Communication helps balance employee’s and company’s needs
It was noon on a work day when my 12-year-old son’s doctor referred him to the cancer clinic at Children’s Hospital for testing.
Of course, I left the office immediately. It was the first of many times I was absent from work – physically and mentally – during Todd’s diagnosis and the ensuing nine months of chemotherapy.
No parent can imagine the turmoil that comes when a child falls seriously ill. In the same vein, no policy manual can account for the disruption in the workplace when an employee must attend to a sick child. Absences are not just frequent but unpredictable in timing and duration. Schedules have to be juggled, meetings canceled, trips postponed, work reassigned.
All that can be especially trying for small business owners without the backup staff and other resources available in large corporations. It can be equally trying for small business employees who may not have large-company benefits such as cumulative sick leave and coverage under family-leave laws.
It may seem cold-hearted during such a crisis to talk about balancing work and family – naturally the child’s needs come first. Still, a balance must be struck, and the key to that is communication.
Roger, a government affairs specialist with a Wisconsin company whose college-age daughter is in remission after cancer treatment, came to an early and productive agreement with his supervisor.
“My first estimate of how the illness would affect my job fell far short of what actually occurred,” said Roger. “It worked out because when I learned my daughter’s diagnosis, I sat down and had a frank discussion with my boss. We basically agreed that she
A balance must be struck, and the key to that is communication.
would throw out the policy manual as long as I never made her regret it.”
Edward, a marketing executive at a graphics firm whose 3-year-old son was cured of cancer through surgery, addressed the illness and its impact in written message to his boss and the company’s human resources department.
“They were very gracious,” he recalled. “They told me to do whatever I had to do,” said Edward.
While companies typically give such leeway to parents caring for a sick child, parents should not simply assume that others in the workplace understand their situation. Even when bosses treat the situation sensitively, some co-workers may not.
Thomas, an employee of a delivery service whose teenage daughter has completed a successful cancer treatment, had an empathetic supervisor who gave him complete flexibility during the illness and arranged for others to fill in when he was gone. While his peers were also mostly supportive, Thomas heard the occasional gripe about his absences.
“When I heard the complaints, I would ask the person, ‘Would you care to trade places?'” Thomas said.
Communication can prevent such difficulties with peers and supervisors alike. The parent of a sick child should start the dialogue, rather than wait for management to do so. Unless bosses and co-workers have been through something similar, they may wonder:

The women in my cross-cultural workshops always ask, “What kinds of problems will I have as an American woman working with Asians?”
It’s a fair question, since the role of women in Asian countries does seem to be restricted compared to the opportunities for women in the US.
My answer usually surprises people when I say that most US female managers I know have had very few problems working with Asian men. There are exceptions, but there are good reasons for the effectiveness of US women in those cultures.
There is, however, one group of managers from the US that tends to have a great deal of difficulty in Asia; that group is comprised of young males. An incident at a recent conference which dealt with business in India exemplifies that point.
During that conference, a young man in attendance asked, “How do you get projects started? It always seems that they’re waiting for the blue hair to show up to sign on the dotted line.”
At first I didn’t know what he was getting at. The young man went on to explain that he was involved in trying to source a number of parts in India. He explained that he was running the family-owned business for his father, and that he was having difficulty making any progress in his discussions with Indian companies.
I told him that what he was experiencing was not atypical for a young American manager trying to accomplish something in Asia. There were three things that he should do: he needed to have his father write a letter of authorization for him using British-style titles; he needed to stop using slang and show respect and deference to those older than he when meeting people in India; and he needed to be patient, because impatience is a sign of incompetence in most Asian countries. Since it would take longer for him to demonstrate to Indian managers that he was a reliable business partner, he needed to stay patient while he worked the process.
That was not the response he was looking for. He said he needed his projects to proceed and that there must be some other ways to speed the process.
I gave him additional tips on how to speed up the process, but I reinforced the importance of maintaining patience in all his business dealings. The other members of the class with more experience in India echoed what I had said.
The workshop continued to explore the numerous problems in dealing with India that the participants had experienced, but I could tell that my young friend was basically unhappy with the workshop since we hadn’t dealt with his problem in a way that he wanted.
Later in the afternoon, since this workshop was being done just before the World Affairs Conference, I was fortunate to have as my guests T. P. Sreenivasan, deputy chief of mission
from the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Pankaj, the consul from the Consulate of India in Chicago. The questions and discussion that evolved were fascinating until the young manager again raised his hand.
“How do you get projects started? It always seems that they’re waiting for the blue hair to show up to sign on the dotted line.”
The young man had repeated his earlier question with a lot of impatience. Sreenivasan answered his question very well. Again he stressed the importance of patience. After the workshop was over, Pankaj made an interesting comment to the young manager:
“About the time you begin to realize that your father might be smarter than you thought, your own children are beginning to question your wisdom. That is why age is respected in India.”
I was embarrassed that one of my workshop participants exhibited behavior that would not lead to success anywhere in Asia. However, I relate this story because it illustrates two points.
Age is respected in Asia. Therefore, a young manager will need time to build the credibility that an older man would have simply due to his age.
Some of the very characteristics of style that make young men successful in the US can be counterproductive in an Asian setting. The impatience that connotes eagerness and commitment to accomplishing the task in our culture actually sends a message of incompetence in the cultures of Asia.
Why, then, do women managers have fewer problems when trying to work in what appears to be very male chauvinist societies?
A look at the basic business styles that American women tend to exhibit are more in line with the business styles of Asia. The way US women negotiate, communicate, come to decisions, deal with time, context, and a number of other areas tend to be more like the styles found in the business environments of a number of Asian countries.
Also, women tend to make a greater effort to follow the rules of etiquette that they observe in the countries that they visit.
Whenever business styles are discussed, it is important to realize that there are wide variations in how different people act, and there are exceptions to every rule. Some Asian business men and women will act more like US citizens than the average US citizen. Also, there are US women who have adopted the business styles that are similar to their male counterparts.
The ability to understand and operate within the expectations of your business partners is key in any culture but more important when in cross-cultural situations. The characteristics that allow young men to be successful in climbing the corporate ladder in our culture tend to be counter to the success strategies of business men in other parts of the world.
Joe Geck is president of Accelerated Solutions Consulting in Waukesha.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Nancy Bush’s personal attention revives office tower
It won’t be a difficult job,” real-estate developer/broker George Bockl assured his new executive manager in early 1994. “Just collect rents, lease suites and keep an eye on things – you know, manage the building.”
