The Bentley Co. has relocated from its Brown Deer headquarters on 55th Street to a renovated facility at 8600 W. Bradley Rd. in the city of Milwaukee. The firm purchased the Bradley Street property from Visa Lighting, and renovated it with the design assistance of Milwaukee architect Glenn Johnson.
The facility gives Bentley 40,000 square feet of office and warehouse space.
“Because the company’s volume has tripled in size (since its move to the 55th Street building), additional space was necessary in order to better serve clients and allow a more functional work environment for Bentley employees,” said Thomas Bentley III, CEO of the construction services firm.
The move increased the company’s office space by 4,500 square feet, and offers immediate access to its yard division, which had been separately located on Milwaukee’s East Side during the company’s occupancy of the 55th Street site.
The new layout also provides a more systematic subcontractor takeoff room, Bentley said, and also features a history room that showcases the company’s 153 years of existence.
Sharp Packaging Systems of Sussex has moved its sales offices and shipping operations to its new building at N62 W22632 Village Dr., Sussex. The building was acquired from A&V, Inc., on April 2, and has since been renovated. The building is adjacent to Sharp’s existing main plant facilities on Sussex Road.
Marvin Hansen of The Ogden Co. assisted the buyers with the purchase of Sharp’s latest building acquisition. Kurt Van Dyke of the James T. Barry Co. represented the sellers.
Continued growth gave rise to the need for a new facility opened in West Allis in June 1999. That acquisition was the first part of a major expansion project that increased overall capacity by 30%. The newest building adds another 32,950 square feet and will be used primarily for warehouse and shipping. The building also includes approximately 5,600 square feet of office and a machinery showroom and demonstration area.
The company has recently made substantial investments in additional blown film extruding and bag converting equipment to increase its production capacity in Sussex.
Paul and Virginia Scarberry started Sharp Packaging (www.sharppackaging.com) in 1984. Sharp expanded on a once-exclusive process building its own converting machines that make a continuous rolls of plastic bags, that are pre-opened on one side.
Today, Sharp Packaging employs approximately 150 people.
Raven Golf, a manufacturer of custom golf clubs and components, has moved from Muskego into its new corporate headquarters and testing facility in New Berlin. This one-of-a kind technology center will be unique in the fact that Raven Golf encourages its wholesale customers as well as the general public to come try its golf clubs on its brand-new driving range. The Tech Center is at 19300 W. Cleveland Ave.
“We wanted to create a truly unique situation where golfers can not only get fit for clubs, but get educated directly from the manufacturer on why those clubs will benefit them,” said Tony Miller, president of Raven Golf (www.ravengolfclubs.com).
The Tech Center building will house Raven’s offices, warehouse, production facility, and retail showroom. The retail showroom and the driving range will be open seven days a week.
Zeppos & Associates (www.zeppos.com) has moved from 735 N. Water St. to 400 E. Mason St. in downtown Milwaukee. The firm, founded in 1994 with three employees, now has 16. “The new office has a larger reception area, an additional conference room and increased visitor parking options, which are essential to meet our business needs,” said Kris Naidl, vice president of the firm.
The building at 400 E. Mason is at Mason’s intersection with Milwaukee Street, and is now being called the Monroe Building. It is undergoing considerable renovation. The building currently houses the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and will be home to a law firm and an accounting firm.
Adtec Staffing has moved to Suite 300 in the Wehr Building at 10201 W. Lincoln Ave. in West Allis. The company’s services include temporary and temporary-to-hire placements, direct hire, payrolling, and software testing.
JL Business Interiors have moved to 515 Schoenhaar Dr. in West Bend. The business sells new, used and refurbished office furniture, and provides interior design, CAD layout and specifications, delivery and installation services.
TriCast, Inc., a national prescription drug data analysis and modeling firm, and Flex Scripts, its insured pharmacy benefit subsidiary, are moving to the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa, according to TriCast president Greg Rucinski. The firms’ new address will be Suite 300, 10200 W. Innovation Dr.
