Business development
Skogen’s Festival Foods will open two new stores in Wisconsin later this year. The Kimberly store, located at 800 E. Maes Ave., will open Sept. 20, followed by the Hudson store Nov. 8.
Oshkosh Defense announced it has received orders valued at $231.9 million for modernized heavy tactical vehicles, kits and kit installs. Under the contract from U.S. Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal, Oshkosh will produce new Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck A4 tankers, cargos, wreckers, load handling systems, Common Bridge Transports and Palletized Load System A1s. Oshkosh also announced receiving a $27.3 million order for 57 Medium Equipment Trailers.
Spectrum announced July 2 it has expanded internet, mobile and TV services to 2,900 homes and small businesses in Outagamie County. Spectrum’s newly-constructed fiber-optic network buildout includes parts of the towns of Black Creek, Cicero, Center, Deer Creek, Ellington, Freedom, Kaukauna, Liberty, Maine, Maple Creek, Navarino, Oneida, Osborn, Seymour and the village of Shiocton.
Schneider Resources Holding and SLK Finance have invested in Fritsch Equipment and Services, a manufacturer of agricultural equipment based in De Pere, in preparation of growing the business. Fritsch also announced a new agreement with Ireland-based Condon Engineering, making Fritsch Equipment the sole North American distributor of Condon’s product line.
Fox World Travel, Oshkosh, announced the launch of its new Prevent Trafficking Toolkit to equip travel managers with the tools needed to educate and inform business travelers to be good stewards in human trafficking prevention.
Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity has opened a secondary Appleton Habitat ReStore at 4651 W. Michaels Drive in Appleton.
A2Z Design, Appleton, has rebranded as A2Z The Agency, marking its evolution from a boutique design firm into a full-service strategic marketing agency. Established in 2007, A2Z The Agency offers comprehensive services, including strategic consulting, digital solutions, and public relations.
Capital Credit Union has partnered with Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc. to offer its debit card and money app to members of the credit union. The offering aims to empower young members with essential financial literacy skills.
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative launched its new Maestro program, which assists farmers in orchestrating the many steps and processes of obtaining and maintaining a permit.
Hurckman Mechanical Industries has relocated its headquarters from Velp Avenue to downtown Green Bay at 164 N. Broadway. The new headquarters will utilize two of the building’s three floors, offering amenities such as a rooftop lounge and retreat. Its Velp Avenue location will continue to serve as the primary production facility, with plans to eventually consolidate the project management and service groups at the new downtown location.
Neenah Animal Shelter opened its new 6,000-square-foot facility at 2475 Progress Court, replacing the outmoded facility at 951 County Road G. The new shelter boasts an exam room, surgical suite, quarantine spaces, expanded indoor areas for dogs and cats, adoption rooms, a conference room, office space, and about 900 square feet of indoor/outdoor covered kennel space for dogs.
Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes has reached an agreement to sell Camp Cuesta in Baileys Harbor to the Door County Land Trust. Located adjacent to the Door County Land Trust’s 281-acre Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve, the 24-acre property will continue to be used as a Girl Scout Camp.
Construction
RGL Logistics broke ground for a 375,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility in Neenah’s Southpark Industrial Center. It is the first phase of a $24 million investment that will expand to 600,0000 square feet on the 33-acre site. It is expected to create 50 jobs.
Valley Cabinet broke ground for an 87,800-square-foot addition in De Pere. The project will include office space, manufacturing, assembly storage and space for painting and staining.
Construction of Packer City International Trucks’ new Green Bay corporate headquarters began last month, with an estimated completion of spring 2025. The new construction will increase the current size from 26,000 square feet to 41,014 square feet.
Immel Construction opened its new facility at 2601 Development Drive in Green Bay. The company’s 1820 Radisson St. location will remain its operations center, which includes warehouse, prefabrication and equipment functions. The new space provides an improved work environment for employees and allows room for future growth.
Fox Cities Builders is completing a full remodel for Family Insurance Center in downtown Seymour and leading several updates to the facilities at Ho‑Chunk Gaming in Wittenberg.
Grants
Over the past year, Lakeside Foods, Sheboygan, has supported community food pantries and regional feeding programs with more than 300,000 pounds of in-kind food donations. In the lakeshore region, Lakeside Foods supports Grow It Forward, Peter’s Pantry, the Manitowoc Salvation Army, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and the Bay-Lakes Boy Scouts.
Valley Transit has secured $25 million in federal funding to reconstruct the Appleton Transit Center in a project projected to cost $26.8 million. The new facility will include 14 bus bays, indoor and covered outdoor waiting areas, public restrooms, secure bike storage, vending machines, a ticketing office, an Appleton Police Department substation and affordable housing units on upper floors. No timeline for construction has been announced.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced that 38 meat processors, including 10 in Northeast Wisconsin, will receive grants through the 2024 Meat Processor Infrastructure Grant Program. Recipients include: Beck’s Meats, Inc., Kaukauna; Carl Buddig and Company, Sheboygan; Ebert Meats LLC (DBA Salmon’s Meat Products), Luxemburg; Green Bay Dressed Beef, LLC, Green Bay; Maplewood Packing Inc., Green Bay; Salchert’s Market, Inc., St. Cloud; Sheboygan Pasty Company, Inc., Sheboygan; Silver Creek Specialty Meats, Inc., Oshkosh; TMB East LLC (DBA Haen Meats), Kaukauna; and Witt’s Sausage Haus, LLC, Shawano.