For the veteran builder and renovator of residential and commercial properties in the Milwaukee area, this was the third time around for his pet namesake – the Bockl Building at 2040 W. Wisconsin Ave.
In 1957, Bockl built the seven-story, 180,000-square-foot “modern” office building, then sold it in 1964, only to reclaim it 13 years later. The same scenario repeated itself in 1979 in yet another ill-fated land contract deal, this time with Hatch Farms Ltd. of Chicago.
By 1994, Bockl sensed the building was in default. It pained him to see his prized project deteriorate further. So, he did what he had to do – he bought it back yet again.
Then he hired Nancy Bush as his executive manager. Her first reaction was shock.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed on her first visit. “It was filthy – the carpeting, the common areas, bathrooms, elevators, the lobby – all of it. There was graffiti. In some hallways, fluorescent tubes were burned out.”
There were many unpaid bills from disgruntled repairmen and creditors. Utilities were in arrears. The delivery of heating fuel was sporadic, or nonexistent. Worse, the parking structure was in danger of collapsing. What a mess.
Undaunted, Bush set to work. Occupancy at the time hovered around 40%.
Not to worry. Armed with a notepad and a cheery disposition, she resolutely made the rounds, visiting all the remaining tenants in a week’s time.
Not a moment too soon. She tried charm, she wooed them. No dice. Most were either angry or bitter; others had stopped paying rent. She suspected a few wanted to strangle her.
“I knew I had to gain back their confidence and respect,” Bush recalls.
She made modest promises and took a deep breath. And then the renaissance began. To date, almost $2 million dollars have been spent upgrading 2040 W. Wisconsin Ave., restoring it to its original splendor when it was the only modern, centrally air-conditioned office building in town.
Overnight, Bush became “Ms. Fix-it,” a Gal Friday, decorator, leasing agent, mediator extraordinaire and eternal house sergeant supervising over a dozen building staff who worked in maintenance, security and cleaning. It was instant, on-the-job training, a sink-or-swim proposition – and she pulled it off.
On occasion, Bush pitched in herself, painting in a pinch, unplugging a clogged sink or toilet, or mopping up after floods. She even helped clean the dock area and fill in parking lot potholes. (The staff calls her “Hazel” – as in the comic strip maid.)
“I never ask them to do anything I wouldn’t do,” she offers.
Today she is knowledgeable about maintenance and has learned a bit about heating and cooling systems. Moreover, she can handle any emergency, defuse any situation.
Bush never lost a tenant during all the turmoil. Incredibly, a year later she had turned things around – aided, by a generous and sentimental owner. Occupancy has now more than doubled.
The tenants in the Bockl Building are a mix of commercial and medical arts specialists. It houses some 48 doctors and physicians, many from Third World countries and most of them US-trained. It has five medical labs, a half-dozen social service agencies, three counseling centers, a pharmacy, two salons – hair and nails – an optical shop and nine or so attorneys, to name a few. There are also a few start-up businesses and various entrepreneurs.
To more than 350 people each day it is “the office.” Another thousand clients daily troop through it for various appointments or medical treatments. It offers moderate rentals, valet parking and 24-hour security – weekends too, among other amenities. The challenge now is to balance the variety of tenants and services.
Nancy Bush grew up in Milwaukee and attended the old Spencerian College business school (now part of Concordia University), earning an associate arts degree and majoring in a business and medical assistant program. She also attended UW-Madison for two years.
At one point she wanted in the worst way to be an X-ray technician, working for doctors. It didn’t pan out.
In the early 1960s, she was a corporate secretary at The Milwaukee Journal. For a while, she even served as secretary to Robert Uihlein Jr., president of Jos. E. Schlitz Brewing. Then came a remarkable 26-year, all-encompassing stint with Manpower Inc. – along with two successive owners of MBTI , the business school division.
Initially she taught secretarial skills, then corporately administered and managed. She also developed educational programs; in 1969 she set up a business school in San Juan, P.R. for Manpower. It was seen as a potentially advantageous entry into the lucrative South American temporary help market.
Looking back, she considers herself “quite lucky” in her somewhat disparate but extraordinary career. As for the ubiquitous glass ceiling, she says it was never a factor, not even at Manpower.
“It’s up to the individual. If you want to sacrifice and work hard, you too can make it,” she says.
There are not many individual female commercial leasing managers today – mostly it’s handled by large firms or management teams. And few offer such a unique, hands-on schedule.
George Bockl calls her a savior for “saving” his building at 20th and Wisconsin. In the past Bockl & Co. ads have touted its “caring management.” With Nancy Bush running things, perhaps the word “nurturing” is a better fit or description.
For relaxation, Bush tends a flower garden and cooks. She also sits on the boards of the MACC Fund and the Avenues West Association. She is also involved in a dozen other groups, including a City Charter Schools task force and a favorite, the Milwaukee Police Department Auxiliary.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Are your internal controls out of control?
by michaeleen hinca
As a business grows, so does its need to maintain controls. Accounting rules clearly dictate what “good control” looks and feels like. And when a company processes its data manually, internal controls are easily implemented and clearly monitored.
Add an automated accounting or business system and that same level of control is more difficult to maintain. No doubt, new systems bring greater efficiency for the smaller business that’s eager for growth. While it could be the best way to maximize the strengths of your people, it could also be a red carpet for abuse of power and theft.
Part of the problem is a lack of cross-training or little management overview, but mostly it is the result of the increased efficiency realized by automating the processing. What used to be a two- or three-person job can sometimes be done by one person with the help of an automated system. Managers have to consider how much access each individual involved in the processing of critical data should have.
Consider this case where a person was allowed too much access:
A small construction firm was run by a husband and wife team who processed all the accounting and job costing data manually. After deciding to automate their business, these owners hired a bookkeeper to handle the accounting functions while they focused on keeping their jobs profitable.
The new person appeared to work out well. He was smart, learned the system easily and seemed to enjoy working on his own.
One day, the bookkeeper called in sick. This same day the bank statement arrived. The bookkeeper usually balanced the account but the owner was concerned that the new employee might fall behind. To help, the owner decided to do the reconciliation.
During the analysis, checks were found that were written to the bookkeeper. The owners realized that in two months this employee helped himself to thousands of dollars simply by writing checks to himself, signing them, and cashing them. Later, he would alter the accounting files to bury the fraud and ensure that the accounts would balance.
