cristo Rey leaders first announced in fall 2017 the school had acquired the 112,699-squarefoot former Pick ‘n Save store

building on National Avenue with plans to relocate to a more accessible area of the city for students and its corporate partnerships.

The Pick ‘n Save building has been demolished and the new building’s foundation is expected to be completed this fall. The entire project is slated to be finished by fall 2020.

The Catholic high school, which first opened in 2015, has 398 students enrolled at its West Milwaukee location.The new building will accommodate its projected ongoing enrollment total of 400 to 500 students.

— Lauren Anderson

nonprofit

SPOTLIGHT

I . C . S TA R S | * M I LWA U K E E 411 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee (new location as of Nov. 1) 414-501-5296 | milwaukee.icstars.org Twitter: @icstarsmke

Year founded: 1999

c alendar The Wisconsin Breast Cancer Showhouse, Inc. will host its Pinktacular Salute to Survivors luncheon and fashion show on Oct. 3 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee. More information is available at breastcancershowhouse.org.

The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin will host its AIDS Walk Wisconsin & 5K Run on Oct. 5 at Henry Maier Festival Park, 200 N. Harbor Drive, Milwaukee. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. The 5K run begins at 10:30 a.m., with the 5K walk following at 12:30 p.m.

USO Wisconsin will host its Heroes of Wisconsin Gala on Oct.

12 at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 1721 W. Canal St., Milwaukee.

Cocktails and a silent auction will be available from 5-7 p.m., with dinner to follow. The awards ceremony begins at 8:30 p.m.

D O N AT I O N R O U N D U P The Northwestern Mutual Foundation announced it is giving more than $2.1 million in grants to local education nonprofits and institutions to fund mentorship, third-grade reading and high school programs. | Sendik’s Food Markets recently donated $204,000 to Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Inc. | Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele issued a $100,000 challenge grant to support the $1.3 million Adams Garden Park redevelopment project in Milwaukee’s Lindsay Heights neighborhood. | The Milwaukee Bucks Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to support First Stage’s Community Partnership Program. | Volunteers from AT&T donated more than 750 backpacks filled with school supplies to five Milwaukee schools as part of its annual “Tools for Learning” project.

Mission statement: i.c.stars creates equitable access to opportunity through technology job training and leadership development. Our mission is to provide opportunities for inner-city young adults to harness the strength of technology for social and economic leadership.

Primary focus of your nonprofit organization: Find talent, train talent, put talent to work.

Other focuses of your nonprofit organization: Business, leadership and technology training.

Number of employees at this location: Five (currently hiring two full-time positions by end of year) Key donors: Dohmen Company Foundation, von Briesen & Roper, s.c., Northwestern Mutual Executive leadership: Sarah A. Dollhausen-Clark, general manager for Milwaukee; Sandee Kastrul, president and co-founder; Kevin McFall, chief operating officer; Elizabeth Feurrelo, chief revenue officer Board of directors: Bill Caraher, chief information officer of von Briesen & Roper, s.c.; Holly Baumgart, vice president of information technology for Sargento Foods Inc.; Rebekah Kowalski, vice president of client workforce solutions for ManpowerGroup;

James Hischke, senior director of tech advancement and outreach for Northwestern Mutual; Dale Mittelstaedt, president and chief innovation officer for Dohmen Company Foundation; Dale Egan, attorney, von Briesen & roper, s.c.; Brad Enneking, technology senior manager and vice president for Wells Fargo; Marie O’Brien, chief executive officer of Enterforce; and Julie Ragland, senior vice president and chief information officer of Navistar.

Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? Yes, and committee members.

What roles are you looking to fill?

Committee membership for: finance & operations; social enterprise, program, development, and marketing and events.

Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: »» Professional clothing donations »» Gift cards for gas and weekly bus pass donations »» Mentoring interns for career readiness »» Volunteers »» Furniture donations for our new space Key fundraising events: »» iOpener Innovation Conference (annually in August) »» Hack the Dream, January 2020 MLK Day

biztimes.com / 43

BizConnections VOLUME 25, NUMBER 13 | SEP 30, 2019

GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR

126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120

Submit your company’s historic photos for Glance at Yesteryear consideration to arthur.thomas@biztimes.com

PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | advertising@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7100 | reprints@biztimes.com PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / OWNER Kate Meyer kate.meyer@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com

Building Harley’s home This 1912 photo shows excavation work being done for Harley-Davidson’s building No. 5, now located at 3700 W. Juneau Ave. in Milwaukee. Crews relocated the Buchman Mfg. Co. building to the north before starting work on the building that now has Harley’s main entrance. The Harley-Davidson Museum recently opened an exhibit on the construction of the Juneau Avenue plant, which is now Harley’s corporate headquarters.