Haack Whelan Kruger, an integrated marketing and design firm, has relocated its offices to 301 N. Water St., Suite 360, in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.
The Russ Darrow Automotive Group has moved its Nissan line of vehicles from the Super Store on North 76th Street in Milwaukee to its dealership at 9201 W. Brown Deer Rd., also in Milwaukee.
New businesses, new owners
Dan Mowbray has started a business and institutional furniture supplier, Pro Wisconsin (www.prowisconsin.com) in Milwaukee. Mowbray had been a national product manager for a catalog company “and saw great products made here in Wisconsin,” he said. “I decided to form a business that would capture that quality and keep customers and suppliers close to home.” The firm is in Suite 836 at 735 N. Milwaukee St. in downtown Milwaukee. Mowbray worked with the Small Business Development Center at UW-Milwaukee in creating his business plan.
Marc Modrow and Joe Dusick have started marcjoseph, a home furnishings store in the historic downtown area of Brookfield, 2930 N. Brookfield Rd.
Custom Power Technology of Menomonee Falls has purchased the design, manufacturing and service rights to the Thor Technology Corporation Series 7000 AC Flux Vector Servo Control, in addition to inventory and manufacturing equipment, as part of an asset buyout.
Custom Power Technology is a designer and manufacturer of custom motor control and power-converting equipment for OEMs. It is at N93 W14475 Whittaker Way.
Briohn Building Corp. of Pewaukee has formed Briohn Design Group, an architectural design company, with architect Bruce Angeli leading the group.
Integrated Solutions Group has been started at 7505 N. Berwyn Ave. in Glendale. The business is offering technical, marketing and sales support by integrating various communications tools into computer-based programs. Richard W. Wiese, founder, is serving as president. He had earlier served as executive vice president of General Graphics Corp. in Milwaukee.
Patrick Balistreri has purchased Al’s Window Cleaning Co. and changed the name of the firm to Al’s Window Cleaning and Building Services. He bought the company from Jeff and Julie Ausprung. Jeff Ausprung’s father Al Ausprung started the firm in 1957. Balistreri had been with Employment Times (a Small Business Times publication), and had earlier been co-owner of a local commercial cleaning company.
The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) division at R.A. Smith & Associates in Brookfield has been restructured. GIS staff now function within their own division, apart from 3D visualization and scanning. Alissa Bails has been promoted to GIS division manager.
Rocore Industries of Franklin has acquired the operating assets of the Honeywell International oil cooler and heat exchanger operations based in Burkesville, Ky. and Indianapolis. Rocore is a manufacturer of industrial cooling packages, off- and on-highway radiators and power-generation radiators. Its Franklin location is 9845 S. 57th St. It also operates in Dallas, where it recently acquired the engine-oil cooler and heat-exchanger assets of Dana Corporation’s Long Automotive business.
Merit Investment Group of Hales Corners has changed its name to Warnke/Nichols Ltd. The investment firm (www.warnkenichols) was co-founded in 1993 by William R. Warnke and Steve R. Nichols.
Tom Precia and Pete Aisbet have launched Integrated Risk Solutions, a new risk management and insurance brokerage firm based in Delafield. The firm is certified as a minority business enterprise. Precia, who has been in the insurance industry for 18 years, is serving as president and CEO of the new firm. He most recently was executive vice president of HNI Insurance and Financial Services. Aisbet is serving as executive vice president, and had also been at HNI.
C.P. Gauger, Inc., a Milwaukee-based developer of relational database systems, has purchased General Graphics, a Milwaukee-based graphic arts and publishing company. The acquisition has led to creation of a new electronic publishing division at CPG, and has increased the firm’s employment to almost 100. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. CPG was founded in 1953. Its clients include Harley-Davidson, Rand McNally, Wells Mfg. Corp., and Aldrich Chemicals.
July 20, 2001 Small Business Times