That extremely painful and costly mistake happened because there were literally no accounting controls in place to protect the company. One person, in this case the bookkeeper, had access to all aspects of processing this company’s data.
To reduce their risk, companies can easily protect themselves in a couple main areas.
Accounts Payable – Good control means that one person writes the checks and another signs them and reconciles the bank statement. To reduce the risk even further, an owner or person with fiduciary interest in the company should reconcile the bank account each month. Also, have canceled checks returned by the bank rather than getting a detailed list of activity. This way the physical documents can be examined.
Accounts Receivable – To control the cash that comes into the business, use pre-numbered invoices or let the system number the invoices automatically. This way, any missing invoices would be easily identifiable. Cash sale transactions can be especially vulnerable. Be sure that all transactions have some sort of corresponding documentation.
General Ledger – Make sure that transactions cannot be changed or deleted. Require credit or debit memos to adjust invoices. For other transactions, insist the users prepare general journal entries with complete descriptions of why the transaction was adjusted.
Inventory Purchases – Most inventory systems have a “preferred vendor” field in the setup screen of each item. While this makes purchasing efficient because the vendor is pre-selected, it does not eliminate the need to “shop around” occasionally to be sure you’re getting the best value for your investment.
Because automation has made it easier for companies to do so much more processing, compiling and manipulating of data, all procedures should be periodically reviewed for deteriorating – or, as in the case of the construction firm, nonexistent controls. To identify where your company could benefit from better internal controls, map out your current processing routines. Then, review your findings with your business advisor or CPA. The important thing is that you take steps today to protect your bottom line.
Michaeleen Hinca is president of AccountNET, an independent consulting firm in Pewaukee that specializes in software evaluation. Sherry Koenig, president of Buy the Numbers Accounting Services in Hartland, assisted with the above article.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Seven strategies to enhance your sales force
In an earlier edition, I wrote about how fundamental changes in corporate America were eliminating the need for the traditional salesperson. A similar fate awaits the traditional route sales manager.
You can easily spot a route sales manager, whether you’re an executive or a business owner, or you are the sales manager yourself. Is her time dedicated to “administrivia” – shuffling paper, auditing expense reports, writing fictional forecasts to show senior management just how well things are going in the field? How much of her time and energy is dedicated to – no, wasted on – quota enforcement?
And if those are the top two priorities, mentoring salespeople probably runs a distant third. That may be just as well; most companies promote the superstar salesperson, hoping to create clones. That strategy is as disastrous as it is pervasive. The qualities that make a superstar salesperson are typically incompatible with being a superstar sales manager.
Like the route salesperson, the route sales manager functions in selling’s old paradigm: as a vendor or problem-solver. But if you want your sales managers to function in selling’s new paradigm – the sales force as a business resource to customers – there are seven responsibilities that should make up their job description.

1. Remove internal obstacles: Most corporate cultures are hostile toward the sales force. Not deliberately or maliciously – it’s just the way they are. To create a world-class sales force, hire the best raw material, develop them with training and support, and create a friendly environment for them to succeed.
A good sales manager needs polish and organizational savvy to fight the internal battles – over compensation, technical support, conflicts over sales channels and cross-territory sales, to name just a few examples – freeing the sales force to do its job.
2. Develop and implement a system of accountability: We used to equate accountability in sales solely with numbers. The problem with that was exemplified by a sales manager who told me she was going to promote one rep who was blowing the doors off the numbers and put on notice another who was performing below quota. Having seen both at work, I was puzzled: I viewed the rep about to be put on notice as more effective than the one designated for promotion.
A closer look at the data showed a territory discrepancy: The quota-buster had been around for a while and had inherited a gold-mine territory with large, producing accounts that required scant selling ability.
The under-performer’s territory was filled with promising, yet underdeveloped accounts.
The “over-achiever” called on purchasing agents and merely went in and picked up orders, while the “under-achiever” was doing all of the right things, including getting to senior levels of management.
Measuring numbers isn’t enough to hold a sales force accountable. You also have to consider the quality of their day-to-day activities. But don’t get trapped into trying to quantify all they do, or you’ll end up with a staff that fills out weekly reports on how many brochures they’ve left in a customer’s lobby and how many phone calls they’ve made.
3. Reinforce a common sales methodology and sales message: The rules and language, steps and milestones of the sales process should be common throughout the sales organization.
Too many sales forces suffer from anarchy. A common methodology helps salespeople learn from each other and ensures consistency in positioning your product.
Customers and prospects can rarely make objective judgments about what we sell. Instead, they’re making judgments more on how we sell, and how we position what we sell.
It’s senior management’s responsibility to develop your company’s core positioning message, and the responsibility of the sales force to take convey that message consistently out in the marketplace, thus strengthening the company’s brand. Otherwise you risk making the same mistake as a technology company I consulted with. While some reps sold strategic technology solutions, hardware and consulting to senior executives, others were more comfortable selling tactical hardware-only solutions to lower level individuals. This unintended strategy meant the company was selling two different messages, damaging its brand.
4. Create realistic account bases: Salespeople want the solar system for their territory, while senior management would prefer they focus on the eastern half of Elm Street.
Remember my client who was going to promote the wrong guy because of disparate territories? A good sales manager must be familiar with the geography and accounts into which the company is selling so that they get distributed equitably – all the while fighting off the constant toadying of salespeople coveting plumb assignments.
A sales manager with the best interests of the company in mind must not allow salespeople too many opportunities to cherry-pick – and at the same time, needs to work against corporate America’s unfortunate tendency to penalize successful, hardworking salespeople by cutting their territories or raising their quotas excessively. In short, one more internal obstacle to navigate.
5. Provide the sales force with market and competitive data and qualified leads: It frustrates me no end to see highly paid salespeople sitting at their desks paging through a manufacturer’s guide in search of prospects. That is just plain crazy, and a horrible waste of the salesperson’s time.
It is the responsibility of the selling company and the sales manager to provide reasonably qualified leads – an easier task today with so many sources of information. Sales managers also must take responsibility for arming the sales force with good information about competitors. How else can we justify telling salespeople that, in order for them to win, they have to be able to make a competitor lose?
6. Be a conduit for best practices: One of selling’s dirty little secrets is that even salespeople on the same team are not naturally disposed to help one another. They’re driven more by recognition than by financial reward.