Let the locals decide WHO SHOULD DECIDE how high local tax rates should be to fund local government?

Local officials and local residents, or legislators in the state Capitol?

Several Milwaukee leaders from the city, county, Milwaukee County suburbs and business community want to increase the county’s sales tax to 6.5% (from 5.6% currently) to provide more funding for local government and to lower property taxes.

A debate has already begun about whether or not this is a good idea. But let’s set that aside for now.

Because first we should be asking this question: who decides?

Some opponents of a sales tax increase say the state Legislature should save Milwaukee from itself and refuse to allow a referendum. A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the proposal will be a “tough sell.” Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, (who recently announced he’s run44 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com SALES INTERN Tess Romans tess.romans@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com

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ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

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COMMENTARY

DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com

ning for Congress), said, “I’d be shocked if this thing really got any momentum.”

Bear in mind, the Legislature is being asked to allow a referendum for a sales tax increase; they are not being asked to increase the sales tax. Voters would decide the matter.

If school districts can hold referendums to increase their property taxes, why can’t a county hold a referendum to increase its sales tax without first getting the authority to do so from state government? By the way, Milwaukee Public Schools is also considering plans for a referendum to seek a tax increase.

School referendums often pass and those that say our taxes in Wisconsin are already too high hate them. But isn’t it best to have local people make decisions about how much they should be taxed? They’re the ones who know about the needs of their particular community.

To hold this referendum, Milwaukee area officials will have to get support from some Legislators who live far away from Milwaukee, in communities that are very different than the state’s largest city. Does that really make sense? Should Milwaukee officials have input in whether or not communities Up North can ask residents for a sales tax increase?

This will indeed be a “tough sell.” It will be

a tough sell to convince the Republican-controlled Legislature to even allow a referendum, and then it would be a tough sell to convince voters to approve a sales tax increase. But local officials should be given the opportunity to state their case and allow local voters to decide.

Republicans in the Legislature are not going to listen to Milwaukee Democrats, so any chance a sales tax increase proposal does go to referendum probably will depend on support from the business community. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce has thrown its full support behind the idea.

“To provide property tax relief, maintain critical services and support our infrastructure, MMAC supports making a case to voters that this is a necessary and sound investment in the future of the entire metro area,” said MMAC president Tim Sheehy. n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR

P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland

AROUND TOWN Marquette University 2019 National Real Estate Strategies Conference Hundreds of real estate professionals gathered in midSeptember at Marquette University’s Alumni Memorial Union for the annual National Real Estate Strategies Conference, which explored topics such as the future of the workplace, using data and AI to drive building efficiency, and views on the four major real estate asset classes.

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MAGGIE BLAIR and TAYLOR GREENING, both of Colliers International.

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CLINT DEKKER of Wintrust-Town Bank and BRENT BEHLING of Frontier Title & Closing Services.

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SUE LAABS of Zilber Ltd., MARK IRGENS of Irgens Partners LLC, ROBERT BRAUN of Zilber Ltd.

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AUSTIN MAUTZ of Fiduciary Real Estate Development Inc. and GEORGE JUSTICE of Wintrust-Town Bank.

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RORY LINDER of Landmark Credit Union and CHRIS WILKE of BMO Harris Bank.

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VAISHALI WAGH of Continuum Architects and Planners S.C., DAVID KNIGHT of Associated Bank, and FALAMAK NOURZAD of Continuum Architects and Planners S.C.

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Packers Party at 330 Kilbourn

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The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears faced off at Soldier Field on Sept. 5 to kick off the NFL’s 100th season. Office tenants of the 330 Kilbourn building in downtown Milwaukee – where the Packers’ Milwaukee office is located – celebrated the game with a Packer party just hours before kickoff, with a special appearance by former Packer Gilbert Brown.

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DONNA REINKE and MARY KOLBERG, both of ANSI National Accreditation Board.

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JOHN DAVIS of Founders 3 and JOHN DULMES of Transwestern.

