• Interstate 41 Corridor
Brown, Calumet, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac Counties
Nature’s Way embarks on expansion of gummy facility
Nature’s Way will expand its gummy production facility by 116,000 square feet, just two years after opening the 80,000-square-foot facility in Green Bay.
The addition to the existing high-tech facility will begin early this summer and will provide manufacturing, packaging and warehouse capacity. The project is expected to be complete in late Q3 of 2023.
“The demand for gummies skyrocketed during the pandemic as people looked for ways to stay healthy,” said Nicole Polarek, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Nature’s Way. “The trend is showing no signs of slowing down, so we are ramping up to continue to meet consumer demand.”
Nature’s Way, with corporate headquarters and production facilities in Green Bay, is a manufacturer of health supplements. In the two years since opening its gummy facility, Nature’s Way produced over 1 billion gummies for the consumer market, exceeding company projections, Polarek says.
To support the expansion, the hiring of an additional 25 to 30 employees has already begun and is expected to continue throughout 2022 and 2023. Nature’s Way employs approximately 700 people.
Festival Foods to open new location in Kimberly
Skogen’s Festival Foods announced plans for a new location in Kimberly.
The Kimberly store, expected to open in 2023, will be the fifth Festival Foods in the Fox Valley, joining those on Northland Avenue in Appleton, Van Roy Road in Darboy, Oneida Street in Menasha and Green Bay Road in Neenah.
The property, a former Shopko store, totals nearly 100,000 square feet.
Festival Foods President and CEO Mark Skogen said the company will renovate a large portion of the space for its store and other tenants will occupy the remainder.
• The Lakeshore
Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Sheboygan Counties
Sargento announces acquisition of popular string cheese producer Baker
Sargento Foods will acquire the St. Cloud, Wisconsin-based Baker Cheese, known for its string cheese.
Sargento said the acquisition will enable the company to better serve growing consumer interest in snack cheese.
“Throughout our history we have always looked for new ways to build long-term stakeholder value,” said Louie Gentine, the third-generation CEO of Sargento Foods. “We’re excited to welcome Baker Cheese and its employees to the Sargento family. This is a great opportunity and will allow us to continue our industry-leading growth in the marketplace.”
Founded in 1916, Baker Cheese is one of the top string cheese companies in the U.S., selling its cheese in all 50 states.
As privately held companies, Sargento and Baker will not disclose any financial details of the sale. Baker Cheese employs 250 people in St. Cloud, and Sargento has more than 2,000 employees at its four Wisconsin locations, as well as a remote sales team across the U.S. Sargento said the acquisition will not displace any employees.
Lakeshore Tech foundation nets $1M grant for health care center
The Lakeshore Technical College Foundation received a $1 million donation from Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network, Froedtert Holy Family Memorial Hospital and Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity for the development of a new Center for Health Care Excellence.
This is the largest donation in the foundation’s 46-year history and is part of a $5 million fundraising campaign for the new center, set to break ground in 2023.
The center will be a 16,000-square-foot addition and remodel to the existing Cleveland campus for 1,500 health care and emergency services students and professionals who will train annually in the new facility.
The project will help meet the growing demand for graduates from Lakeshore’s nursing, emergency medical technician, radiology, medical assistant, paramedic, fire medic, and other health care and public safety programs.
• The Northwoods
Florence, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto Counties
Marinette Marine could receive $12 million in WEDC tax credits
The State of Wisconsin will support the shipyard expansion at Fincantieri Marinette Marine with up to $12 million in state tax credits through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., Gov. Tony Evers’ office announced.
FMM is under contract with the U.S. Navy to produce two guided-missile frigates, the first in the Constellation class at a cost of about $553.8 million each. The Navy has an option to order up to eight more of the ships, with a total contract value of about $5.5 billion.
In order to build the new frigates, FMM constructed its largest building at the Marinette shipyard, allowing the company to work on two of the frigates at the same time year-round in the 180,000-square-foot climate-controlled facility.
“We are very grateful for the support provided by the state of Wisconsin,” said Mark Vandroff, CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. “The investment made by the state and Fincantieri is enabling us to meet the needs of our Navy customer by being able to produce two Constellation-class frigates per year.”
Building 34 is where pieces constructed by workers in Marinette and the company’s Sturgeon Bay location, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, will be assembled into the new ships.
“Fincantieri Marinette Marine’s expansion will require investments in our state’s most valuable resource — our workers,” said Sam Rikkers, deputy secretary and COO of WEDC.
The actual amount of tax credits the company earns will depend on meeting its goals for capital expenditure, training and hiring. Fincantieri has announced plans to invest at least $100 million in improvements to the Marinette and Sturgeon Bay shipyards and create 400 jobs over the next three years. The company has already invested $300 million in facilities to accommodate the production of the Constellation-class frigates.
• West Central
Shawano, Waupaca, Waushara, Marquette, Green Lake Counties
Rawhide, Goodwill partner on career development curriculum
Rawhide Youth Services and Goodwill NCW are collaborating to offer a career development class with a joint curriculum designed to help improve workplace readiness and success when at-risk youth return to their communities.
The program aims to help Rawhide’s at-risk youth who struggle with mental health or behavioral challenges.
“Many kids graduating are finding it difficult to power through their anxiety and find work, which has been driving some of the nation’s unemployment spikes. Goodwill and Rawhide wanted to come together as a team to help these youth overcome anxiety and feel confident to join the workforce after they complete their Rawhide program,” said Rawhide President and CEO Alan Loux.
Rawhide offers mental and behavioral health support for the students and educational space at its fully accredited school, Starr Academy, located on Rawhide’s New London campus. Goodwill provides an educator who specializes in career training and is also equipped to work with at-risk youth.
“Community partnerships make our mission possible, and we are grateful to Rawhide for this opportunity to impact the lives of young adults and equip them with the skills they need to be successfully employed,” said Goodwill NCW President and CEO Chris Hess.
The course content is designed through a trauma-informed, therapeutic lens and teaches youth the soft skills needed to succeed in the workplace and prepare for their careers.
Marion Body Works adds new manufacturing facility
Marion Body Works, a national manufacturer of commercial truck bodies, fire and emergency apparatus, custom cabs, custom engineered vehicles, and defense bodies, is set to expand.
The company acquired additional manufacturing space located in Shawano, 22 miles east of its headquarters in Marion. The building includes 113,000 square feet of manufacturing space, plus 7,000 square feet of office space for meeting and training activities. The next few months will involve executing plans to transition the commercial truck body product line to the Shawano facility. The company is targeting this fall for full production at the new location.
Marion Body Works will continue to grow the product lines at its main Marion campus, and the addition of the Shawano facility solidifies the manufacturer’s position for growth and communicates its strength and industry presence, the company said.