When Mary cracks the code on selling a particular solution or acing out a wily competitor, she’s likely to share at most only part of what worked. Again, there’s no malice; it’s not even conscious. It’s just the nature of salespeople: They want to win, and that’s always just a little harder when their peers are as successful as they are.
A good sales manager can work closely with salespeople to extract and share best practices. One way is to hold monthly best-practices meetings, with salespeople required to contribute to the discussion in an environment that is at once friendly and competitive, giving salespeople recognition for their contributions.
7. Take responsibility for mentoring and personal development: When you promote a salesperson to manager, evaluate closely that person’s skills and attributes. Does he or she have what it takes to mentor others?
Too often superstars promoted to manager don’t mentor or coach at all – they simply take over the sale. The consummate manager is able to draw out a salesperson’s own ability to develop and execute the strategy – and repeats that to ensure the entire sales force implements the same process.
Jerry Stapleton is president of The IBS Group, a large-account sales consulting firm based in Brookfield.
May 1998 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

In today’s global marketplace, strategic decisions about outsourcing, marketing and new product innovation can make or break a small Wisconsin manufacturer. Just ask Don Frantz. Frantz founded DuraSafe Lock Inc. in 2000, when he decided he wanted to sell a product line made by his first successful business venture, Frantz Machine Products Inc. of New Berlin.
However, Frantz quickly realized it was the wrong time to start a second company, because his lock manufacturing competition was outsourcing production to nations with cheaper labor costs, enabling them to sell their products for $5 less than his American-made product.
Then came the 2001 recession.
“It was impossible for us to continue with where we were and be successful at it,” recalled Cathy Kraatz, Frantz’s daughter and marketing manager for DuraSafe.
Frantz decided to partner with a manufacturer in China to save his company, and at the same time he attempted to design and develop different types of locks that his larger competitors were not producing.
“When we found that there was so much competition with the locks we were manufacturing at the time, we went to the drawing board and came up with some new innovative products that nobody had,” Kraatz said.
The launch of three new products within the last year has not only enabled DuraSafe to be noticed in the market, but it enabled the company to win a national award for innovation. Most importantly, the new locks have helped the company increase its sales by 200 percent.
Frantz’s strategy of selective outsourcing, marketing and new product innovation is paying off with a remarkable corporate turnaround for Durasafe.
“These three new products have completely carried the company to the next level, and with the attention we are getting from all over the world with our patented products, the company has completely turned around,” Kraatz said.
DuraSafe first bought the distribution rights and launched a product developed in Australia called the Couple-Mate last fall. The Couple-Mate is a winged guide that enables boaters to align their trailer hitch with their hitch ball in half the time.
“People have a hard time seeing where they are going when backing up their trailer, so this helps them guide the coupler directly over the ball. It has been a really good seller for us,” Kraatz said.
The Couple-Mate, although not DuraSafe’s own invention, fits well within the line of problem-solving products DuraSafe wants to be known for, Kraatz said.
In March and June, DuraSafe introduced its two new patented products, a line of Marine Electronics Locks to secure fish-finders, depth-finders and global positioning systems (GPS) on the deck of a boat, and the T-Rex Transom Saver with Prop Lock, a combination transom saver and propeller lock.
Frantz and Kraatz have even changed their mindset about locks, from planning ways to beat the competition at their own game to planning their next consumer-friendly invention.
“We create products that we know customers have a need for,” Kraatz said. “For instance, their GPS or fish-finders are getting stolen, or their propellers are getting stolen. We like to come up with problem-solvers, and people are taking notice. When they invest in an expensive propeller, they want to ensure that it is not stolen from them.”
The T-Rex, a combination transom saver and propeller lock, was actually suggested to DuraSafe by a dealer. According to Kraatz, the dealer mentioned that propellers can cost up to $800 and are stolen frequently.
Instead of adding an extra lock to a trailer or boat, DuraSafe came up with a two-in-one solution that is easy to use and costs between $59 and $69.
Kraatz said most consumers who tow their boats already have a transom saver to protect the outboard motor and to stabilize the transom while the trailer is towed. By adding a propeller lock to the typical transom saver, DuraSafe is providing consumers with insurance against theft of both the propeller and the transom.
DuraSafe’s most popular product is the Marine Electronics Lock. The company has sold 15,000 electronics locks since March. They retail at $14.99 to $16.99 per lock.
“The Marine Electronics Lock is a worldwide patent pending product that replaces one factory knob on either side of an electronics unit such as fish-finders, GPS units or very high frequency (VHF) radios,” Kraatz said. “You screw it in like you would the factory knob, turn the key, and it spins freely in the locked position.”
“Every time the fish-finder customers go to a marina, they have to take all of their equipment off of the boat deck, tuck it down in the galley, lock it up. Sooner or later, the plug is going to wear out from constantly taking it in and out,” Frantz said. “That is why the electronics lock is so popular, because it is what consumers are looking for.”
DuraSafe is in the final stages of development for electronics locks for VHF radios, which Frantz suspects will become a top seller because of radio requirements for boaters.
With all of DuraSafe’s recent success, Frantz and Kraatz are now able to plan for the future growth of the company and are finally making a profit.
“Business is a lot different for us now than in the past because everyone wants our products,” Kraatz said. “In the past, we were competing with existing products, trying to get the business while offering nothing new. The distributors already had similar products, so why should they change? Now, these new products are getting our foot in the door.”
Frantz and Kraatz saw the marine industry’s reaction to their products firsthand when they attended their first trade show. The Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show (MAATS), an annual event presented by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), was held in Las Vegas in July.
Frantz said he did not walk out of any meeting at the show without a buyer purchasing something. Many took at least three products made by DuraSafe, he said.
The NMMA awarded DuraSafe with the 2004 Product Innovation Award for the Couple-Mate self-aligning trailer hitch guide. The Marine Electronics Locks line has been featured in seven trade magazines.
“We learned a lot from the MAATS show and have had such great feedback from that show that we will definitely be there next year,” Kraatz said. “We will not concentrate on the marine industry, but it has consumed so much of our time that it is the direction we are currently going. There is so much potential outside the U.S. that we have no idea how much the business can grow.”
Frantz said the fact that to compete in the lock industry means that he must outsource his production still bothers him, but it is a necessary evil to enable him to stay in business.
Although they would rather sell American-made products, Frantz and Kraatz said because the competition is outsourcing to save money on production, the price difference would deter consumers from choosing DuraSafe over a competitor’s brands.