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OMAR AKARI and MARY BEHLER, both of Associated Bank.

10. MARY BEST, MICHELLE SWIATKOWSKI, JOE PELTZ, STEVE JELENCHICK and BARRY CHAET, all of Beck, Chaet, Bamberger & Polsky S.C.

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11. MAURICE LEWIS, SIMEON JOSEPH and JASON DYNEK, all of Associated Bank.

12. MARC MACHUT and JAMES BUBLYTZ, both of Valuation Research Corp.

13. ROGELIO CUEVAS and GUS VANEVENHOVEN, both of Valuation Research Corp.

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14. GREG CURTIS, KINGSTON CURTIS-BARNES and CURTIS MORRISON, all of Jamaican Kitchen & Grill.

Photos courtesy Alex Zank biztimes.com / 45

BizConnections MY BEST ADVICE

“ If

CINDY SHAFFER Owner

Shaffer Development LLC Mequon Industry: Real estate development shafferdevelopment.com Employees: 5 “MY PARENTS were hardworking people who devoted themselves to their family and instilled in my brother, sister and me the satisfaction of a job well done. Two key phrases often said were: ‘If you tell somebody you’re going to do something, you do it.’ And: ‘If you start something, you need to finish it.’

“As I entered the corporate world and eventually started my own businesses, I found success and satisfaction when I pushed myself to take a leap and commit to my vision.”

“There is nothing better than to create a community like Spur 16 and see how happy people are to live there. That is a priceless gift to be able to make a difference in someone’s life and to have a healthy and prosperous business at the same time.”

“My parents’ sage advice and the experiences I’ve had have given me strength and resiliency. I am so very grateful for the challenges I’ve faced because you can never be up if you’ve never been down.”

46 / BizTimes Milwaukee SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

you start something, you need to finish it.”

AGE: 57 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Shaffer graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications. She previously worked for S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., Marriott International, Mandel Group and Fiduciary Real Estate Development Inc. before launching Shaffer Development in 2001. Since then, Shaffer has had a hand in a number of developments including Mequon Town Center, the Grafton 1505 Apartments and Spur 16.

IN THE NEWS: Shaffer Development is the developer behind Spur 16, a new mixed-use project that was built recently on a 14-acre site along West Mequon Road in Mequon. Spur 16 includes Mequon Public Market, St. Paul Fish Co.’s second restaurant location, ten luxury townhomes, 146 apartment units, a wellness center and a private clubhouse space. n

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2019 | 7:00am - 7:25am - Registration & Networking | 7:25am - 9:30am - Breakfast & Program

MILWAUKEE HAS ARRIVED… NOW WHAT? Several significant commercial real estate developments and events have occurred, or will occur soon, in our region in recent years (the DNC in Milwaukee, major golf championships, Fiserv Forum, Foxconn, Northwestern Mutual Tower & Commons, Komatsu’s new headquarters in the Harbor District, Michels Corp.’s R1VER project in Bay View, the new Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performance center…and many others).

These developments and events are bringing new excitement and attention to Milwaukee. But now what? How will the Milwaukee area capitalize on all of this activity, and what impact will it all have on the region’s commercial real estate market moving forward?

KEYNOTE: The Future of Experience Design - In the next 5-10 years, we will see changes in consumer expectations and cravings for new experiences in their spaces for living, learning, working and playing. These emerging changes may influence the physical design, services, value propositions and modes of transactions that are relevant to Real Estate developers and associated business.

In this session, Michael Perman, CEO & founder of C’EST WHAT? LLC will first share his perspectives on how we can train our minds to perceive what is coming over the horizon.

Then, Michael will share foresight and emerging innovation waves that may appeal to future participants in new spaces based on changes in culture, lifestyle, technology and design.

A panel of prominent real estate professionals will discuss the opportunities for economic growth in metro Milwaukee, as well as the significant challenges facing the region and how it will all impact the commercial real estate development in the area.

PANELISTS: 1

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Kalan R. Haywood, Sr., President, Haywood Group, LLC (1) Juli Kaufman, President, Fix Development (2) Steve Palec, Chief Marketing Officer, Irgens (3) Blair Williams, President, WiRED (4)

MODERATOR:

Andy Hunt, Director, Marquette University Center for Real Estate (5) 4

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Register now: biztimes.com/creconference Sponsors:

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