Since the 1930s, Everbrite LLC has thrived by manufacturing neon signs for retail clients, ranging from the golden arches of McDonald’s restaurants to Miller Brewing’s product signs in taverns throughout the nation.
In recent years, however, the privately held company committed research and development to create new technologies, new applications and new markets for its lighting products.
That R&D is beginning to pay off.
The engineers and technologists at Everbrite Lighting Technologies are on the cutting edge of product development for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and the company is launching its new MedLux family of lighting products designed specifically for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment used in the health care industry.
The MedLux brand is part of Everbrite’s growth strategy, which includes penetrating new markets, developing new technology and applications and increasing revenue by 30 percent in the next two years, said William Fritz, president of Everbrite.
"LED advancement is so rapid that it is going to be a viable alternative at some point in the future," Fritz said. "It has replaced neon in a lot of our products, like channel letters (for outside of a restaurant). The LED technology is moving so rapidly that whatever you have now could be obsolete in six months. This company has made a tremendous investment in technology for many years. That is why we have the technology center. We are always looking for new techniques, new technology that we can either apply to our customers or to new markets."
The company’s recent launch of the new brand included the introduction of the MedLux GPI graphic panel illuminator. Everbrite will launch its second MedLux product, the MedLux RLD recessed LED down-light, in the first quarter of this year.
Everbrite Lighting Technologies is a division of Everbrite LLC, located at 4949 S. 110th St., Greenfield. Recently, the firm, owned by Judith Wamser, was named the top diversity-owned Wisconsin business by DiversityBusiness.com.
Everbrite Lighting Technologies has been researching and developing applications using LED technology for seven years, said Michael Mondloch, vice president of technology for Everbrite.
The MedLux product launch marked Everbrite’s penetration into the health care market using top-of-the-line LED technology. All of the new products developed for the health care industry will fall under the MedLux brand name, said Jeff Gatzow, product manager for Everbrite Lighting Technologies.
Everbrite considers the MedLux GPI to be a breakthrough in patient comfort lighting for MRI environments because LEDs require little maintenance and do not interfere with an MRI scan, Mondloch said.
The average LED has a lifetime of 100,000 hours, equaling more than 10 years of continuous use. The LED requires no maintenance, contains no mercury, projects minimal ultraviolet and infrared emissions and is easy to install with a plug-in connection.
"While LEDs have a lot of advantages, it is still an expensive way to produce light," Mondloch said. "We have been looking to develop applications for both our traditional business and in new markets and applications that need low- temperature operation or a long life."
Patient comfort lighting is typically found in dentist offices and cancer centers. The graphic panels replace 2-foot by 2-foot ceiling tiles above a patient bed and depict soothing graphics, such as clouds, that are illuminated by a light box installed in the ceiling above the panel.
Everbrite created light boxes using LEDs instead of the typical fluorescent light, which interferes with an MRI by producing artifacts or ghosting on scanned images, Mondloch said.
Everbrite had developed the LED light boxes but was researching different applications of the technology when an artist spoke with Mondloch about light boxes for her artwork. Some of her artwork was going to be used as a graphic panel for patient comforting in an MRI environment, Mondloch said.
That’s when Mondloch realized Everbrite could market to the health care industry.
"She had mentioned that some of the traditional light box technology does not work well in the MRI environment because the light interferes with the MRI scanner," Mondloch said. "I immediately thought LEDs would be an excellent answer, because LEDs cannot interfere with the magnet, and magnets cannot interfere with LEDs."
Before LED graphic panels were introduced, many hospitals did not install patient comfort lighting in MRI suites, said Diane Kelly, director of radiology for Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis. Hennepin was one of the first medical centers to purchase the technology and has had MedLux GPIs installed since February.
Dr. Chip Truwit, chief of radiology for Hennepin, spoke with Everbrite about LED technology, and after testing the light box, he installed the MedLux series for added patient comfort.
"Before, we only had can lighting that we would turn down for patient comfort," Kelly said. "Patients like the graphic panels because it is something soothing for them to look at when preparing to enter the scanner."
Most MRI suites use incandescent lighting, or regular light bulbs, to light the room, Mondloch said, which can fail prematurely from the magnetic current constantly passing through the filament.
"Part of the realization was through the artist, but subsequently we were working on a graphic panel for the University of San Francisco (Medical Center), and the university asked if we could use LED for both panels and for down-lights, because his light bulbs were burning out prematurely," Mondloch said. "We calculated the cost of light bulbs with the cost to close the MRI suite to change the light bulbs, and I realized that (medical providers) could benefit from LED."
The MedLux RLD product will allow for ceiling-based down-lights to replace incandescent lighting fixtures, Mondloch said.
Everbrite executives said MedLux RLD light fixtures are priced independently with each customer’s order.
Everbrite will reach its corporate growth goal by gaining a larger slice of the volume of the work its existing customers do, going after new customers in the same markets, taking new technologies to new markets and leveraging its strengths in areas such as Neon Central, a division that sells licensed retail products, LED lighting and the medical industry, Fritz said.
"We have been very aggressive in some of our large national accounts like the Yum! Brands and McDonald’s because we are their prime supplier," Fritz said. "Overall (with franchises), there are a lot of approved suppliers, and it is basically your service and capabilities that make the difference when they choose to buy from you."
Everbrite’s focus is serving its customers, meeting their requirements and introducing new and superior products to them, Fritz said.
"Customer demands have gone up, and the amount of information they get from the field has gone down, so they expect you to turn products around as fast as possible," Fritz said. "The people who can do that the best are going to get the lion’s share of the business."
Everbrite has jumped into the LED marketplace because the firm’s executives want to be the first in line with new products, Fritz said.
Everbrite provides LED products to other markets, including navigation lights for the marine industry, scoreboards for sports venues, gas pricers for the petroleum industry and LED and liquid crystal display (LCD) order confirmation screens, menu systems and channel lettering for the food industry, Fritz said.
The Everbrite Lighting Technologies technology center is equipped with a certified UL (Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.) test lab for product compliance and public safety standards. Everbrite can take products in the research and development stage through full testing and certification for any environment, including indoor, outdoor, freezer and MRI environments, Mondloch said.
"Another advantage of LED is that it performs well in cold environments, where fluorescent lights dim and have to be packaged in special insulation tubes," Mondloch said. "Everbrite has developed an LED lighting system for freezer displays called Luma-Light that we have already placed in ice cream cake displays at some Culver’s restaurants."
The Luma-Light is expected to be introduced to the market in the second or third quarter of this year, Gatzow said.
"In a few years, I think LED technology will be very cost-effective for all kinds of applications," Mondloch said.
Everbrite Lighting Technologies also is researching and working with OLED, an organic light emitting diode made from more common materials.
When LED is more affordable, Everbrite will be on the forefront of product development, Mondloch said.
"The synergy and the capability that (Everbrite has) allows us to bring a new product to a new market fairly rapidly," Mondloch said. "It is good for displays, good for lighting, and we are excited about things coming down the pipe in LED technology."
Everbrite LLC
Industry: Lighting technology
Founded: 1927
Corporate headquarters: 4949 S. 110th St., Greenfield
Domestic production plants: Elkhorn, Greenfield, Pardeeville and South Milwaukee, Wis.; Garden Grove, Calif; Mt. Vernon, Ill.; Atlanta, Ga.; Chanute, Kan.; Buena Vista, Va.
Overseas operations: London, England (displays and sales); Dublin, Ireland (indoor signs, neon signs and sales); Amsterdam, The Netherlands (design center, sales); and China (injection molding and small assembly work).
Leadership team: Judith Wamser, owner; and William Fritz, president
Employees: 875
Annual revenues: $107 million
Web site: www.everbrite.com
January 7, 2005, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI

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.