“There was somewhat of a price difference for products being made in the U.S. vs. outsourcing and importing them,” Kraatz said. “Basically, when we got to market, we found that if we couldn’t meet or beat the price, there was really no interest, regardless if it was made in the U.S.”
If the outsourcing trend is reversed in the future by tax breaks and other incentives for companies to keep their manufacturing operations in the United States, Frantz said he would consider starting up the machines at Frantz Machine again.
Until that equation changes, American manufacturers will continue outsourcing their production to China to reduce their costs for production, employee wages, health care insurance and environmental compliance, Frantz said.
For now, Frantz instead is focused on next year’s MAATS event, where DuraSafe has already signed up and doubled its booth space.
“We already have four new ideas. Three are patent-able,” Frantz said. “It is hard to say if we can continue to keep up with innovative ideas and produce an innovative product, but that is our goal. We want to keep inventing or coming up with something that is not out there, or something that is out there, only we are going to make it better or lockable.”
Frantz and Kraatz currently have three other employees at DuraSafe who help with product development, testing and design.
DuraSafe operates within the Frantz Machine building at 1785 N. Johnson Road in New Berlin, but Frantz said he is in negotiation for 2,500 square feet of additional warehouse space nearby.
He wants DuraSafe to have its own location, which may be sooner than either Frantz or Kraatz could have expected a couple of years ago.
“Every day, there is great news,” Kraatz said. “When we started in 2000 as a lock business, we hit a wall when we realized we couldn’t make our products in the U.S. or at Frantz Machine. Now, with our new products, we have had interest from France, Italy, New Zealand, England. We have already shipped to Australia and just received a call from distributors in Canada and South Africa.”
Frantz said he decided to make locks because the receiver locks for trailers were something his machine shop could easily produce on the side and would allow DuraSafe to be a separate company.
Since innovation became the answer to DuraSafe’s shortcomings, convenience and peace-of-mind for his customers are now Frantz’s top priorities.
“If you can stop products from being stolen from consumers, especially when they are on vacation, that is a problem-solver in itself, and it is helping the person,” Frantz said. “If you get your fish-finder stolen, it ruins your fishing trip, or even worse your boat or trailer, or your propeller.”
The success of the new products also is increasing sales for the receiver locks that DuraSafe originally tried to sell to distributors. Kraatz said the rust-resistant stainless steel receiver locks that DuraSafe produces are becoming more popular because of their ability to cross over from the boating industry to the automobile and towing industry.
When the company maximizes its potential in the marine industry, Frantz hopes to create locks for other applications. DuraSafe already has a motorcycle lock line with locks for helmets, jackets and wheel discs.
“We are basically targeting the marine, hunting, fishing and automotive industries,” Frantz said. “But we can branch out. I mean, we can make a lock that locks anything. We have the research and development capabilities at Frantz Machine. Show us what you want locked, and we will lock it.”
New products
DuraSafe Locks Inc. launched three new and innovative lock products within the last year that resulted in a national award and a 200 percent growth spurt for the company.
Couple-Mate Self-Aligning Trailer Hitch Guide
Launched by DuraSafe last fall, the Couple-Mate was developed in Australia by Impulse Marine. Customers can back their trailer coupler directly over their hitch ball by placing the winged guide around the ball. No more scratches or getting out of the tow vehicle to make sure everything is aligned. The product has a retail price of $39 to $49.
T-Rex Transom Saver
with Prop Lock
The T-Rex was launched in June. The device is a combination transom saver and propeller lock that stabilizes the outboard while a boat is being towed and prevents theft of both the propeller and transom saver. The T-Rex was developed by DuraSafe and is the only transom saver that is available with a propeller lock. Don Frantz, president of DuraSafe, developed and obtained the patent for the product, which has a retail price of $59 to $69.
Marine Electronics Lock
DuraSafe launched the Marine Electronics Lock in March. The lock replaces the factory knob on brackets for electronics such as fish-finders, global positioning systems (GPS) and depth-finders to deter theft. The lock acts as a knob, but when locked,
spins freely. Because screw lengths and widths for electronics vary by manufacturer, DuraSafe offers nine different sizes. DuraSafe is preparing to launch a Marine Electronics Locks line for very high frequency (VHF) marine radios in three different sizes. The system was developed and patented by Frantz. The product has a retail price of $14.99 to $16.99.
August 20, 2004, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI

James T. Barry Co.
Acuity purchased a 35,428-square-foot industrial facility at 350 Progress Dr., Saukville.
A&K Properties purchased a 7,000-square-foot industrial facility at 12770 W. Custer Ave., Milwaukeee.
Hendricks Commercial Properties purchased a 27,500-square-foot industrial facility at W194 N16660 Eagle Dr., Jackson.
Boerke Co.
GWZ LLC has purchased 39,300 square feet of industrial space at 7760 S. 6th St., Oak Creek, from the Clariant Corp. The space was sold for $515,000.
Elkvh LLC purchased 1.35 acres of land at 4085 N. Lydell Ave., Milwaukee, from Randall Henning. The price was $140,000.
Dickman Co.
Land America Exchange Co. purchased 15,227 square feet of industrial space at 9810 S. Ridgeview Dr., Oak Creek, from Ronald F. and Joy A. Aumueller for $710,000.
Judson & Associates
John Troudt purchased 1.65 acres of land at W226 N3014 Duplainville Rd., Pewaukee, from Stan Odachowski.
John Troudt also purchased 1.09 acres of land at the southeast corner of Duplainville and Green roads, Pewaukee, from Gerald and Gordon Drewes.
Kindling Flame has purchased 4,310 square feet of space at 11617 W. Blue Mound Rd., Wauwatosa, from DelCom.
FMJ Enterprises purchased 1.41 acres of land at 5341 W. Fond du Lac Ave., Milwaukee, from Donald Ogilvie.
Ted Eliades purchased one acre of land at 120 Simmons Ave., Pewaukee, from GE Capital Franchise Corp.
MLG Commercial
Office Depot has leased 2,986 square feet of space in the Gateway Building at Bishop’s Woods, from WILC-Gateway LLC. The operations at the new location will serve as the hub for the company’s business services division sales force in Wisconsin. Office Depot will occupy the space in May.
Metal Express has leased 2,794 square feet of space for its new corporate headquarters at 625 Walnut Ridge Rd., Hartland, from Constance Fadrow of Wangard Partners. Metal Express has outgrown its current offices and will move to allow additional growth of its warehouse operations in Waukesha. The company expect to occupy its new space in May.
