Business development
Fox Cities Chamber and Network Health announced an enhanced health insurance program for 2025 exclusively for chamber members.
JobPod, an initiative designed to provide job seekers with access to quality employment resources through public libraries in Brown County, Niagara and Algoma, announced a new partnership with Microsoft.
TANN Corporation, a manufacturer of air pollution control systems, moved operations from three separate buildings in the Fox Valley into one new facility at 350 Oak Grove Road in Kaukauna.
Carbliss will launch into the city of Chicago, in partnership with Chicago Beverage Systems, a member of the Reyes Beverage Group.
Alwin Manufacturing, Green Bay, announced it has acquired LaCrosse Brush and will merge its brands Palmer Fixture and LaCrosse Brush. The company employs approximately 275 people across Wisconsin.
The Green Bay Packers and American Family Insurance announced a multi-year renewal and expansion of the partnership between the Packers and Titletown and the Madison‑based insurance company. American Family sponsors Lambeau Field’s east side gate, DreamDrive during training camp and Titletown Gameday Live. The expanded partnership includes a draft-themed sweepstakes.
Merit Financial Advisors opened a new location at 116 Third St., De Pere.
The former Health Care Credit Union, Oshkosh, has rebranded as Ripple Credit Union.
SSM Health at Home announced its new membership to the Wisconsin Hospice & Palliative Care Collaborative, composed of Wisconsin’s leading nonprofit hospice and palliative care organizations.
The owners of Anduzzi’s Sports Club and Waverly Beach Bar & Grille announced they are building the Great North Commons at 789 Armed Forces Drive in Green Bay. The three-story dining and entertainment venue will open in the Stadium District by next April.
Promotional products distributor 4imprint has completed a 170,000-square-foot expansion of its Oshkosh distribution center. As part of the expansion, 1,488 new solar panels were added to the existing array installed in 2022, bringing the total to more than 4,000.
Cruisers Yachts, a luxury yacht builder, announced the rebranding of its esteemed 55 FLY model, now named the 57 FLY.
Webster’s Marketplace in Ripon has been sold to Hy-Vee, which held its grand opening under the new brand on Nov. 6.
Fermented Food Holdings, Inc. is investing $13 million to expand local production in Bear Creek and relocate its corporate headquarters to Madison. WEDC is assisting the expansion with $500,000 in performance-based tax credits. Up to 61 new jobs are expected.
Construction
New Morning Coffee Roasters, Appleton, broke ground on an expansion project that will double the size of its current space. This project will provide New Morning with 20,000 square feet of additional warehousing and production space, including two additional loading docks and a flavoring room. Consolidated Construction Co., Inc. is the design-build partner for this expansion.
VPI broke ground on Casaloma Drive in Appleton for a new facility, The Community Programs Collective Family Support Center, which will bring together VPI’s early intervention, adult day services, and education and employment programs. It will open in 2025. Keller Inc. is the architect and general contractor. Keller also is handling a 1,000-square-foot remodel for VPI on Kensington Drive.
Vyper Industrial broke ground on a 65,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Wrightstown. Bayland Buildings is constructing the facility, which is expected to be completed September 2025. In addition, Bayland Buildings hosted a groundbreaking for Larsen Orchard Terrace, a development at Centennial Centre Business Park in Hobart. The four-story apartment complex will span 129,484 square feet and will offer 66 units with underground and surface parking for residents.
Family Insurance Center is partnering with Fox Cities Builders on its full remodel in Antigo.
Keller, Inc. is the architect and general contractor on an 11,391-square-foot ground-up mini storage facility for Big Storage LLC located in Omro.
Grants
The David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region (Nelson Family Fund) awarded 22 grants totaling more than $2.5 million to nonprofits and local municipalities.
A Compeer Financial grant was provided to Lamartine Volunteer Fire Department and Eldorado Fire Department for the cost of a trailer, tent, chairs, tables, coolers, trauma bag, fans and ancillary items for firefighter rehab. Additionally, 160 individual departments received Emergency Response Equipment Grants of up to $4,000 each.
Moraine Park Technical College received 350 tools and $50,000 in funds from Milwaukee Tool. The gift, valued at more than $450,000, will directly support the growth of several key programs at the college.
Northeast Wisconsin Hmong Professionals, Appleton, will purchase a delivery vehicle and cold storage equipment to establish a Hmong Food Hub for distributing cultural and specialty crops utilizing funds provided through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
UScellular has made a $41,250 donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley to support academic programming.
Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation Foundation (Accelerate Sheboygan County) announced it has received a $15,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation.
The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services presented $24,525 to representatives from the Kewaunee County Junior Firefighter Program, one of four recent winners of a DSPS Youth Firefighter Training grant.
Tork, the global leader in professional hygiene from Essity, partnered with the Green Bay Packers and donated $28,250 in hygiene products to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.
Awards
Envision Greater Fond du Lac was honored at Marian University’s 43rd annual Business and Industry Awards Dinner with the Community Collaboration Award for its work with the Waupun Business Alliance.
Fox Communities Credit Union has been certified as a gold-level Employee Friendly Workplace by the Fox Cities Chamber.
Jewelers Mutual Group, Neenah, announced it has been certified by Great Place To Work for the second consecutive year. The company also was named to Inc.’s 2024 Power Partner Awards list for the second year in a row.
Froedtert ThedaCare Health has been named a Best-in-State 2024 Employer by Forbes.
Fox World Travel, Oshkosh, announced it has been named to MeetingsNet’s 2024 CMI 25 list, honoring the largest full-service meeting and incentive travel management companies focused on the United States corporate market. It also ranks No. 48 on Deloitte’s Wisconsin 75 and was recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Small Employers. The company also earned Top Workplaces Culture Excellence recognition for Employee Appreciation and Employee Well-Being from Energage.
The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents has awarded Acuity, Sheboygan, the 2024 PIA National Company Award of Excellence, marking the third time Acuity has received the honor. Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed Acuity’s A+ long-term financial strength and issuer credit ratings. Additionally, in 2024, Acuity’s AM Best financial strength rating of A+ was reaffirmed for the 22nd consecutive year. The insurer was also named to the Ward’s 50 list of top performing property-casualty companies for the 25th straight year.
J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., Neenah, announced its recognition for the second consecutive year as a Top Company for Women to Work in Transportation by the Women in Trucking Association. In addition, Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Central Wisconsin named J. J. Keller Foundation as the 2024 recipient of the Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award.
Pierce Manufacturing, Appleton, has been selected as the recipient of the CESA 6 Youth Apprenticeship Career Pathways Excellence Award.
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders received the 2024 Northwoods League Video Production Team of the Year Award.
North Town Partners has been awarded the 2024 Economic Driver of the Year Award by the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation.
Engineering News-Record has listed J.F. Ahern Company as a Top 600 Specialty Contractor for 2024. Ahern was ranked 77th this year, moving up after ranking 86th in 2023. Ahern also was ranked as a Top 200 Environmental Firm at No. 156.
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development announced the 2024 winners of the Vets Ready Employer Initiative. Northeast Wisconsin businesses on the list are: 4imprint Inc., Oshkosh; Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin; Kimberly-Clark Corp., Neenah; Menasha Corp., Neenah; Moraine Park Vocational and Technical College, Fond du Lac; Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh; U.S. Venture Inc., Appleton; Old Wisconsin Sausage Co., Sheboygan; Waupaca Foundry Inc., Waupaca; Worthington Cylinders, Chilton; MCC Inc., Appleton; and Precision Iceblast Corp., Peshtigo.
Education
Capital Credit Union is sponsoring the Reality Store at Kimberly High School, an interactive educational program that helps high school students experience real-life financial decision-making.
Lawrence University opened its new Business & Entrepreneurship Center in Fox Commons on College Avenue in Appleton.
The Green Bay Packers are making a $250,000 leading gift to establish and endow the Mark Murphy Director of Athletics position at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The gift will honor the organization’s longtime president and CEO as he approaches retirement in July. It will kickstart a fundraising campaign with a goal of $1 million.
Atlas Science Center announced it will close permanently due to rising operation costs. A statement on the website said the board of directors has decided to sell the property. The statement does not say what will happen to the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame.
St. Norbert College launched its first non-credit online certificate offerings.
All the rest
Mulva Cultural Center, De Pere, has joined Museums for All, a program that offers free or reduced admissions to museums for low-income visitors.
Bellin Health dedicated a new donated sculpture paying tribute to Mark Reinke, a Bellin Health surgeon who died in 2013. A work by De Pere artist David Windey, “Healing Hands” is located at the Bellin Health Surgery & Specialty Center in Ashwaubenon.