Let’s face it. In most areas of our lives, we behave our way into success or failure. Whether it is physical fitness, financial fitness, business and personal relationships, business and personal success, our actions determine whether or not we succeed.
If you accept that notion, then keep on reading.
Mark Peters, president of Impact Engineering Solutions says, “Passion without commitment and dedication is a wasted emotion.” Mark lives by these words in his personal and business life. What Mark is saying, very simply, is that to achieve success in any aspect of your life, you must be fully committed, dedicated and disciplined to putting forth the effort required to achieve your personal definition of success.
It’s important to understand that often times we create our own problems. There are times when business leaders within organizations simply are not achieving the level of success they are capable of achieving. It is painful to see them struggle, because the struggle is an internal one.
The passion and commitment for their work is there, but the dedication and discipline to follow through and execute on a consistent basis are not. The inconsistencies in their behaviors produce inconsistencies in the achievement of their desired results.
Behaviors and attitudes are contagious, especially when it comes from the leader. Being a business leader should suggest to us that people will follow our lead. In realizing this, it is important to demonstrate behaviors and attitudes that drive organizational success.
Remember, your team is watching. We must realize that as the leader, it is important to both demonstrate and reward behaviors that are consistent with the performance expectations you have of your team. If you lack the discipline to follow through on your commitments, your team will follow suit. If you allow members of your team to do the same, you send a strong message to the rest of the troops that suggests following through on commitments is desirable but not mandatory.
Expect passion, commitment and dedication from the team.
Last school year, my then 15-year-old son had a goal to make the junior varsity basketball team. We all knew this would be a challenge for him because he was only 5 foot, 3 inches tall at the time of tryouts. He clearly had passion, commitment and dedication as demonstrated by his behaviors that led to him making the team.
With input from a school coach, he created a personalized practice plan for himself. The key to his success, however, was that he was committed and dedicated to working his plan. He followed through and executed on everything he had outlined in his practice plan.
He proved to himself that success in life starts with true passion, a plan that supports the achievement of a specific goal, then the relentless pursuit in following through and working the plan.
Disciplined follow-through leads to success.
This is a simple concept to understand, yet many of us struggle with the discipline portion of this equation. It is not enough to just have passion. It is not enough to just have a plan.
To achieve consistent success, we must have the commitment, dedication and discipline to follow through, execute and work the plan. Business leaders and team members who demonstrate discipline in following through usually come out on top.
Philip Mydlach is the owner of Mydlach Management Advisors, a corporate planning and performance improvement consulting practice in New Berlin. He can be reached at (262-) 785-5552 or pmydlach@aol.com.
August 20, 2004, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI

Advertising & Public Relations

Elizabeth Hockerman joined Bader Rutter & Associates, Milwaukee, as an assistant account executive in the agency’s Public Relations Group. Prior to joining Bader Rutter, Hockerman was a reporter for Small Business Times.

Ryan Janecek joined Layer One Media, Milwaukee, as an account executive. Janecek previously worked as an account manager at Cisco Systems, San Jose, Calif.

Lauren Cook joined Zeppos & Associates, Milwaukee, as an account executive. Prior to joining the firm, Cook was a TV anchor and reporter at stations in Minnesota, Vermont, Illinois and Wisconsin. Cook holds a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications and military history from Indiana University. 

Caffeine Communications, Milwaukee, hired Stacey Weiss-Stark as general manager/director of client services and head of the agency’s executive team. Dan Austin, Patrick Kopischkie, and Laura Tanin were hired as account supervisors and members of the executive team and Kristian Butzin, Christina Nelson and Zak Mazur were hired as assistant account executives. 

Kristen Davis joined Primum Marketing Communications, Milwaukee as a senior account executive. Davis is a graduate of DePaul University.   

Tim Evans joined the Saturn Lounge studio, New Berlin, as a photographer. Evans images have been seen in advertising campaigns for Wells Fargo Bank, M&I Bank, Stanford University and Anchor Bank, and in national publications including Ladies Home Journal, Forbes Magazine, Family Circle and Smart Money Magazine.

Architecture

Eppstein Uhen Architects, Milwaukee, hired Kristen Buck as a marketing coordinator, Michael Mazmanian as a project assistant, and Terri Durgin and Alison Lehmbeck as studio administrators in the firm’s Milwaukee office. Buck holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Marquette University. Mazmanian earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Oklahoma State University. Durgin holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Humboldt State University. Lehmbeck previously worked at VJS Construction Services, Pewaukee.

Arts & Entertainment

Jan Wade, president and general manager of WISN-TV, joined the 2007-2008 Board of Trustees of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD). Wade served at television stations in six different markets before joining WISN-TV, most recently as president and general manager of WATE-TV, the ABC affiliate in Knoxville, Tenn. Wade was joined by Mary Gordon, MIAD Alumni Association President, who serves as the board’s alumni representative. 

MIAD hired Katie Pfeffer as coordinator of disability services and Abigail Hanna as director of registration services. Pfeffer holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and human development family studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in counseling from Marquette University. Hanna served as a member of the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s admissions office since 2002, most recently as assistant director of admissions.

Banking & Finance

Waukesha State Bank, Waukesha, promoted Damir Hadzalic to investment officer. Hadzalic joined Waukesha State Bank as a teller in July 2003 and became a loan review assistant in December 2003. 

Reona Vang joined Komisar Brady & Co., Milwaukee, as a staff accountant. Vang is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh.

Jefferson Wells, Milwaukee, named Victor H. Miesel as the firm’s first global director of transfer pricing services. Prior to joining Jefferson Wells, Miesel served as president and managing director in the Americas of Strategic Tax Economics Consulting and Transfer Pricing Associates. Miesel has more than 20 years of economics experience in public accounting and management consulting.

Betty Stowell joined Citizens Bank, Citizens Republic Bancorp, Michigan, as vice president/ senior commercial relationship manager for the greater Milwaukee area. Stowell will work in the Menomonee Falls office.   

Building & Construction

Mike Brill joined Triad Construction Inc., West Allis, as a project manager. Brill has worked on numerous new office and warehouse buildings in Wisconsin as well as a new strip mall in Waterford. 

Education

Reyes Gonzalez joined Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, as vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer. Gonzalez was previously with Chicago Public Schools and City Colleges of Chicago. He holds undergraduate degrees in engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology, an MBA from DePaul University and Certified Management Accountant certification from Northwestern University.

Health Care

Pamela Smith Trapane was named clinical director of the Neurofibromatosis Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa. Trapane is a lecturer in medical genetics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Jack Maloney joined the dermatology department at Madison Medical Affiliates of Milwaukee. Maloney will practice at Madison Medical’s Mequon office. Maloney earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.

Hospitality & Entertainment

Dayn Kummner joined Weissgerber’s Gasthaus, Waukesha, as the new executive chef. Prior to joining Weissgerber’s Gasthaus, Kummner worked as the lead cook in the buffet restaurant at Potawatomi Casino, Milwaukee, and as Jason Gorman’s sous chef in the Solstice Lounge.

Insurance

A.N. Ansay & Associates, Port Washington, hired Marni King as an employee benefit sales consultant and Victoria Arnold as marketing director to the insurance service team. Prior to joining Ansay & Associates, King was the manager of the employee benefits division for Burkart Heisdorf Insurance Agency, Sheboygan. Prior to joining Ansay & Associates, Arnold was with State Farm Insurance Companies, Lincoln, Neb. Arnold has a Master’s degree from Marquette University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. 

Legal Services

Attorney J. Ryan Maloney joined the law firm of Peterson, Johnson & Murray, Milwaukee. Maloney earned his J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 2007 and his B.A. from Marquette University, Cum Laude, 2004.  

Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, Milwaukee, hired attorneys Ted Barthel and Patrick Harvey and rehired attorney Rebecca Grassl Bradley to the firm’s technology practice. Bradley previously was vice president-legal operations and assistant corporate secretary for RedPrairie Corp., Town of Brookfield. Harvey earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in political theory and constitutional democracy from Michigan State University in 2003. Barthel, who will be in the firm’s intellectual property practice, is a registered patent attorney focused on patent prosecution, licensing and intellectual property litigation. In addition to his law degree from DePaul University, Barthel holds a Bachelor of Art’s degree in chemistry, German, and political science from Carroll College in Waukesha and Universität Freiburg, Germany. 

Davis & Kuelthau, Milwaukee, promoted Tara Mathison to shareholder and hired Heather Van Vugt Ramirez as an associate in corporate law. Mathison, who has been an associate with the firm since 1999, practices commercial and civil litigation, with a focus on construction and insurance coverage matters. Van Vugt Ramirez is a 2007 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.

Real Estate

Joshua Hafron joined General Capital Group, Milwaukee. Hafron will be based in General Capital’s Chicago office. Hafron recently served as assistant vice president with Urban Innovations in Chicago, where he was involved in the acquisition of affordable housing projects nationally.  

NAI MLG Management, Brookfield, hired Ryan McIlwee as vice president of the property management team. McIlwee has more than 14 years of experience and currently serves on the board of directors of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).

Staffing

Koni White joined Core Business Solutions, Waukesha, as an executive recruiter. White previously worked for 18 years in sales at a telecommunications firm.

Maurice Pendergast joined Spherion, as a client service supervisor. Prior to joining Spherion, Pendergast worked as an IT consultant at Computer Technologies. Pendergast has a bachelor’s degree from UW-Whitewater.

QPS Companies, Inc., Brookfield, hired Erica Woods as a placement coordinator at their West Bend office. Woods has an associate’s degree in supervisory management and a human resources certificate.

Technology

Katie Felten joined Boevo, Milwaukee, as a technology innovator. Felten previously was an identity theft specialist at Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.  

Transportation

Harley-Davidson, Inc., Milwaukee, promoted Karl Eberle to senior vice president, manufacturing; Bill Dannehl was promoted to executive vice president, chief organizational transformation officer; and Ron Hutchinson was promoted to senior vice president, product development. Eberle joined Harley-Davidson in 1990 as a director of manufacturing at Harley-Davidson’s York, Penn. Operation. Dannehl joined Harley-Davidson in 1993 and served as vice president, North American sales, and Hutchinson began his career with the company in the mid 1970s and recently served as vice president, new business.