Ogden & Co.
Raza Holdings purchased the two-story commercial property at 929 W. Mitchell St., Milwaukee, which was formerly occupied by UMOS.
Commercial real estate leases
James T. Barry Co.
GZA Environmental leased 7,252 square feet of office space in the Crossroads Corporate Center I at 20900 Swenson Dr., Waukesha, from Teachers Retirement System of Illinois.
Auto Trader has leased 4,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at 3015 N. 114th St., Wauwatosa.
National Seating and Mobility leased 16,243 square feet of industrial space at W233 N2833 Roundy Circle West, Pewaukee.
Pooch Palace leased 5,100 square feet of space in the Cushing Park Plaza at 24 Enterprise Rd., Delafield.
Boerke Co.
Walsh Construction leased 7,000 square feet of office space at 2202 W. Clybourn St., Milwaukee, from Cooper & Associates.
Inland Companies leased 11,320 square feet of space at 839 N. Jefferson St., Milwaukee, from 839 North Jefferson Street Partnership.
SilverTrain has leased 2,351 square feet of office space at 839 N. Jefferson St., Milwaukee, from 839 North Jefferson Street Partnership.
Nick & Willy’s Pizza leased 1,267 square feet of retail space at 7435 117th Ave., Kenosha, from Grand Enterprises.
The Dickman Co.
Advanced Extrusions leased 6,983 square feet of industrial space at 9652 S. Franklin Dr., Franklin.
Inland Companies
Jan-Pro leased 2,528 square feet of office space at West Allis Center, 1040-1126 S. 70th St., West Allis.
Denecke Financial Services leased 997 square feet of office space at 5600 W. Brown Deer Rd., Milwaukee.
Dr. William Neuschaefer, DDS, leased 3,353 square feet of space at Executive Center III, 125 N. Executive Dr., Brookfield.
Judson & Associates
Homestead Dywall leased 2,400 square feet of space at N16 W22033 Jericho Dr., Pewaukee, from Jericho LLC.
Raton Services leased 2,880 square feet of space located at W227 N937 Westmound Dr., Pewaukee, from Nagawicka View Dairy Farm.
Regis Marketing leased 9,600 square feet of space located at W146 S6450 Tess Corner Dr., Muskego, from Max Mollgaard, Facility Management.
April 30, 2004 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Total Team Construction of Brookfield has been awarded several contracts to provide construction management services for tenant finish work at America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses at Midtown Center, Milwaukee, at 17300 W. Bluemound Road in Brookfield and at Southridge Mall in Greendale.
Total Team Construction has been awarded the contract to provide construction management services for interior finish work at CafZ Brucke, 2101 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee.
Work has started on the Plankview Green Retail Center at the intersection of highways 23 and 32 in Sheboygan Falls. This will be the first phase of a new lifestyle center with shops that highlight lifestyle and home design-oriented products. The center will include a bank, entertainment complex, hotel, fitness center and several restaurants. Grand opening of the center is expected to coincide with the PGA Championship in Sheboygan County Aug. 9-15.
Bukacek Construction, Racine, has begun work on a 20,000-square-foot interior remodel of ACMI’s production facility, formerly known as Surgitek, at 3037 Mount Pleasant St., Racine. The modernization includes new clean rooms, a reformatting of existing floor space to improve efficiency, and an update of the manufacturing support rooms and the shipping and receiving area.
The Jansen Group completed the remodel and product reset at Gold’s Pick ‘N Save, 11300 N. Port Washington Rd., Mequon. Store improvements include completely moving walk-in coolers, the addition of kitchen hoods with make-up air units, moving walls, and the replacement and relocation of refrigerated and frozen cases. The 43,000-square-foot remodel progressed on a super fast-track schedule, seven weeks from the start of design to completion.
April 30, 2004 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

The United Performing Arts Fund in Milwaukee (UPAF) is testing a "smART card" which gives donors buy-one-get-one-free ticket offers to one performance of each of the 19 groups supported by the fund.
The card not only rewards donors to the arts, but will also help UPAF better understand arts patrons, says Dan DeWeerdt, senior director of marketing and community outreach for UPAF.
It is intended to replace a paper form donors have received in past years.
"While that paper card was very successful, it was very difficult to track use of the card," DeWeerdt said. Additionally, the paperwork became incredibly cumbersome and inefficient in light of current technologies, he added.
Employees at Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation and SBC in Milwaukee participated in the pilot program that concluded in March. A survey of those users is now being conducted. With information from that survey, the card will be offered this fall to all donors who contribute at least $60 to the UPAF campaign. That gets them an individualized, bar-coded, credit card-size smART card; 1,200 cards were distributed in the pilot run.
The system for using the card is entirely Web based, with participating donors having password-protected access to individual information. The site has a summary of arts events and lists available and used benefits for the particular donor. It’s a real-time, personal page.
UPAF can then track all that information, helping it better operate its fund-raising efforts and helping its funded groups better understand the wants of arts patrons, DeWeerdt said.
"It gives us great demographic information," he said. "It’s pretty exciting to have a vehicle like this."
The smART card program is believed to the only one of its kind among approximately 60 united arts funds nationwide and is made possible with a $50,000 grant from The SBC Foundation, SBC Communications Inc.’s philanthropic arm.
"SBC recognizes the value of the smART card to UPAF donors as well as the Milwaukee-area participating arts organizations," said Paul La Schiazza, president of SBC Wisconsin. "The efficient, results-driven technology benefits UPAF, while it continues to provide a key benefit to UPAF donors."
DeWeerdt will present information on the card at the National Arts Marketing Conference Oct. 2-5 in Chicago. The conference will include a plenary session with Phil Kotler, the S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He will address, "The New Wave: Technology-Enabled Marketing," describing what for-profit firms are achieving with high-tech marketing and showing where and how arts organizations can move in the same direction.
April 30, 2004 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Mary Alice Tierney has been named vice president of communications at Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee. Tierney most recently served as vice president of corporate communications at Journal Communications. She has more than 25 years of experience in a variety of executive positions at Journal Broadcast Group, at Journal’s Milwaukee stations WTMJ-TV, WTMJ-AM, WKTI-FM and at WISN-TV, the Hearst Corporation, Milwaukee.
Paul Farrelly has been named president of Community Bank & Trust’s Glendale office. Farrelly has more than 15 years of commercial banking experience and previously held lending positions at First Bank, Bank One and, most recently, TCF Bank. He graduated from UW-Whitewater with a bachelor’s degree in finance and received his master’s degree in business administration from UW-Milwaukee.
