Milwaukee-based Derse Inc., one of the largest designers and builders of trade show exhibits in the country, informed state and local officials that it will terminate 10 employees and lay off an additional 77 as its industry has been shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The trade show industry that we are part of has
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Brett Haney[/caption]
"We'll get through," Haney said. "We're well-positioned to weather the storm. We're optimistic about the future, but there are certainly a couple more tough months ahead."
Derse’s headquarters is located at 3800 W. Canal St., near Miller Park.
The company was founded in 1948 as a sign painting business and had grown to be extremely successful in recent years. In 2019 its revenues were expected to be $170 million. Last year the company was named one of the winners of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s Council of Small Business Executives Future 50 Awards. The company has also been named to the Deloitte Wisconsin 75 list of the state’s largest privately and closely held companies.
As of last year the company's workforce had grown to more than 500, including around 130 in the Milwaukee area. Derse also has divisions located in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Dallas and Las Vegas.
The company is not shutting down any of its facilities, Haney said.
The first two month of the year were the best in the company's history, and then COVID-19 hit, Haney said. The pandemic's impact to the trade show industry is similar to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which resulted in a severe drop in travel and convention activity for several months, he said.
Derse was featured in a