APPLETON – The Boldt Group has invested in TitletownTech, a Green Bay, Wisconsin-based venture capital firm formed out of a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft.
Boldt will support future contributions to promising startups to advance technological innovations across industries, including construction and manufacturing. Boldt cites ongoing labor shortages in the construction industry as a reason for seeking tech-based innovations for the future.
“Our industry needs to evolve to meet current challenges and leveraging a partnership with a venture capital firm like TitletownTech serves as a unique opportunity to explore creative solutions,” said Dave Kievet, president of The Boldt Company, the construction services subsidiary of The Boldt Group. “Connecting our expertise in construction with diverse problem-solvers and visionaries will only help to serve our customers, communities and our industry better,” said Kievet.
Boldt and TitletownTech see this collaboration as a gateway to sharing an aligned vision to provide opportunity, time, talent, and financial support to people in our communities, looking to create jobs, solve problems and change our landscape. By leveraging existing relationships, sharing expertise, and gaining insights into future trends, both firms see an opportunity for transformation.
“We are proud to have Boldt as an engaged partner,” said TitletownTech Managing Director Jill Enos. “The firm continues to set industry standards for quality, creativity, and innovation, and startups are inspired to work with established companies like Boldt. Additionally, Boldt is an outstanding example of how a leader in a legacy industry has continued to transform and leverage technology.”
Like many industries, there’s a well-documented labor shortage in the construction industry due to the retirement of baby boomers and limited education about careers in the construction trades. This labor shortage presents challenges to successful project delivery and overall productivity.
Since the late 90s, Boldt has been a leader in leveraging Lean manufacturing techniques for transformational change and improved productivity in construction. Now, through more robust industrialized construction efforts, technology, prefabrication, and assembly are driving further modernization. It’s the hope, though this partnership, that new solutions to the workforce and productivity challenges might be uncovered.
“We create opportunity for our communities, customers and our employee owners,” said Ben Bruns, executive vice president and general manager of Boldt’s construction operations in Northeast and Central Wisconsin. “As we look to the future, extraordinary outcomes are directly related to innovative thinking, so we approach everything we do with flexibility, imagination, and a ‘what if’ attitude.”
The terms of the investment will not be disclosed.