Capital Credit Union announced the recipients of its 2024 Elevate Communities Funding Program. This year, a total of $100,858 has been awarded to the Sturgeon Bay Fire Department, De Pere Fire Rescue, Grand Chute Police Department, Green Bay Police Department, Greenleaf Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., Hobart-Lawrence Police Department, Howard Fire Rescue, Ledgeview Fire Department, Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue, Oconto Falls Fire Department, the town of Buchanan Fire & Rescue, and the village of Bellevue Police. Capital Credit Union also donated a retired courier van to Rawhide Youth Services.
The Green Bay Packers Foundation announced it has awarded a total of $1.75 million in impact grants to 10 nonprofit organizations serving Brown, Dane and Milwaukee counties. In Brown County, recipients include: Brown County United Way, Cornerstone Community Center Inc., Encompass Early Education and Care, Inc., Friends of Pals Youth & Families Inc. and The National Railroad Museum.
Brown County United Way contributed $17,850 to the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation’’s Capacity Building Grants this past spring cycle. This contribution is provided through the Brown County United Way Nonprofit Impact Initiative for Leaders of Color fund. Organizations that received funding from Brown County United Way’s Nonprofit Impact Initiative Fund were: Latino Professionals Association of N.E.W. (LPA of N.E.W.), Midwest Survivors Institute and Skanikulat.
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development announced that 4,637 students in 17 school districts will benefit from advanced manufacturing training in preparation for high-demand job opportunities, thanks to grants from the Wisconsin Fast Forward Program. Among the award recipients are three New North school districts: Two Rivers Public School District will use $12,630 for a Snap-On Precision Measurement Training Tool Kit, which will help students understand the fundamentals of working with precision measurement instruments. Peshtigo School District will use $5,000 for Oculus Meta Quest headsets, iPads and a hydroponic system. Stockbridge School District will use $5,000 for an Eastwood Elite 4×4 CNC plasma table with a plasma cutter.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation awarded $60,000 for New North, Inc. in Green Bay and $200,000 for the Wisconsin Indigenous Economic Development Corporation in Keshena. Wisconsin Indigenous Economic Development Corporation promotes tribal economic development efforts and will use the funding to assist 32 businesses with technical and financial support. In collaboration with M7 and MapRep, New North plans to assist 30 startups with technical assistance.
Awards
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources honored the Brillion Nature Center with the 2023 Wildlife Area Friends Group of the Year award.
Robinson, Inc., a leading OEM manufacturer of custom enclosures and metal fabricated products located in De Pere, announced it has received the Rolls-Royce Supplier of the Year Award for the third year in a row.
Waupaca Foundry Inc. was one of 14 companies nationwide recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for its outstanding, industry-leading accomplishments in decarbonization, energy and water efficiency, or waste at an individual facility. The DOE’s Better Building Initiative’s Better Plant recipients were announced April 3. This is Waupaca Foundry’s third time to receive this honor.
Aurora Medical Center – Manitowoc County has been named by The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as an Age-Friendly Health System – Committed to Care Excellence for its excellence in care for older adults.
Schneider National, Inc., a premier multimodal provider of transportation, intermodal and logistics services, has been selected as the PepsiCo Asset Sustainability Carrier of the Year for the third consecutive year. Schneider became the first third-party carrier to transport zero emission shipments for PepsiCo globally last year. Since then, the company has successfully completed nearly 800 shipments for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division using its battery electric vehicle fleet in Southern California.
Education
The Aspen Institute named Northeast Wisconsin Technical College as a 2025 finalist for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The institutions selected stand out among more than 1,000 community colleges nationwide as having high and improving levels of student success, as well as equitable outcomes for Black and Hispanic students and students from lower-income backgrounds. The award winners will be announced in spring 2025.
Lakeland University and Moraine Park Technical College are partnering to create a new educational pathway for future nurses. Beginning this fall, students can simultaneously enroll in both schools on their way to earning an associate degree in nursing from Moraine Park Technical College and a bachelor of science in nursing from Lakeland in four years. Additionally, Moraine Park Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee signed an articulation agreement that will add 50 new program pathways for Moraine Park students to seamlessly continue their education at UWM with a confirmed junior status.
All the rest
River Tyme Tours, which operated a boat cruise business based in Appleton and De Pere, announced on its web page that it is closing after seven years. The announcement said new ownership is being sought and the company hopes to keep the two boats it operated on the Fox River.
On Broadway, Inc. and Vital Essentials announced the completion of phase two amenity updates to the Vital Essentials Dog Park at 325 N. Broadway in downtown Green Bay. Phase two improvements include a permanent shade structure, agility A-frame structure, tennis ball library and interactive mural.
The City of Kaukauna opened a new accessible playground at La Follette Park, located at 402 Brill St.