Milwaukee-based public relations firm Zigman Joseph Stephenson has opened an office in midtown Manhattan. The office, located in Rockefeller Plaza, is intended to serve and expand the firm’s communications and public affairs practices. Christine Mangi, an account executive at the firm since 2000, has been promoted to account supervisor and has relocated to New York City to oversee the new business venture.
A former broadcast journalist, Mangi is responsible for working with law firms to serve national and international clients in the areas of litigation support, marketing communications and issues management while maintaining her responsibilities in the areas of media relations. The office in New York City will allow the firm to further develop its relationship with leading media outlets and law firms while expanding the firm’s presence and business interests on the east coast, its president said.
"Our goal is to be a more cutting edge, global PR firm," said Craig Peterson, president and chief executive officer of ZJS. "The office in New York is a step in that direction. It gives us the capability to directly reach a national and international market. We expect this will be an opportunity to diversify our client base and better serve existing clients with their communications and government affairs needs."

Nemes Allen & Co. has announced a merger with Madison-based Virchow, Krause & Co., the 13th largest CPA and consulting firm in the country and the largest Wisconsin-based firm of its kind.
In making the announcement, Nemes Allen co-founder and principal Barry Allen said, "The merger will provide our clients with access to many additional services and areas of expertise. Combining our practices will strengthen our base of industry knowledge and expertise and offer our clients many specialized services to meet their growing needs."
As Virchow Krause, the partners and staff of the former Nemes Allen firm will continue to operate from its existing location.
"When we look for firms with which to merge, we look at the quality of the people and the reputation of the firm, said Tim Christen, CEO of Virchow Krause. "We also look for firms that serve clients similar to ours, and are located in areas in which we would like to expand our practice. Nemes Allen has an impressive reputation as a high-quality firm and we view the Greater Detroit market as a very viable and growth-oriented market."
Allen will serve as managing partner of the Detroit practice while Dan Nemes, co-founder and principal of Nemes Allen, will hold a seat on Virchow Krause’s executive committee.
Virchow Krause has 121 partners and a staff of more than 800. The firm has 12 locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan and provides global services through its affiliation with Baker Tilly International.
Among its Wisconsin locations are offices in Milwaukee and in Elkhorn.

Novo Recruiting (www.novorecruiting.com) has opened at 789 N. Water St. in downtown Milwaukee. Working across industries, the firm finds executive, managerial, sales, technical and professional talent for its clients and helps clients improve their recruitment process.
"From this initial office in Milwaukee, our plans are to open offices across the United States in the next five years," said Mike Harris, co-founder, president and CEO of Novo. "We are off to nice start with over a dozen searches in progress already," said Harris.
Harris, 43, was formerly chairman and CEO of Jefferson Wells International, the professional services firm headquartered in Milwaukee. He founded Jefferson Wells (originally known as AuditForce) in late 1995 and led its growth to 25 offices, 1,600 employees and $131 million in sales in five years. Jefferson Wells was sold to Manpower Inc. of Glendale in 2001.
After selling Jefferson Wells, Harris also co-founded SilverTrain, a Milwaukee-based information technology services firm where he currently serves as Chairman.
Harris’ partner at Novo Recruiting is Cindy Lu, co-founder, vice president and managing director of the Milwaukee office of Novo.
"Effective recruiting can have a significant impact on the success of any business," said Lu. "At Novo, we help organizations maximize return from their recruitment spending and efforts by minimizing recruiting costs and maximizing the contribution from the talented people we find them," Lu stated.
Lu, 39, previously was the owner of J. Galt & Associates, a Milwaukee recruiting firm. She was also a senior executive for five years at the Parson Group, one of the fastest growing professional service companies in America.

Safety Connections Inc. is a new company in Sheboygan focusing on safety in the workplace with products and services. While the initial focus will be on Wisconsin clients, Safety Connections expects to serve a national and then global client base.
Jim Lehrke, with 33 years of experience in the safety field, started the company (www.safetyconnections.com). His experience includes seven years as president of Sheboygan County’s Safety Council. Lehrke led a Fortune 200 company’s safety program.

Muskus & Associates Ltd. of Milwaukee has changed its name to Muskus Management Corp. in a corporate identity makeover tied to significant business growth.
A new logo and corporate identity materials and forms were also created for the company by Phoenix Marketing Group.
Company president Cheryl Muskus, said she wanted a name and logo that better identified her company’s services and their impact on customers. Phoenix identified three distinct service offerings: customer relationship management, construction management, and accounting and business consulting.

RK Ltd is a new medical billing office at 1055 Prairie Dr., Suite D in Racine. The company is a full-service, HIPPA-compliant medical billing company
specializing in radiology and pathology medical billing. President Robert Kim, MD, MBA, fellow radiologist with more than 30 years of group practice and medical billing management said, "We are very familiar with the ever-changing billing requirements and intricacies that
medical practitioners face today."

Marianne Jaehnke has started Integrated Manufacturing Services LLC, a manufacturer’s rep agency in Hales Corners focusing on metal and metal-related products and services. She is presently representing companies that manufacture metal stampings, fabrications, aluminum extrusions, precision injected molded plastic, thermoset and thermoform plastics, and prototypes.
Further, she represents a safety consulting and training company and a sales and marketing consultant.
Jaehnke will cover Wisconsin, Illinois and parts of Iowa and Michigan. She was previously the vice president and sales manager for Ideal Manufacturing Solutions in Franklin.

Sattell, Johnson, Appel & Co., and Capital Resource Group have formed a new company to provide expanded financial services, Financial Resource Services LLC. The firm offers investment counseling and financial planning.
"As strategic partners with our clients in the area of accounting and business management services, we see many opportunities to help them with other financial advice, including asset management and retirement planning," said Michael Sattell, managing partner at Sattell, Johnson, Appel & Co.
Bill Haise, founder of Capital Resource Group, is president of the new firm. He has more than 35 years of experience in investment and financial planning. For the past 10 years his focus has been on managing personal portfolios with a fee-based approach.
Financial Resource Services has offices at Woodland Prime in Menomonee Falls.

Continental Savings Bank will expand into Mukwonago. The Greenfield-based savings bank is building a new facility at 1231 S. Rochester St. (Highway 83). Ground was broken in September for the 30,000-square-foot building.
"We’ve been watching growth in the Mukwonago area, and felt the time was right for a banking facility and adjacent office space," said Jim Podewils, president of Continental Savings Bank. "Other significant construction projects in the area, including a Waukesha Memorial Hospital Clinic and new Home Depot, along with Mukwonago’s strong residential growth, indicate the area is becoming a major hub."
The office will be Continental’s first new location in more than 20 years. It will be completed by next June.
The new branch will employ five people and occupy 2,700 square feet of the two-story building. Remaining office space will be leased. The $3.5 million structure is being built by Gerald Nell Inc. of Waukesha.
Continental Savings Bank currently has six offices, in Milwaukee, Brookfield, Brown Deer and Hales Corners.

Frank’s Adjustment Bureau Inc., Wisconsin’s oldest licensed collection agency, has been purchased by Jeanne Beal with financing assistance from the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. (WWBIC).
Located at 521 High St. in Racine, the 71-year-old Frank’s Adjustment Bureau draws its clients from various industries in southeastern Wisconsin, including We Energies, Racine Emergency Services and Curtis Universal Ambulance.
WWBIC also announced that it is financing the start-up of Steel Masters LLC, a company in Mayville specializing in turnkey flame cut, stress relief and Blanchard-ground plates. The company’s owner is Gerald Hoover.
Great Impressions LLC, a graphic design business and printing brokerage service, has moved into the new Burleigh Enterprise Center, 5312 W. Burleigh St., Milwaukee, in a move made possible with WWBIC financing. The company has been in business since 1999 and has outgrown its home-based office.

Mark Boccio and Christopher Zuzick have formed Spire LLC, an advisory firm assisting companies and company owners with acquisitions and divestitures. The two are co-owners.
"We feel strongly that out direct experience in small business manufacturing and professional services, combined with out network of buyers and sellers and other intermediaries, which extends throughout Wisconsin, the Midwest and the United States, enables us to provide value-added expertise to small business owners who are considering the sale or purchase of a company," Zuzick said.
Boccio said the new firm offers an alternative to "high-cost, high-minded M&A boutiques; low-cost, low-effort business brokers; and other advisors." He said Spire offers simplified engagement terms, low-risk fee structures and active pursuit of objectives.
Spire will focus on companies with revenues of less than $5 million. The company is on the Internet at www.spirellc.net.

Office Furniture Resources of Milwaukee has opened a new used office furniture store in Detroit. The company, in business since 1991, also has stores in Chicago, Naperville, Ill., and St. Louis.

The Chinese are coming!