Robyn Glick has joined United Way as vice president of individual giving. Glick, who was formerly with St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, brings more than 17 years of non-profit management and fund-raising experience to the organization.
Paul Grzeszczak has joined Briohn Design Group, Milwaukee as manager. Grzeszczak has a background in design-build construction. He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in architecture from UW-Milwaukee.
Zeppos & Associates, Milwaukee, announced that Audra Jacobs has been promoted to assistant account executive and Amy Wojciechowski has been promoted to account coordinator. Jacobs joined the firm in 2002 and previously served as an account coordinator. Prior to joining Zeppos & Associates, she was a marketing and public relations intern with a professional Milwaukee sports team and a large Brookfield hospital. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Valparaiso University. Wojciechowski joined Zeppos & Associates in 2001 as the firm’s receptionist. Before joining the company, she worked as the head banquet captain and front desk clerk for a well-known metropolitan Milwaukee hotel and conference center. Wojciechowski earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business administration from Lakeland College.
Rulena Carlin has joined the staff of the West Suburban Chamber of Commerce, Wauwatosa, as the member relations coordinator.
Susan McDonald has joined the engineering staff at MEC Midwest, Milwaukee, as the national accounts manager. She earned her master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri-Rolla.
Kolb+Co., West Allis, announced the following new employees: Karen A. Doerner, accounting and auditing manager; Erin Jachowicz, tax specialist; and Tiffany Weber, marketing assistant. Kolb+Co. Medical Billing has hired Kimberly H. Whelan as a billing specialist. Kolb+Co. Retirement Plan Services hired Michelle Courturier as a senior retirement plan administrator.
Scott Muro has joined AQS, Hartland, as a client services team manager while Nelda Foster has been hired as a quality assurance specialist. Muro has more than 13 years of experience, including database administration and development, user training, documentation, applications support, systems installations and account and project management. Foster is a quality assurance specialist on the technology department’s business services team.
Jennifer Provancher has been promoted to senior vice president of The Equitable Bank, Wauwatosa. Provancher joined The Equitable Bank in 1991 as controller, was appointed treasurer in 1993, and was promoted to vice president/chief financial officer in 2000. Provancher has more than 20 years of experience. She started her career in public accounting with Ernst and Young, and went on to work in the financial services industry before starting at Equitable.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin (BCBSWi) announced the appointment of Jeffrey J. Nohl as general manager of the large group division. Nohl has more than 30 years of experience in the health insurance industry. He began working at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin in 1987 as vice president and chief actuary. He also served as president and chief operating officer of BCBSWi’s HMO subsidiary, CompcareBlue. Nohl left BCBSWi in 1995 to join Aurora Healthcare System, as president of Aurora Health Network. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of strategic planning & marketing services for Wisconsin Physicians Services (WPS). Nohl is a graduate of UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He received his master’s in business administration UW-Milwaukee.
Red Brown Kle’ Marketing Communications, Milwaukee, announced the hires of Kimberly Jackson as an account executive and Jermaine Young as an office administrator. Prior to joining RBK, Jackson served as an account executive with the Zipatoni Company at Miller Brewing, Milwaukee. Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree from Kentucky State University and a master’s degree from Clark Atlanta University. Young has more than 10 years of experience in customer service, clerical support services, data management and computer systems administration.
Kimberly Imroth has joined North Shore Bank as manager of the Kenosha branch while Jill Miller-Custer has joined the bank as an assistant vice president of cash management sales. Imroth was previously an operations manager with Bank of Kenosha and branch manager of Firstar Bank. Miller-Custer previously worked for Fiserv where she coordinated sales and presentations on cash management solutions and was a consultant for financial institutions and software cash management providers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Cardinal Stritch University.
United Way of Greater Milwaukee has hired Michael Brey as the public sector campaign manager. Brey brings 15 years of fund development experience to the organization, most recently as the Newspaper in Education coordinator for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the executive director of the American Diabetes Association.
Kathy Buenger has been hired as executive director of the Funeral Service Foundation, based in Brookfield. She was the founding executive director of the Child Abuse Prevention Fund in Milwaukee, has years of chamber of commerce executive experience and was communications director for the American Lung Association of Wisconsin.
Karen Schettler has joined Creative Business Interiors, West Allis, as an account executive. A UW-Madison graduate, she has more than 20 years of diverse industry experience.
Judi Stout has been named executive director of the St. Michael Hospital Community Foundation. She has more than 20 years of service to the Milwaukee hospital in both the marketing and foundation departments. Her most recent position was as philanthropy associate for the St. Michael Community Foundation.
Covenant Healthcare has named Shelli Marquardt as executive director of the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Foundation. Marquardt has more than 12 years of experience in the health care industry, with an emphasis on fundraising and marketing. Her most recent position was area director for the American Diabetes Association. She also previously served as division sales trailer and pharmaceutical sales representative for Bayer Corp. She holds a bachelor of business administration degree from UW-Whitewater.
Stephanie Hungerford has joined Vollrath Assocites, Mequon, as an account manager. She most recently served as the public relations manager for the Milwaukee Ballet Co. She has previous public relations experience from Celtic in Brookfield, BVK in Milwaukee and The Silver Co. in Seattle. She is a Marquette University communications graduate.
Douglas Benschoter has joined Harwood Engineering Consultants, Wauwatosa, as executive director. He has more than 25 years of experience in the design and construction industry.
Ryan D. Schultz has joined Fiduciary Real Estate Development as a director of development with a focus on single-family subdivisions. Schultz previously was vice president of development operations at MLG Development in Brookfield. He holds bachelor of business administration degrees in real estate and urban land development, and marketing from UW-Milwaukee.
Jodi Sturgeon has joined Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. as vice president of lending. She was vice president for the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund in Concord, N.H., for eight years. Meanwhile Barbara Kueny has joined the organization as development coordinator. She most recently was director of major gifts in the Milwaukee office of the American Heart Association.
Dana LaFontsee has been named director of corporate development at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education. LaFontsee formerly was director of marketing for the school.
April 30, 2004 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Business briefs
Karen Johnson Productions, a Racine-based service-based animation studio, has announced a formal name change to Aha! Studios Inc. Along with this change comes a specific refocus geared toward creating original content as well as an expansion of its traditional animation services.
