Leadership in the New North
Six regional business leaders join New North board of directors
New North Press Release
Six business leaders from a cross-section of industries – Dave Kievet of The Boldt Company, Nicole Kitowski of Associated Bank, John Krause of Baker Tilly, Chris Pahl of Ruder Ware, Patrick Schillinger of WEC Energy Group and Sachin Shivaram of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry – have joined the board of directors of New North Inc., the regional economic development corporation for the 18 counties of Northeast Wisconsin. “We are excited to add the perspective of multiple New North industries,” says Vicki Updike, co-chair of the New North board development committee. “These six thought leaders represent construction, financial services, legal, professional services, energy and manufacturing. We welcome them to the board.”….
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New North Region Stepping Up to the COVID-19 Challenge
Resch Expo in Brown County brings hope tourism industry hit hard during pandemic
WBAY
A silver lining in the local tourism industry hit hard throughout the pandemic. After about 18 months of construction, the Resch Expo in Brown County is officially open. It is replacing what was once the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena and county officials hope it can help the region rebound economically. It took 18 months from start to finish to complete.
“This building represents the public’s investment because of how we’re funding it, how we came together, and how we agreed to build it,” said Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach.
Action 2 News has reported on how the facility, partially funded by a room tax and half percent sales tax, brings concern in the community. That along with a more than $80 million hit in the tourism industry in....
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Innovation in the New North
Automation assist: Manufacturers turn to robotics to fill gaps
Insight on Manufacturing
Each year, Masters Gallery Foods supplies an estimated 250 million pounds of cheese to grocery stores, restaurants and wholesalers. To keep up with the demand, automation is necessary as the Plymouth company’s 53 robots place products on packaging film, package them into cases and place the cases onto pallets that are then moved into cold storage.
“For safety, the robots take away the human ergonomic issues of lifting, bending and repetitive motion,” says Tim Lenz, Masters Gallery’s director of technical services. “For quality, the product that is being handled is never touched by a human hand, which reduces the bacterial risk. Production times also improve due to the speed at which robots can move, far faster than their human counterpart.”
Masters Gallery is one of many manufacturers across the region using robots and automation to keep up with consumer demand, especially as many companies struggle to find enough workers. The manufacturing sector, by and large, continues to do well despite the....
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Encouraging women to join the trucking industry
WBAY
Schneider is looking to recruit more women into the trucking industry.
Currently, about eight percent of Schneider’s truck drivers are women.
A driver shared her story to Action 2 News about how she got into the industry and why she’s encouraging other woman to join.
Kellylynn McLaughlin says she stumbled into the career by accident, but fell in love with....
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Support an Entrepreneurial Climate and Small Business
Tools of the trade: Small Business Development Center offers free export assistance
Insight on Business
When Patriot Taxiway Industries became one of 38 companies nationwide and the only one from Wisconsin to win the President’s “E” Award for export success in 2020 from the U.S. Department of Commerce, company President Kevin McDermott knew he had a lot of people and organizations to thank.
Along the way to success, the Lomira-based provider of aerospace and military lighting products took advantage of the many tools available to companies looking to increase exports. That included participating in WMEP Manufacturing Solutions’ ExporTech program, receiving services from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and seeking help from the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center, the U.S. Commercial Service office in....
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Elevate Sustainability as an Economic Driver
Encouraging environmentalism: Green Masters program helps companies measure sustainability efforts
Insight on Business
As businesses move forward from the challenges of the pandemic, pursuing sustainability can help them recover in several ways, from building greater resiliency to opening up to new markets to cutting costs and waste.
Jessy Servi Ortiz, managing director of the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council, says her organization and its Green Masters program can help companies figure out that formula, all while providing tools to benchmark progress and collaborate with peers.
“We really believe we’re at that cusp with sustainability that it’s not really just ‘it’s nice to have’ anymore. It’s really becoming something that businesses need to pay attention to,” she says.
Now in its 13th year, Green Masters aims to be an idea generator and planning tool for businesses to determine actions they can take in nine categories of sustainability, including energy, water, waste, carbon and other emissions, workforce, governance, supply chain, transportation, and....
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Expansion and Business Development in the New North
Winter fleet at Bay Ship nearly all in
Door County Daily News
The last of the “winter fleet” docking at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay is happening this week. Vice President Todd Thayse says the typical number of Great Lakes freighters and tugs will be in port for work this winter, usually numbering 12 to 15 vessels each year. Most of the work done is of the maintenance variety, including steelwork, the painting of hulls, and piping repairs. Thayse shares one of the more interesting works being done on the....
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New North Region Stepping Up to the COVID-19 Challenge
Manitowoc’s Investors Community Bank shares how it gave back in 2020
Herald Times Reporter
Each year, we are committed to providing financial support for the many nonprofits in our communities, whether through donations or sponsorships of their events.
In 2020, Investors Community Bank donated $407,213 to numerous nonprofit organizations within our footprint.
Additionally, in the three years prior (2017-2019), we supported our communities through sponsorships and donations in the amount of....
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Economic Development Feature
St. Norbert College to hold virtual State of the Economy event
SNC News
St. Norbert College will hold a free virtual State of the Economy event on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 8:30 a.m. To register, go to http://snc.edu/go/stateoftheeconomy.
Presented by the Center for Business & Economic Analysis (CBEA) at the college’s Donald J. Schneider School of Business & Economics, the event is designed both for area professionals looking for more economic data ahead of executing their business planning and for individuals who are generally interested in the state of the country’s economy.
Marc Schaffer, associate professor of economics and director of the CBEA, will be joined by students of the Schneider School in presenting an in-depth look at factors affecting the economy. Key topics will include gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation, and major economic changes withon
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