Commentary, By Joseph Geck, for SBT

When I read about the activities of SAM (Save American Manufacturing) and listen to all the "American industry is being hollowed out" rhetoric from many diverse sources, one word comes to mind; luddite.
The Luddites were a late 18th century early 19th century movement in England that had as their goal the destruction of all machinery for the making of cloth. Flying in the face of the industrial revolution, the Luddites failed in their task but at least gave the world a new word for those who try to stop technology or advancement in the face of an unstoppable world trend.
Now, the SAM people and their many complaining American allies are not destroying equipment and on the positive side are focusing attention on a real phenomena. However, they are flying in the face of some major trends, and their complaining distracts attention from actions that US industry must take if it is to survive in the global market.
The first and biggest world trend that they are up against is the opening up of the world to free trade. This is actually a trend that is as old as mankind and is the force that led to the "discovery" of the Americas in the 15th century.
But in recent history, the movement for free trade has been accelerated by the demise of Communism and the advance of communication and travel technologies.

The flood gates have been opened
The world, except for pockets of the Middle East, has begun to embrace the US message of open markets, open societies and freedom, especially free markets. Now there are billions of people in poor countries around the world who are literally hungry to work and supply goods to richer countries.
So should the response to that trend be to limit the imports from one region or another because we think the playing field in uneven (which it is in a lot of ways, but not necessarily in the ways most people think)?
To try to limit imports from those countries will just hurt US industry in the long run. Since Japan, Germany and other countries have companies which source from low-cost countries, protecting US manufacturers from those imports will hurt our larger companies in the competitive world market place.
That leads to another trend or fact of life of the US economy. US consumers are absolutely focused on getting the most for their dollar, no matter where in the world a product comes from. Not many people go to Wal-Mart and look at a product to determine where it is made. People buy the cheapest products.
The third trend is that the world economy is moving from an industrial one to one with a technology and information base.
Experts have labeled it the movement to an information economy. But technology plays such an important role in making an information economy possible that it is important to understand the technology component. That means that products that are not part of that movement will, by their very nature, slip down to lowest cost commodity possible. In that type of economy, the customer and marketing become even more important.
If you are just making a product and are not involved with your customer in a special relationship, or if that product is not cutting edge, you are in danger of becoming extinct.
There is as much sense in having government take extra measures for your survival as it is to fund an effort to bring back the dinosaurs.
I was in a bike store recently. On a rack of bike tools, an "all-in-one tool" for bikes caught my eye. It was brightly packaged with eye-catching and descriptive wording on the package. After browsing I saw another tool with exactly the same function. That tool was not packaged well, although from the looks it was exactly the same. It sold for $5 less than the effectively packaged tool. Most people looking at the rack would not have seen the low-priced tool.
The more expensive well-packaged tool was made in Taiwan – and probably some of the piece parts made in China – while the less expensive one was made in the US.
The US marketing manager for that tool should be fired.
What can US manufacturers do to survive the onslaught of foreign competition from low cost countries? First and most important is to do what it takes to stay competitive.
The US is hailed as a country with unbeatable management expertise. I don’t think that is true anymore in the manufacturing sector. It is about time to recognize that we are not as smart as we think and get to work.
I would bet that many of the companies that are going out of business today do not have an effective quality program and do not have any ongoing process-improvement program. Forget about lean manufacturing or Six-Sigma, many small and medium-size companies still do not have their basic information systems under control.
I’m sure you will find some very well managed companies going under due to imports from China or Mexico, but they will be in the minority.
On a recent trip to South Korea, I met up with a gentleman who worked for an American oil drilling supply company. We talked about the loss of jobs in the US. We analyzed the kind of US companies that we saw failing. Those failing companies fit a pattern:
1. Many companies are family-owned and the founder had left the company to his offspring. Although well educated, the inheritors were not very interested in operations but only in the perks of ownership.
2. The companies had not made investment in new technology or equipment in 20 years and were doing things the same way they had since they were founded.
3. As a result, worker moral was very low.
4. Then these companies met with competition and failed.

What does it take to get competitive?
As I said above, quality improvement and process improvement have to be continuous and effective to the point of making 10% improvement in productivity every year. Companies need to be their customers’ best suppliers. In addition, companies need to take the low-tech, high-labor content parts of their supply chain and either automate or source them in low-cost countries.
That sourcing process has to be done effectively. An example that comes up a lot is companies that are introducing lean, but only in a single department to get it started, most often manufacturing.
Likewise I’ve heard of companies sending whole products to China to be made, and the next thing they know they have a Chinese competitor with a knockoff of their product on US store shelves.
All strategic moves have a downside that must be planned for and, if possible, avoided. When I say move a part of your supply chain that is the low content to a low-cost country, there are a lot of reasons for that.
US political leaders, rather than waste time listening to the whining, should attack structural problems that affect the competitiveness of US manufacturers as they compete around the world.
One of the biggest right now is our health care system. We spend more than twice as much per capita on health care as any one else in the world, and the cost is almost entirely born by employers. Yet our health care statistics are mediocre, at best.
Also, how can we compete with Western European countries when our current tax system is so out of line with theirs? Our system encourages consumption and theirs doesn’t, and the result is seen in the fact that there is an underlying tax on our exported goods that companies based in Western Europe do not see. Somehow, that imbalance has to be addressed either with changing our tax structure or getting some allowances for our system in trade agreements.
So instead of holding the hands of those complaining about goods from China, politicians should get to work and be willing to take some political heat for addressing some of these issues.
There are numerous other societal problems that affect our manufacturing base from competing effectively, like the problem of frivolous lawsuits. However, we get poor service from Republicans or Democrats as they are more interested in fighting among themselves. Whenever issues are discussed, our two political parties usually take two extreme positions, neither of which is practical, and then they argue the issue to death.
Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to many of these problems, and they will need intelligent problem solving by intelligent neutral thinkers. Neither conservatives nor liberals get good grades from me for dealing effectively with the societal ills facing us now. Both seem to be mired in the debates and failed experiments of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
Wake up, those of you who see the demise of US industry. I think you have correctly seen the symptoms of some cataclysmic forces at work, but you are like "Chicken Little" when you run around complaining or saying we should shut down trade with China.
US business leaders need to make sure their organizations are as competitive as they can be. Instead of trying to persuade politicians to close borders, we should hold our political leaders responsible for the societal inefficiencies that make us less competitive.
I recognize the value of all this discussion in creating awareness. However, the response suggested is like the turtle pulling its head in its shell.

Joseph Geck, principal of Accelerated Solutions in Waukesha, is a business and international trade consultant.

June 27, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Karl Robe, who recently founded and serves as president of Karl James & Company Public Relations (www.karljames.com) in Mukwonago, has become an accredited member of the public relations profession by completing the examination governed by the Universal Accreditation Board. Previously, he worked in public relations, media relations and marketing communications for global companies in financial services and heavy equipment manufacturing as well as national associations in sports and human services.

Robe’s firm is negotiating to provide public relations services to several new clients, including a Las Vegas-based architecture firm, a Wisconsin association, a Wisconsin police department and two Wisconsin utilities. Clients already served by Karl James & Company include water utilities, construction contractors and community advocates.

Sunset Bank in Waukesha has launched the Cash Flow Solutions program for small businesses in Waukesha and Milwaukee counties, according to Harry Johnson, executive vice president of the bank. "By offering the Cash Flow Solutions product, we will be able to help companies increase cash flow and the ability to increase profits," he said. "Cash Flow Solutions will enable businesses to convert a ‘dead’ asset, accounts receivable, and turn them into cash."

The Racine/Kenosha chapter of the American Production and Inventory Control Society has named Bombardier Recreational Products as its 2002/2003 Company of the Year. The honor is awarded based on a company’s commitment to continued education and professional development in the fields of production management and inventory control. Bombardier Recreational Products, located in Racine, is a subsidiary of Bombardier, a Canadian maker of aircraft, trains and recreational products.
The chapter also named Craig Simpkins of Abbott Laboratories as its 2002/2003 Member of the Year. The honor is awarded based on a member’s commitment to continued education and professional development in the fields of production management and inventory control. Simpkins is a long-time APICS member, a volunteer chapter board member and an instructor in local APICS certification courses.

Area artist Pat Hidson has opened her own gallery from her studio at 133 W. Pittsburgh Ave. in Milwaukee’s Walkers Point neighborhood. She has been producing pieces for more than 25 years.

Landmark Credit Union has opened a branch inside Grundl’s Sentry Foods at 76th Street and Rawson Avenue in Franklin. It is the 11th branch for the bank. Landmark Credit Union is the largest credit union in the state, with $760 million in assets and 280 employees.

The Laureate Group has announced its intention to acquire the Gardens at Bayside, a community-based residential facility operated by the Lutheran Management Foundation Inc., which is controlled by The Lutheran Home Inc. The Bayside facility provides assisted living services and services for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia. The transaction will require state approval. After the acquisition, the facility’s name will be changed to Bayside Terrace. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The West National Avenue commercial corridor in Milwaukee has been designated as "Silver City" by the city.

The Total Health Center, a massage and neuromuscular therapy practice, has moved from Elm Grove to 2505 N. 124th St., Brookfield. Scott Mathison established the company 11 years ago. The office now includes three full-time therapists and one part-time practitioner, and has room for one more person.

Healthy Lifestyles, a weight management consulting company in Glendale, is under new ownership. Barbara Wesson, former owner, has turned over the company to Bonnie Frenkel.

Kalmbach Publishing Co. in Waukesha will launch BeadStyle, a new bi-monthly magazine on making beaded jewelry, on Aug. 5. BeadStyle is Kalmbach’s second entry in the fast-growing market. Its sister publication, Bead&Button, also is a bi-monthly.
The announcement of the new magazine was made at the Bead&Button Show at the Midwest Airlines Convention Center in Milwaukee. The show is the largest of its kind in the nation, with more than 300 vendors and 12,000 attendees from around the world.
Mindy Brooks is editor for the new magazine. She came to Kalmbach in 2000 as associate editor of Bead&Button and was named senior editor in 2001. Brooks has a BA in communications from Simmons College, Boston, and an MBA from Boston University. In 1985, Kalmbach published three magazines and employed 70 people. Today, the company publishes 15 magazines, more than 250 books and other products, and employs nearly 300 people.

Training grants

Several area entrepreneurs are among 17 statewide who will share $11,317 in awards from the Department of Commerce Entrepreneurial Training Grant (ETG) Program. The following will get $637 grants to attend the Entrepreneurial Training Program of the Small Business Development Centers and to develop business plans:
– John N. Carr, Milwaukee, to
evaluate the feasibility of expanding a restaurant;
– Glenda F. Cobbin, Racine, to evaluate the feasibility of starting a retail clothing business;
– Christopher J. Daniel, Racine,
to evaluate the feasibility of
starting a stress management consulting business.
– Cindy A. Estrup, Whitewater,
to evaluate the feasibility of purchasing a restaurant;
– Nelson D. Garzon, Milwaukee, to evaluate the feasibility of opening a bakery and pastry store;
– Daniel D. Jackson, Milwaukee, to evaluate the feasibility of
starting a transportation
contracting business;
– Lee E. Pogue, Kenosha, to evaluate the feasibility of starting a mobile car wash business;
– Marsha L. Sims, Milwaukee, to evaluate the feasibility of starting a bed and breakfast;
– Tammy L. Thomas, Racine, to evaluate the feasibility of opening a fitness and tanning business;
– Nathan A. Thompkins, Racine, to evaluate the feasibility of starting a sport equipment retail store;
– Edna J. Young, Racine, to
evaluate the feasibility of opening a preschool.
Entrepreneurs who wish to receive the training necessary to prepare their own business plans can also access the Entrepreneurial Training Grant Program. Further information is available from Jamie Wall at the Department of Commerce in Madison, at 608-267-0770.

WWBIC loans

Pizzazz Studios, a start-up business serving the local fabric arts community, has received a small business loan from the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. (WWBIC) to purchase equipment and inventory and to provide working capital. The new company, founded by Denise Cawley, focuses on teaching the techniques of basic and art quilting and custom fabric dying. The business also sells supplies and tools used in the quilting process at classes and via its Web site.
WWBIC also has funded the Milwaukee Mini Donut Co., an area festival mainstay since 1998. The loan will help the company establish a permanent location and expand its product line. The company, owned by Lars Wicklund, is now selling from a kiosk at North and Oakland avenues on Milwaukee’s East Side.
Another WWBIC loan is helping Christopher Lamb increase the commercial client list for his company, Professional Landscape Contractors. The year-old business provides landscape construction services to public works departments, commercial contractors and other customers.

June 27, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Personnel file

Nick Kroll has been named president of Trico Mfg. Corp. in Pewaukee, succeeding Robert D. Jung, who has been both president and CEO since 2001. Jung will remain as CEO and will focus on strategic planning, product development and expansion into new markets. Kroll, who previously served as vice president of business development at Trico, will be responsible for day-to-day operations and implementing strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Trico, Kroll was vice president of customer solutions at Engine Power in Oconomowoc. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from Marquette University in 2000 and a bachelor’s degree from St. Norbert College in 1992.

Debra Standridge has been appointed to the position of president at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee. Standridge served as interim president for St. Francis Hospital since February when Dan Bonk assumed the leadership of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, also in Milwaukee. She joined Covenant Healthcare System in September 2001, as vice president, operations, at St. Francis Hospital. Before joining Covenant Healthcare, Standridge served in various administrative positions for Hurley Medical Center, a 445-bed teaching hospital and regional referral center providing tertiary medical care in Flint, Mich. Her most recent positions there were administrator for general medicine and oncology and administrator for corporate health, cardiology, oncology and geriatric services. She has more than 20 years of health-care experience, including experience in rehabilitation therapy and management, community health education, worksite wellness program development and delivery, service line management and operational leadership. Standridge received a bachelor of music degree from Michigan State University in 1977 and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan in 1986.
Covenant Healthcare has recently named Rick Ament as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Ament will be responsible for providing overall operational and strategic leadership to Covenant’s four acute-care hospitals, extended care sites and ambulatory care facilities. He will also oversee expense management and growth opportunities, further advance clinical and service excellence, and create synergies between facilities and service lines. Ament has more than 15 years of executive health-care experience. His most recent position was as group vice president/market manager for Quorum Health Resources in Michigan. He has previously held appointments as president and chief executive officer of Bay Area Medical Center in Marinette; vice president of operations for Flower Hospital in Sylvania, Ohio; and administrator for Azalea Trace in Pensacola, Fla. Ament holds a certificate of advanced studies in hospital administration from Ohio State University; a master of science degree in health services administration from Central Michigan University; and a bachelor of arts in political science from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Joe Gehrke has been promoted to the position of vice president of corporate banking at the downtown Milwaukee Kilbourn Avenue office of Associated Bank. Gehrke has more than seven years experience in banking. Prior to his promotion to vice president, he was assistant vice president of corporate banking. Gehrke earned his bachelor’s in finance from Western Michigan University. Alexandra Zlatkovich has joined Associated Bank as a credit analyst in its Kilbourn Avenue office. Zlatkovich has more than 12 years experience in the finance industry. Prior to joining Associated, she was a consultant at Jefferson Wells International. Zlatkovich earned her BBA in finance and real estate from UW-Milwaukee.
John Periard has been named the executive vice president of the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin. Periard, 35, had been serving as public affairs director for the 500-member organization. Previously, he served six and a half years as public affairs director for three real estate organizations in Minnesota, including the 2500-member St. Paul Area Association of Realtors. A native of Milwaukee, Periard attended Milwaukee Tech High School
and graduated in 1991 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in political science.
Ben Breitigam has recently joined Air Maintenance in Pewaukee as the head of new business development. Breitigam’s duties include consulting, construction bidding and the overall marketing strategy for the company. Breitigam graduated with a BBA in marketing from UW-Whitewater.
Jeff Bowman has been named the new president of Mitchell Bank. Bowman, who started in his new position June 16, is a graduate of the UW-Milwaukee who has 16 years of experience in the banking industry. Bowman has spent the last six years as a senior vice president in charge of commercial lending at Layton State Bank. Bowman also is the president of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, in West Allis, and a related company, First American Capital Corp. Bowman also is the treasurer of the Gerard L. Ignace Indian Health Center in Milwaukee.
Sprecher Bertalot & Co. has hired Tracy Fuller as a production artist and Nicole Tindall as a public relations account executive. Fuller is a graduate of the UW-Milwaukee and previously worked as a freelance designer for Kohl’s Corp. Tindall received her bachelor’s degree from the UW-Green Bay and gained her public relations experience at Laughlin/Constable and Boelter-Lincoln Marketing Communications.
Great Lakes Packaging Corp., Germantown, has hired Dick Jorrdan as a graphics sales manager.
Integrated Risk Solutions, Delafield, has hired Chad Chellevold as an account executive. He most recently was an account executive at AP Capital-Amvista Group. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the UW-Whitewater.
SilverTrain has hired Jack Drahus as managing director of its Milwaukee office. Drahus most recently was the vice president of client development with Divine Inc., Milwaukee. Drahus earned a BBA degree in marketing from Marquette University.
Paula A. Neis has been named small business banking officer at Waukesha State Bank. She has worked for Waukesha State Bank since 1986 and initially worked as a teller while attending UW-Whitewater. After graduating, she worked as a teller supervisor for eight years. Neis moved to the loan department in 2000 as a SBA lending specialist.
Jerry Gehrt has joined electronic control products developer HED in Hartford to provide on-site service for applications with customers of the company. Gehrt served as a vehicle mechanic in the US Army and US Army National Guard, and for 15 years worked for Novartis Pharmaceuticals as a packaging supervisor. Most recently he worked as an applications engineer at Vermeer Manufacturing in Pella, Iowa. Gehrt attended Central Technical College, Southeast Community College and College of St. Mary, where he studied diesel mechanics and electronics information systems.
AQS in Hartland has added Sam Flemer and David Tracy to its staff. Flemer has joined the AQS sales team as a sales executive. Flemer has several years experience in technology solutions for the property and casualty insurance industry. He most recently was the eastern region area manager for ADP-Claims Services Group. Prior to ADP, Flemer worked at Allstate Insurance. He earned his B.A. degree in political science from Mary Washington College. Tracy joins AQS as implementation services manager. He previously worked at Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MS/B) in New Berlin. Tracy is a graduate of Cardinal Stritch College with a B.S. degree in business administration and finance.
Peter Lake is the new medical director of Rogers Memorial Hospital’s Oconomowoc campus. Lake is a board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist and also the medical director of child and adolescent services of Rogers Memorial Hospital in Oconomowoc. Currently working full time at Rogers Memorial, Lake has been in private practice since 1991, serving as vice chairman in the department of psychiatry at Physicians Plus Medical Group and associate medical director for Physicians Plus Mental Health Case Management and Consultation System, Madison, until fall of 1999. He also was an associate clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin Medical School.
Christopher Austin, Nathaniel Cade Jr., Edward Lawson Jr., Colleen O’Connor Patzer and Joseph E. Tierney IV have been elected to the partnership in the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich in Milwaukee. Austin focuses his practice on intellectual property matters with an emphasis on domestic and international patent applications relating to mechanical engineering, materials sciences and packaging engineering. Austin received a B.S.M.E. in 1991 from Northwestern University’s Technological Institute and a J.D. in 1996 from Marquette University Law School. Cade practices primarily in litigation, where he is a member of the firm’s Tort Liability Focus Group. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan School of Law where he was an associate editor of the Journal of International Law. Lawson practices exclusively in intellectual property law, including the preparation and prosecution of United States and foreign patents in technology relating to mechanical engineering, material sciences and food and dairy products. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a B.S. in mechanical engineering (aerospace), Lawson served as an officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, including service in combat during Operation Desert Storm. After completing his Army service, Lawson attended the University of Texas School of Law, receiving a J.D., with honors, in 1996. Patzer is a member of the Health Care Practice Area. Patzer received a B.B.A., from UW-Madison School of Business in Risk Management and Marketing and a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School. Tierney focuses his practice on real estate law, corporate law, and tax planning matters, including tax-free exchanges and entity choice. He received a B.S., with honors, from Marquette University in 1992 and a J.D. in 1995 from the University of Wisconsin School of Law, where he was articles editor for the Wisconsin International Law Journal.
Karen Krause has joined Stratagem in Menomonee Falls as a technical recruiter. She was previously employed by DPI/Stopka & Associates and more recently worked for Cornerstone Consulting.
Burczyk Creative Group in Germantown has named Kristin Stenmark its art director. Stenmark has been with Burczyk Creative Group since 2000, and previously worked in advertising and design in Illinois. She is a 1998 graduate of UW-Oshkosh.
Beth Grimm has joined Marx McClellan Thrun in Milwaukee as a graphic designer. She holds a bachelor of science degree in art history from UW-Madison, and an associate degree in graphic design and illustration. She previously worked with Becker Design as an intern.
Julie Machata has joined Grunau Project Development
Gilbane as marketing manager. For the past four years, she was a sales associate for a real estate firm in Door County, where she was the primary marketer for a new condominium community. Earlier, she was marketing director for a Milwaukee area general contractor.
John R. Jansen, senior geoscientist for the Aquifer Science & Technology Division of Ruekert/Mielke in Waukesha, has been named a stockholder with the firm. Jansen, with more than 20 years of experience in his field, earned a doctorate in geological sciences, with a concentration in hydrogeology and geophysics, from UW-Milwaukee.
Christopher Krier has joined the Mequon-based insurance agency Fitzgerald, Clayton James & Kasten. He most recently was a vice president at Schuller, Owen & Associates, and earlier had been with AON. He received a bachelor’s degree in education from UW-Oshkosh in 1972.
Bob Kotecki has joined the Property and Casualty Department of Woller-Anger & Co. in Elm Grove. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from UW-Whitewater, and has 11 years of risk management and safety experience.
Peter J. Bausch has joined the Milwaukee law firm of Boyle, Fredrickson, Newholm, Stein & Gratz as an associate after graduating, cum laude, from Marquette University Law School in May. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and English from Saint Louis University, graduating cum laude. He will primarily practice patent law in both the prosecution and litigation areas.
Dennis Lawton has been named an associate at STS Consultants in Milwaukee. Lawton is a senior hydrologist with STS and manages the firm’s environmental sciences department. He has more than 25 years of experience conducting hydrogeologic and environmental investigations. Lawton, who holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree in geology from UW-Milwaukee, has been with STS since 2001.
Amy Meyer has joined Schroeder Solutions in New Berlin as an account manager. She has nine years of experience in the office furniture industry. Meyer holds a degree in communications from UW-Milwaukee.
Aaron M. Hurvitz has joined the Milwaukee law firm of von Briesen & Roper, working as an associate in the business and labor and employment sections. He earned his law degree from UW-Madison in 1998, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Irvine in 1989. Elizabeth C. Stone has joined the law firm as an associate in its Health Care Practice Group. She earlier had served as an in-house attorney with the University of Wisconsin Medical School and practiced with a law firm in Atlanta. Stone earned a law degree, magna cum laude, from Duke Law School in 1997 and, also magna cum laude, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Duke University in 1993.
Dean Filandrinos has been named manager of the Outplacement Division of Personal Resource Services, West Allis, a division of Staff One. Filandrinos has 20 years of experience in human resources and is a UW-Whitewater graduate.
Eppstein Uhen Architects has added six associates to its core leadership team, John Chapman, Peter Kucha, Jonathan Parker, Mark Haberman, Randy Schmitz and Phyllis Robbins. Chapman, a design associate in the Commercial Studio, joined Eppstein Uhen in 2000 as a senior design architect. He received his master’s degree in architecture, with honors, from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, in 1989. Kucha, a project management associate in the Commercial Studio, has more than 17 years of experience, including more than nine with Eppstein Uhen. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1989, with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. Parker, a market associate in the Public Studio, has more than 19 years of architectural and management experience. He joined Eppstein Uhen in 2000. Parker received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from UW-Milwaukee in 1983. Haberman, a production associate in the Public Studio, has more than 20 years of experience. He received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from UW-Milwaukee in 1982. Schmitz, a production associate in the Public Studio, has nearly 15 years of experience. He received his bachelors’ degree in architecture from UW-Milwaukee in 1988. Robbins, a production association in the Health & Wellness Studio, has been with Eppstein Uhen for 16 years and has nearly 25 years of experience. She received her bachelor’s degree in interior design from Iowa State University, where she graduated with honors in 1981.
Natural Resources Technology in Pewaukee has hired Jennifer Hagen, Thomas Pirelli, Eric Tlachac, Micah Witt and Jennifer Youngblood. Hagen is an environmental engineer with eight years of experience in water resources and environmental engineering projects. Tlachac is an environmental engineer with six years of experience in design and field engineering, construction management, quality control and project management of solid and hazardous waste remediation projects. Youngblood is an environmental scientist with two years of experience in various aspects of environmental and pollution control, in addition to water and soil analysis. Witt is a computer network specialist in the firm’s IT department. Pirelli is the new warehouse and field equipment manager.
David Zapecki has been hired for the new position of executive director of the Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors Association and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ Association in Milwaukee. Zapecki most recently served as economic development director for Milwaukee County and earlier served on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. Before his election to the county board, Zapecki was assistant manager of the Milwaukee chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, and earlier was on County Executive William O’Donnell’s staff. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Cardinal Stritch University.
Plunkett Raysich Architects, Milwaukee, has announced the following promotions: Anthony Breitlow to architectural designer II, Scott Cieslak to architectural designer III, Roger Davis to architectural designer II, Craig Eide to project architect/manager of quality control, Patrick Griffin to project architect, Kristen Havenor to senior interior designer, William Hodgins to architectural designer II, Jennifer LaDell to architectural designer II, Brian Nelson to project designer III, James Schinneller to senior project architect, Eric Schoedel to architectural designer II, William Schumann to business development manager-healthcare, Donald Schwartz to vice president, Cheyenne Skenandore to architectural designer II, Dorothy Snow to vice president, and Barry Yang to architect.

June 27, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

The following loan guarantees were approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration during December:
Ace Metal Polishing Corp., 3002 W. Burleigh St., Milwaukee 53210, $400,00, CE Capitol Small Business Finance Corp.;
Advanced Design Concepts, N27 W23655 Paul Rd., Pewaukee 53072, $414,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
Bond Laundromat, 8435 W. Burleigh St., Milwaukee 53210, $139,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Create A Pack Foods, 750 E. Wisconsin Ave., Oconomowoc 53066, $134,937, Delafield State Bank;
D&B Auto Sales, 7728 Sheridan Rd., Kenosha 53403, $100,000, First Banking Center;
Diverse Billing Service, 8961 W. Palmetto Ct., Milwaukee 53225, $50,000, Capital One Federal Savings Bank;
D&T Tool & Manufacturing, 21190 W. Good Hope Rd., Lannon 53046, $241,500, Associated Bank;
Endless Summer In Wisconsin, 3921 N. Main St., Racine 53402, $30,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Franklin Cinema, 10400 block of West Loomis Road, Franklin 53132, $1 million, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
Goehner Industries, 19455 Janacek Ct., Brookfield 53008, $50,000 and $230,400, Bank One;
Hamdan Hamdan Express, 1380 15th Ave., Union Grove 53182, $50,000, Capital One Federal Savings Bank;
Hillside Metal Products, N77 W31030 Hartman Ct., Hartland 53029, $212,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
The Historic Cobblestone Inn, 122 E. Capitol Dr., Hartland 53029, $215,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
Landry’s Standard Service, 2005 N. Calhoun Rd., Brookfield 53005, $408,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.
Legends Sports Bar & Grill, 1118 N. 4th St., Milwaukee 53203, $235,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
New To You Kids!, 5020 S. 74th St., Greenfield 53220, $210,000, Wells Fargo Bank;
Playmakore Team Sales, 5601 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Cudahy 53110, $35,000, Capital One Federal Savings Bank;
PM Bedroom Gallery, 8380 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield 53228, $498,000,Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
Precision Metals & Hardware, W298 N6814 Ridgeview Ln., Hartland 53029, $307,000, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Professional System Analysis, N113 W18839 Carnegie Dr., Germantown 53022, $450,000, First Bank Financial Centre;
Quizno’s, 8530 234th Ave., Salem 53168, $150,000, State Bank of the Lakes;
Shell on Oklahoma, 1203 E. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee 53207, $500,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Spiritually Beautiful Dissed-Stressed Club, 8940 N. 85th St., Milwaukee 53216, $148,500, Legacy Bank;
Therm-Tech of Waukesha, 301 Travis Ln., Waukesha 53189, $153,000, Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corp.;
Total Home Systems, W156 N8830 Pilgrim Rd., Menomonee Falls 53051, $240,000, Waukesha State Bank.
Feb. 7, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

Image Makers Advertising has added Lisa Schmick and Julianne Vees to its staff in Waukesha. Schmick is a graphic designer in the firm’s creative department. She graduated from UW-Milwaukee in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and an emphasis in photography. Prior to joining Image Makers, Schmick worked at USAV as a graphic designer. Vees joined the Image Makers staff as a copywriter and public relations coordinator. Vees received a bachelor’s degree in communications with a major in advertising from Xavier University in 1992 and has experience as an assistant media buyer, account executive and freelance research writer. Before starting at Image Makers, she was a marketing specialist for Mutual Savings Bank.

Rob Schlicht has joined Wipfli Ullrich Bertelson as a senior health care consultant in the Wauwatosa office. Schlicht has more than 13 years of experience with a national nursing home corporation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lakeland College in Sheboygan. Nick Backes has joined Wipfli as a staff accountant at the Wauwatosa office.
Grunau Project Development, Milwaukee, has appointed Brandon Steinhauer as its new marketing coordinator. Steinhauer graduated in 2002 from UW-Whitewater with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and a minor in advertising.
Celtic Advertising, Brookfield, has hired Terri Ryan as its new marketing assistant. Ryan works out of the agency’s Chicago office and is responsible for data and project management for Illinois clients. Ryan previously served as an events assistant manager at Clapper Communications Cos., Des Plaines, ill. She also was a customer service manager at Allied/Vaughn Communications, Elk Grove Village, Ill. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago.
Fitzgerald, Clayton, James & Kasten. a Mequon independent insurance agency, has promoted Patricia Andree to business development and operations manager. Andree joined the firm in 2001 as business development coordinator responsible for marketing to new and existing clients.
Joseph Froehlich has joined Corporate Financial Advisors, Milwaukee, as senior director. Froehlich previously worked at Resource Financial Corp., where he served as managing director for eight years. Froehlich received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, cum laude, from Stanford University and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Beth Healy has joined the Stamm Financial Group in New Berlin. The Stamm Group is part of the James A. Schwertfeger Financial Group.
Laree Daniel has been promoted to the position of senior vice president of customer operations at Milwaukee-based Fortis Health. Prior to joining Fortis Health, Daniel held executive positions with Mutual of Omaha. Daniel earned a B.S. in business and psychology from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a M.S. in organizational psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Mequon Healthcare Center has announced the appointments of Kathleen J. Huey, R.N., to assistant director of nursing, and Barbara J. Milliken, R.N., to clinical liaison. Huey received her associate degree in nursing from the Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, Pa., and has worked in long-term, rehabilitative care in Pittsburgh and Ohio before relocating to Wisconsin. Milliken received her nursing degree from UW-Milwaukee and was previously employed as a clinical liaison for Beverly Healthcare and Lifecare.
Pam Kassner has joined CG Schmidt in Milwaukee as director of client services. She has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Florida. She also attended Loyola University’s Graduate School of Business.
John O’Connell has been named chief operating officer at R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., a civil engineering, surveying and technical services consultancy based in Brookfield. O’Connell, a CPA, has been employed with R.A. Smith & Associates since December 1998 as director of finance. Prior to joining R.A. Smith, O’Connell was employed as the director of administration at the Betty Brinn’s Children Museum in Milwaukee, and prior to that with the Milwaukee Center for Independence. He has more than 20 years of financial and operational experience. He holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration, with an accounting major, from Marquette University.
Eve K. Romersi has been promoted to partner at Scribner, Cohen and Co., a CPA and advisory firm. Romersi has been with the organization for seven years. Her concentration is individual, business, fiduciary and estate tax planning and consulting, divorce taxation and litigation support, wealth transfer, and international taxation. She is a graduate of Duke University and holds a master of science of science in taxation from UW-Milwaukee.
Bob Murray has joined Grubb & Ellis
Boerke Co. Murray graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a degree in finance and real estate. He was a general manager and partner for Ship Harbor Yacht Charter and director of sales at Rubloff Aviation.
Rick Reith has been promoted to the position of assistant sales director of the Elmbrook/Wauwatosa office of Shorewest Realtors. Reith has been a sales associate with the office for five years.
Jamie Delgadillo has joined Jefferson Wells International, Milwaukee, as a business development manager.
Mark Norris has joined Stratagem as an account supervisor with the Menomonee Falls information technology consulting firm. Norris’s experience includes sales positions for three information technology companies, selling project-based work, enterprise solutions, e-business and quality-assurance services.
Barbara Weiher has joined Carmel Builders in Menomonee Falls as vice president of marketing and operations. She has more than 18 years of experience in financial services, most recently as a investment executive with the Ellenbecker Investment Group in Elm Grove. Prior to that, she spent 14 years with Strong Investments.
Mary Mathers has joined the accounting firm of Sitzberger, Widmann & Co. as a staff accountant. She has five years of accounting experience and holds a degree in accounting from UW-Milwaukee.
Shelly Schumacher has joined Business Development Directives as senior consultant for the Milwaukee-area research and management-consulting firm. She has a background in marketing, advertising and writing, and holds a degree in journalism from UW-Oshkosh.
William Schilling has joined Ayres Associates in Waukesha as a transportation engineer. Schilling has more than eight years of transportation engineering experience. He began his career with Ayres in 1994 after graduating from UW-Milwaukee with a degree in civil engineering. He later worked for R.A. Smith and then for CH2M Hill.
Barbara Klemp has joined Marsh Inc. in Milwaukee as a property client advisor. She had worked 26 years for Fireman’s Fund Insurance before joining Marsh.
Eric Trost has joined Suby, Von Haden & Associates as tax manager in the Milwaukee market office in Brookfield. He holds a degree in accounting from Marquette University and a master’s degree in taxation from UW-Milwaukee. Trost has more than 11 years of accounting experience. Suby, Von Haden & Associates also has named Sandra L. Swan as a supervisor at the Brookfield office. She holds an accounting degree from UW-Milwaukee and has more than eight years of accounting experience.
Trish Rowe Stone has joined Interarc, the interior design division of Torke Wirth Pujara, a Wauwatosa-based architectural and engineering firm, as director of interior design.

McCloud Construction of New Berlin has begun construction on several projects, including:

– A 27,158-square-foot addition to the Academy of Lithonia in Lithonia, Ga.
– An auction facility for Adesa Auto Auction in Orlando, Fla.
– Remodeling projects on Bank of America locations throughout Florida
– Remodeling of a Kohl’s distribution center in Menomonee Falls
– A water treatment plant in Bonita Springs, Fla.
The company has also recently completed construction on several projects, including:
– River Crest Shopping Center, Menomonee Falls
– Bell Heights Shopping Center, Appleton
– Remodeling and expansion of a trucking facility addition for Schneider National in Gary, Ind.
– A seven-building, 200-acre, automobile auction facility for Manheim Auto Auction, Detroit, Mich.

CG Schmidt Inc. of Milwaukee has completed construction of the 3,000-space General Mitchell International Airport parking structure. The six-level structure is designed to match the airport’s existing parking structure and includes circular helices and entry and exit plazas for hourly and daily parking. Pedestrian moving walkways were added from the garage to the terminal.

B. Oliver Construction Co. has completed the 25,000-square-foot renovation and expansion of an existing building at International Food Solutions in Germantown. The project utilized structural steel and precast panels. Other features of the renovation include dock equipment, cooler, mixing rooms, new offices, bathrooms, lunchroom and paving modifications.

Beyer Construction has been awarded a contract to renovate and expand Tripoli Country Club at 7401 North 43rd St., Brown Deer. Major improvements to the existing clubhouse include reconstruction of the canopy and main entrance and renovation of the bar area. Construction of an addition will accommodate a new dining room and elevator installation. The project is slated for completion by the beginning of the 2003 golf season. Architectural design is by The Zimmerman Design Group, Wauwatosa.

First Bank Financial Centre, Oconomowoc, has selected MSI General, Oconomowoc, for renovation of its headquarters. Renovations will be made to the existing bank lobby, teller line, second floor lobby and portions of the lower level.
Innovative Picking Technologies, Dousman, has selected MSI General to design and construct a 10,500-square-foot new facility on Industrial Drive in Ixonia. The Dousman company provides paperless order fulfillment systems.

Wahlgren Schwenn, Menomonee Falls, has begun construction on a 27,000-square-foot headquarters building for IDC Aerospace, a subsidiary of Zodiac Intertechnique, Paris. The facility is being constructed on a 4.4-acre parcel in the Silver Spring Technology Park, Menomonee Falls.

Briohn Bulding, Pewaukee, has been awarded a contract to design and construct a 6,550-square-foot office, warehouse and distribution facility for Gonnella Banking Company. The project is located at 4630 S. Brust Ave., St. Francis.
Briohn has also recently completed several projects at Brookfield Towne Center in the 1900 block of W. Capitol Drive, including:
– A 20,000-square-foot tenant improvement for Furniture Clearance Center
– A 10,000-suare-foot, two-story bank and office building for Lincoln State Bank and a 3,650-square-foot restaurant for Safafina’s Pasteria
– A 3,650-square-foot office, retail and showroom facility for Lil Gabriel Boutique & Galleria
– A 1,636-square-foot retail tenant improvement for Bath Mania.
Briohn has also completed a 4,000-square-foot multi-tenant building for BenJo, at 10380 W. Silver Spring Dr., Milwaukee, and has completed 2,100 square feet in tenant improvements at the building for Beauty Secret and another 1,900 square feet of build-out services for Guaranty Bank.

J.P. Cullen & Sons, Brookfield, has been awarded major projects in South Milwaukee and Janesville, and Freeport, Ill.
– J.P. Cullen will serve as general contractor for a 300,000-square-foot, two-story addition to South Milwaukee High School. The addition will include technical education, science and academic classrooms, a new commons and a four-station gymnasium with a new locker room. The project is scheduled for completion in August 2004.
– In Dodgeville, J.P. Cullen will construct a 280,000-square-foot warehouse. Work is to be completed by September.
In Freeport, the firm has also been retained to construct a 40,000-square-foot library, replacing a 1902 structure also built by Cullen.

Early View Academy of Excellence, 7132 W. Good Hope Rd., has awarded Anderson-Ashton, New Berlin, the contract for conversion of a 27,000-square-foot Budget Cinema movie theater into a new school. The school will include 14 classrooms, three computer labs, music and art rooms, a cafeteria and a multi-purpose auditorium/gymnasium. Work will be completed in the spring.
The firm has also been hired by Heider & Bott Co. to construct a 4,500-square-foot warehouse building addition at 3840 N. Palmer St., Milwaukee.

Bukacek Construction, Racine, will construct and renovate an office site in downtown Racine for the Jeffrey Leavel law firm. The law offices at 723 S. Main St., Racine, will be renovated, and four new, private offices will be constructed.
Bukacek has also completed the foundation for a 170,000-square-foot building for Texas-based McLane Food Distribution’s project in Racine’s Grandview Industrial Park.

Voss Jorgensen Schueller, Waukesha, has been hired as construction manager for new construction at St. Rita Parish, 4433 Douglas Ave., Racine. The $4 million construction project includes a new sanctuary and gathering space. Completion is scheduled for 2004.
Voss Jorgensen Schueller has also completed work as general contractor for renovations to the Hickory Building at the Village at Manor Park, 8545 W. Beloit Rd., West Allis. Work included the renovation of the 48-unit Hickory Building’s HVAC system.

Building Service Inc., Milwaukee, has been awarded work including design, architecture and construction of new examination rooms at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center 1337 S. Cesar A. Chavez Dr., Milwaukee. The new space will be devoted to preventative women’s health services.

San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, N.M., has hired Kahler Slater Architects, Milwaukee, to remodel and expand its existing hospital.
The $55 million addition and renovation project will consist of four separate phases to include an east tower addition, east tower renovation, new outpatient center and a bed modernization.

Feb. 7, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee

"Our Wisconsin roots and the Milwaukee Electronics name have served us well. But the name no longer accurately represents our business," Stoehr said.

The company will continue its growth orientation, with intentions to open additional manufacturing facilities through acquisitions and start-ups. "We’ve chosen to decentralize our business and structure the company to be closer to our existing customer base," Stoehr said.
Along with the naming structure, a redesigned Web site, www.perfect-product.com, has been launched, and a branding campaign has begun.
MEC Northwest, in Portland, Ore., was acquired in 1999. MEC Mexico and MEC Southwest, in Tecate, Mexico and Tecate, Calif., were opened in December.

The public relations/public affairs firm of Tries & Rice has formed a strategic alliance with Donald Stitt, former state legislator and Wisconsin Republican Party chairman, to offer government relations and public policy advocacy services. The firm will operate out of offices at 322 E. Michigan St., Suite 600, in Milwaukee, and at 10 E. Doty St., Suite 800, in Madison.

Superior Special Services will change its name to Onyx Special Services. With the change, Superior adopted the name of its parent company, Onyx. Onyx Special Services, headquartered in Milwaukee, provides environmental remediation, abatement, emergency response and construction services in Wisconsin and throughout the nation.

The Peltz Group and Waste Management have joined to form the Recycle America Alliance, a new business that represents a long-term venture to combine the resources and assets of the two companies into a national recycling operation. Under the agreement, Waste Management will combine the majority of its recycling assets with The Peltz Group’s assets to form a new company that will provide recycling, materials brokerage services, container processing and trading. Waste Management will own about 90% of the new firm, which will operate as a consolidated subsidiary of Waste Management and will be directed by a management team of former officers and managers of both companies. The Peltz Group will own the remaining 10% of the business.

WorkWise, a Milwaukee-based provider of efficiency-oriented programs for manufacturers, has purchased the assets of Integrated Business Systems (IBS), based in Des Moines, Iowa.
IBS develops an e-manufacturing suite of Web-enabled applications, which integrate with WorkWise’s product, Time Critical Manufacturing (TCMï). The e-manufacturing suite of products purchased by WorkWise includes: a Web-enabled front office system with e-business capabilities, a Web-enabled shop floor data collection system, a Web-enabled radio-frequency warehouse management application and a Web-enabled outside processing module. WorkWise plans to further integrate the e-manufacturing suite with TCM.
"The acquisition of IBS will provide benefits for our customers in a number of areas," said Wayne Wedell, president of WorkWise. "The e-manufacturing suite of products, developed by IBS, are Web-enabled, built on the latest proven technologies and already integrate with our TCM applications at multiple customer sites. These products further extend the TCM backbone, helping to provide solutions to some of today’s complex issues in the areas of e-commerce, lean manufacturing, warehouse management and vendor fulfillment." He adds, "In addition to the e-manufacturing suite of products, the experienced staff at IBS has also joined WorkWise, furthering our commitment to serving our customers."
"IBS and WorkWise already share many of the same customers, so the acquisition of IBS will further leverage initiatives already in place", said Lloyd Saville, president of IBS. "Some of the key benefits of the acquisition include: better integration of the IBS/WorkWise products, improved overall support, and new technologies/functionality available to the TCM product line."
WorkWise has its headquarters at 12000 W. Park Pl. on Milwaukee far northwest side.

First MidAmerica Investment Corp., based in St.Joseph, Mo., has opened its first branch office in the Milwaukee market,at 1234 E. Juneau Ave. in Milwaukee. Founded in 2001, the firm focuses on individual investors. The Milwaukee office branch manager is Joan C. Levine, a vice president in the firm. Gayle L. LaVora is director of operations.

Feb. 7, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee