•Interstate 41 Corridor
Brown, Calumet, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac Counties
WG&R Furniture transitions to employee ownership
WG&R Furniture, headquartered in Green Bay, announced in December a transition to employee ownership under a new employee stock ownership plan.
The company has been under family ownership for three generations, since 1946. Under the ESOP, CEO/Owner Jim Greene will remain CEO, and the day-to-day management structure will remain in place.
“This has been in the works for some time, and it’s great to get to this point where the employee stock ownership plan can be announced,” Greene said. “With the many long-time, dedicated employees we have, this is a great opportunity for them to become owners.”
Greene said the transition provides an optimal business structure “to maximize the economic shared fate among all employees.”
The ownership change includes WG&R Furniture, August Haven and WG&R Bedding. The company has stores in Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc and Sheboygan.
De Pere-based Performa to merge with EUA of Milwaukee
Architecture and engineering firm Performa is merging with Eppstein Uhen Architects, an architecture and design firm based in Milwaukee, as of Jan. 31.
Rich Tennessen, CEO of EUA, said integrating the two firms gives a stronger national footprint and provides additional resources and service offerings, as well as a greater opportunity to retain and attract talent.
Performa is based in De Pere and Atlanta and has worked in 46 states. Its studios will continue to offer integrated engineering with growth through other offices based on talent and client needs. Performa has worked with clients nationwide, including regionally based organizations like Schneider, the Green Bay Packers’ Titletown District, Oshkosh Corp. and St. Norbert College.
EUA and Performa have strategically partnered on several projects during the past year, including Howard-Suamico School District, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Baker Tilly and FORE Development.
“Performa and EUA are a great cultural match,” Tennessen said. “Over the last year of working closely together on several projects, we’ve seen that each firm has tremendously talented people and a deep respect has grown from that.”
Performa CEO Doug Page is joining EUA’s board of directors as vice president and leader of the De Pere and Atlanta studios. Additional Performa owners Brian Netzel and Matt Marek will become EUA shareholders.
When the merger is complete, EUA will have more than 250 employees in Milwaukee, De Pere and Madison, as well as the Denver and Atlanta markets.
•West Central
Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, Marquette, Green Lake Counties
Presto Products expands Fresh-Lock plant in Waupaca
Presto Products, an Appleton-based producer of reclosable packaging including Fresh-Lock closures, broke ground on a plant expansion in Waupaca.
The project includes a 40,000-square-foot expansion of the manufacturing plant for room to grow in the future and to add rail access due to increased production volumes. The plant expansion is on track to be completed in July 2022.
The company purchased the building in 2015, and the first Waupaca line went live in November 2016, said Brad Hansen, president of Presto’s Specialty Products businesses.
The expansion aims to improve production and operations to meet growing consumer, brand and packaging demand, as well as create jobs for the community and surrounding areas.
•The Lakeshore
Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Sheboygan Counties
Broadband study in Door County aims to boost service, connectivity
Broadband service in the Door Peninsula may get a boost following the results of a comprehensive study on the overall quality of broadband service in the region.
The broadband infrastructure engineering assessment was conducted over six months by consultants Finley Engineering and CCG Consulting in collaboration with the Door County Economic Development Corp.’s broadband steering committee.
The 215-page report includes evaluation of the current broadband structure, quality and reliability, as well as an assessment of the feasibility and cost to bring a high-speed fiber network to the entire county.
“The issue of broadband quality and accessibility has long been an issue in Door County,” said Steve Jenkins, DCEDC executive director and project leader. “The business community and residents have clearly indicated that it is a priority for DCEDC to address, and the broadband infrastructure engineering assessment was the first step in moving forward to a solution.”
The report shows that the overall quality of broadband service available in Door County falls below the Federal Communications Commission’s definition of broadband (25 Mbps upload/3 Mbps download speeds), with the exception of one internet service provider currently serving the peninsula.
The pandemic highlighted an upload broadband crisis — trouble connecting to school, working from home, maintaining video call connection and working with cloud software. Additionally, the networks bog down during the tourist season, often to the point of being unusable.
The results also included a detailed list of recommendations outlining next steps and key recommendations in the effort to bring a connected fiber network to Door County.
•The Northwoods
Florence, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto Counties
Evers and Native nations sign consultation agreementsGov. Tony Evers, together with several members of his cabinet, joined tribal chairs and presidents from several of Wisconsin’s Native nations to sign agreements relating to consultation with the state.
The agreements underscore the importance of respectful and cooperative communication in government-to-government relations with Native nations. The agreements also stress the importance of collaboration to help improve the planning and delivery of state services to tribal governments, tribal communities and tribal citizens while recognizing Native nations’ sovereignty and promoting the inclusion of Native nations and tribal perspectives in the work of state agencies.
“Signing these agreements today is only the start of our work. The real work comes in the months and years ahead, in living up to these expectations we have set, in growing and developing these relationships and in updating and renewing our commitments along the way,” Evers said.
In 2004, Gov. Jim Doyle signed Executive Order #39, recognizing the government-to-government relationship between the state of Wisconsin and the federally recognized Native nations located within it. In 2019, Gov. Evers reaffirmed that prior order with Executive Order #18, which recognized that Native nations have sovereign authority and renewed the state’s commitment to work collaboratively in partnership with the Native nations. The new agreements build on that work.
Wisconsin is home to 11 federally recognized Native nations and one federally unrecognized nation, including Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Ho-Chunk Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Sokaogon Chippewa Community Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians and Brothertown Indian Nation.
Future USS Marinette LCS christened in namesake city
A littoral combat ship built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine was christened in Marinette.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, ship sponsor, christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine on the bow of LCS 25, or the future USS Marinette.
Mark Vandroff, Fincantieri Marinette Marine CEO, said it’s memorable to have the ship be named for the town where it was built. “This christening is a testament to the hard work of more than 2,500 shipbuilders who pass through our gates and build American warships,” Vandroff said.
“(The) christening of Littoral Combat Ship 25, the future USS Marinette, marks the next critical milestone in the life of this warship. It’s an honor to celebrate this moment with the many hardworking men and women who both built the Marinette and call this great city home. The Lockheed Martin team is proud of our continued partnership with the U.S. Navy to support enhanced warfighting capabilities to this highly capable class
of Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships,” said Steve Allen, Lockheed Martin vice president, Small Combatants and Ship Systems.
Lockheed Martin is in full-rate production of the LCS and has delivered 11 ships to the U.S. Navy. There are five ships in various stages of production.