“We are very excited about this new name and focus because it is a clearer reflection of who we as a company are becoming,” said Karen Johnson, founder and CEO of Aha! Studios. “We will continue to specialize in the traditional animation services that we are known for, but the scope of our studio has definitely broadened. We are devoted to becoming more of an idea studio where we can create concepts, and then guide them through all stages of production to deliver exceptional media products.”
In addition, the company is also pursuing a larger role in the children’s educational and family learning markets.
“Our mission is to become a leading producer of multi-media products that educate, inspire, and entertain children and families,” said Barbara Ferro, COO of Aha! Studios. “Within the past few years we have seen an explosion of children’s educational media and an increased emphasis on delivering wholesome family entertainment. This is a fast-growing $40 billion industry in which Aha! Studios has the creativity, innovation and drive to make a definite impact on.”
Aha Studios, Inc. is a full service multi-media company specializing in development of animated entertainment for television, CD-ROM games, web applications, toys and feature films. Additional information can be accessed at www.ahastudios.com.
Two former executives of one of the country’s largest machine tool distributors recently joined forces to create Tech Financial Services Inc. (TFS), a capital equipment finance and leasing company.
Mark Charlton, president and partner of TFS, left his position as vice president and founder of Systems Financial Credit, a division of Machinery Systems Inc., to form a company dedicated to offering leasing and finance solutions to the machine tool industry and purchasers of capital equipment.
Joining him as executive vice president and partner is Tim Murphy, who left his position as regional sales manager for Systems Financial Credit.
Charlton and Murphy will serve distributors, manufacturers and end-user customers by providing a wide range of financing and leasing options and specialized business solutions, they said.
“Our direct experience with the machine tool sales process will help differentiate us from traditional lending sources,” said Charlton. “That experience, combined with our knowledge of the economic and organizational issues confronting our customers, will allow us to provide the most competitive leasing alternatives.”
Charlton created Systems Financial Credit 17 years ago. Originally designed to handle only loans for sales generated by Machinery Systems, the company quickly expanded to include financing for sales made by competitors, as well. While there are approximately 200 major machine tool distributors in the US, only a few have in-house finance departments.
“By branching off to create an independent company, we feel we can more efficiently respond to the needs of the entire market of dealers, manufacturers and end-users,” added Charlton.
Tech Financial Services (www.techfin.net) has headquarters at 840 N. Old World Third St., Milwaukee, and a branch in Naperville, Ill.
Emory Business Valuation in Milwaukee has changed its name to Emory Business Advisors and, to accommodate growth, has moved to a larger suite of offices at 611 N. Broadway.
The firm, which represents buyers and sellers in middle-market merger and acquisition transactions, also has added Jeffrey M. White as a managing director and Jo-el Gratzke as an M&A associate. With Victoria Fox continuing as a managing director, the firm now has seven professionals.
White, who earned MBA and BBA degrees from the University of Wisconsin, has executed more than $4 billion in acquisitions and divestitures, ranging from under $1 million to more than $2 billion. Prior to joining Emory, he served as president and CFO of the publicly held RCN Corp., a $600 million communications company; CFO of Telecom New Zealand, which serves clients in New Zealand and Australia; and vice president of investments and acquisitions with Ameritech Development Corp.
Mike Wroblewski and Marianne Huebner, among the owners of Fiddleheads in Thiensville and Nectar Espresso Bar and Café in downtown Milwaukee, have purchased Cream City Coffee in downtown Cedarburg.
New Resources Consulting LLC, an information technology and professional consulting services provider, has purchased the Milwaukee PSC Group operations from its Illinois-based parent company.
“The team at New Resources has already been together for more than a decade, and we have been highly successful in designing client-centric solutions for Wisconsin-based firms,” said Mark Grosskopf, president of the Milwaukee operations. “In reviewing the current business climate and our clients’ most-pressing needs, we felt we could provide more responsive and cost-effective solutions as a stand-alone operation.”
The company (www.nrconsults.com) will keep its headquarters at 1000 N. Water St. in downtown Milwaukee and plans to expand to Madison and Appleton next year,
Associated Bag Company has completed an energy efficiency project that will save 222,549 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity annually by simply turning on the lights.
Associated Bag, a national supplier of packaging products and shipping supplies, replaced 214 existing high-intensity discharge lights with new, high-efficiency light fixtures at its Milwaukee headquarters and distribution center. The annual electricity savings is the environmental equivalent of taking 32 cars off the road, planting 41 acres of trees or saving 20,032 gallons of gasoline, the company reported.
In combination with another lighting system installation at Associated Bag’s new distribution center in Dallas/Fort Worth, the company will save about 1 million kwh of electricity annually.
“These projects help keep us competitive in the marketplace by reducing our overhead expenses and are good for the environment at the same time. And, by simulating natural sunlight, we are also creating a better work environment for our employees,” said Herbert Rubenstein, president and CEO of Associated Bag (www.associatedbag.com).
The Illuminator fixtures, from Orion Energy Systems of Plymouth, use full-spectrum fluorescent light bulbs with reflective backings that increase ambient light while saving energy. The product has won Wisconsin’s Spirit of Ecology Award.
Over the expected 20-year life span of the new lighting in Milwaukee, Associated Bag will save 11.1 million kwh of electricity. That many kilowatt-hours will make an environmental difference in the Milwaukee area. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, will be reduced by 8,330 tons; carbon, which also affects global warming, will be reduced by 2,272 tons; sulfur dioxide, which is related to acid rain, will be reduced by 31 tons; and nitrogen oxide, which affects acid rain and smog, will be reduced by 71 tons.
The 20-year energy saving is the equivalent of removing 630 cars from the road, saving 404,635 gallons of gasoline or planting 817 acres of trees.
“I congratulate Associated Bag on adopting this environmentally friendly technology,” said Neal Verfuerth, Orion’s president. “It is having a tangible effect on Southeastern Wisconsin’s environment and will possibly mitigate the need for future power plants.”
The county’s first complete, interactive parking Web site for downtown Milwaukee has unveiled an expanded layout.
“With the introduction of the fully expanded ParkMilwaukee.com Web site, all downtown parking options will be featured with a clickable map highlighting major destinations and nearby parking options,” said Ellen Winters, executive director of the Westown Association. “The site was originally developed by OnMilwaukee.com for the Westown Association, but with the generous support of a variety of organizations, the site has been expanded to allow users to easily find parking locations and rates for all garages and lots located downtown.”
Nov. 28, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee