Business development
Johnsonville, LLC launched a new business venture — Johnsonville Transport & Logistics, LLC. It taps the company’s Johnsonville Trucking, LLC, an asset-based motor carrier business. The service makes Johnsonville’s fleet back-haul capacity available for other food and beverage manufacturers, while also developing a carrier partner base to service those same customers.
TitletownTech was a leading investor in a $5.2 million seed round raised for StatusPro, a sports technology and gaming company that combines player data, augmented reality and virtual reality to create a suite of training and gaming products.
Consolidated Construction Co.,Inc. will merge with Maple Creek Construction of Columbus to expand its services and reach. The expanded company will operate under the Consolidated Construction brand.
Hawkins Ash CPAs, a full-service regional certified public accounting and business advisory firm, announced that Roberts, Ritschke & Tyczkowski, Ltd. has joined the firm, allowing Hawkins Ash CPAs to expand its presence in northeastern Wisconsin.
The Alliance and the Northcentral Employers Healthcare Alliance announced that their members will unite under the umbrella of The Alliance, furthering their shared goal of improving the value of health care. Planning is underway to provide a seamless transition for the 2022 benefit year.
The Manitowoc Co. acquired Aspen Equipment, Co., a crane dealer and final-stage work truck upfitter, for approximately $51 million.
Fork Farms closed its $2 million Series A funding round. The round was led by existing investor TitletownTech, along with other institutional investors. Fork Farms’ flagship product, the Flex Farm, is an indoor vertical hydroponic system that aims to make fresh food production accessible for everyone.
ManpowerGroup has agreed to acquire ettain group for $925 million in cash. The company will become part of Experis, ManpowerGroup’s global IT resourcing and services brand, and when combined, the business will have total annual revenues of more than $4.5 billion globally with more than $1.7 billion in North America.
County Materials Corp. of Marathon acquired the Green Bay-based manufacturing assets and real estate of Concrete Industries Inc.
Bellin Health launched Hospital to You, an in-home hospitalization option for eligible Medicare patients within a 5-mile radius of Bellin Memorial Hospital in Green Bay. It offers everything the patient would receive during a traditional hospital stay, but with the privacy, familiar surroundings, support system and comfort of home. Bellin also was recognized on the Forbes list of Best-In-State Employers 2021, earning a spot among the list’s top 10 employers for the state of Wisconsin.
HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan expanded its cancer care offerings, bringing HSHS St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Center and the experts of Green Bay Oncology to its campus.
Pierce Manufacturing purchased an ownership interest in Boise Mobile Equipment. This investment will facilitate greater collaboration between Pierce and BME within the wildland fire market. Furthermore, Pierce will support BME as the business moves from a factory-direct model to an independent dealer distribution model, with a focus on the West Coast, which will provide new and existing BME customers with comprehensive service, parts inventory and support.
Appvion Operations expanded its direct thermal product platform by launching a dispersible direct thermal label solution. Dispersible is a unique material that looks, feels and tears like ordinary direct thermal paper but has a distinguishing feature — it disperses in cold water, hot water and most aqueous solutions.
Business comings and goings
BayCare Clinic Lakeside Campus opened in Manitowoc. The 46,000-square-foot facility includes Orthopedics & Sports Medicine BayCare Clinic, BayCare Clinic Neurological Surgeons, BayCare Clinic Pain & Rehab Medicine and Aurora BayCare Urological Surgeons.
Miron Construction Co. Inc. opened a new location at TitletownOffice in Green Bay.
Abacus Architects opened a new office on Maritime Drive in Manitowoc. Abacus offers architectural, civil engineering and interior design capabilities.
Oakridge Gardens Rehabilitation and Memory Center in Menasha reopened a year after a fire caused significant damage, specifically to the rehab west wing.
Construction news
Gordon Flesch Co. broke ground on a new Appleton branch location. The new facility has more than 16,000 square feet of space, offering more room for service and sales operations. The larger warehouse and assembly space will provide more capabilities and parts inventory for service technicians.
Merge Urban Development broke ground on The Common Place in Ashwaubenon. The five-story, mixed-use building will include 88 residential units, Odyssey Climbing + Fitness and an additional 3,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. The Common Place is set to open in the fall of 2022.
McMahon is partnering with Lakeland University to build two new residence halls on its campus in Plymouth. McMahon’s work on the $26 million project consists of demolishing two existing outdated residence hall and constructing two new, identical halls, a water tower and related infrastructure. When complete, the halls will provide the institution with 400 beds dedicated to freshman and sophomore housing.
Van Horn Automotive Group broke ground on an addition and remodel for its Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat location in Plymouth.
Bayland Buildings completed work for the White Lake Fire Station.
The Kwik Trip store on Calumet Drive in Sheboygan is undergoing a $3 million remodel.
Keller Inc. is completing projects for the following organizations: Cummins Sales and Service, De Pere, and Heritage Lake Storage, De Pere.
Education
UW-Oshkosh launched a 100 percent online associate of arts and sciences degree program to prepare students for careers that require more education than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree. It also was named to the No. 3 spot on SmartAsset’s list of the most livable college towns in America. UW-Oshkosh brought in a freshman class of 1,722, a 24 percent increase over last year’s number.
JBS Green Bay announced that in partnership with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, it will provide free tuition to qualifying team members and their dependents.
UW-Green Bay announced that business students at any of its four campuses can now gain early admission into the Master of Accountancy programs at UW-Madison and the University of Illinois. UW-Green Bay’s Rising Phoenix program announced partnership with CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance, to expand Rising Phoenix with the Green Bay Area Public School District, giving underserved and underrepresented students access to early college credit. CONNECT will provide funds to support students in the program over the next two years. UW-Green Bay was among 30 schools to be named to Campus Pride’s list of 2021 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities. UW-Green Bay closed its Shorewood Golf Course. The area will become a student recreation and engagement center.
Lakeland University and Sargento Foods are partnering to provide job opportunities for Lakeland students. The partnership, which is part of Lakeland’s Cooperative Education program, will allow students to work flexible shifts that will fit into their academic schedules.
Lawrence University and St. Norbert College were named to The Princeton Review’s list of 2022 Best Colleges, Midwestern Region.
Awards/recognitions/milestones
Appleton International Airport saw a record-breaking month in July, surpassing the highest number of monthly passengers in the airport’s 56-year history. In July, ATW saw more than 77,000 travelers pass through the airport, surpassing the previous record of 75,000 in March of 2019. The airport was also honored with The Arc Fond du Lac’s 2020 Advocate Award for its partnership in the Wings for All program.
The Experimental Aircraft Association YouTube channel received YouTube’s Silver Creator Award, highlighting achievements in subscriber reach and maintaining high standards in content production.
Acuity was named to the 2021 Ward’s 50 list of top-performing property-casualty companies. The insurer ranked No. 10 on the 2021 list of Super Regional Property-Casualty Insurers. Acuity’s assets also reached $6 billion for the first time in its history. The insurer donated $40,000 to HEAR Wisconsin in support of the group’s hearing conservation services. The contribution helped fund Wisconsin’s first-ever nonprofit Mobile Audiology Clinic, which began operating in July. Acuity was recognized as a 2021 IVANS Digital Insurer, receiving Gold Awards in both commercial lines and personal lines at the AppliedNet Conference.
Kohler Co. was recognized on Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators list, with Laura Kohler, senior vice president human resources, stewardship and sustainability, being named a finalist for Innovative Leader of the Year.
Ahern contributed to nine of the Daily Reporter’s Top Projects of 2020.
Green Bay was named to the No. 35 spot on Midwest Startups’ list ranking best cities for startups.
Kimberly-Clark Corp. was named to Seramount’s fifth annual Inclusion Index, which recognizes companies that are leading the way in creating diverse work environments.
The Joint Commission reaccredited ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca for its safety and quality care practices. ThedaCare, in partnership with Ensemble Health Partners, was named as a recipient of the 2021 MAP Awards for High Performance in Revenue Cycle, sponsored by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
KerberRose was named to Inside Public Accounting’s Top 200 Firms list, ranked No. 194.
Faith Technologies received the first place 2021 Safety Excellence Award from the National Association of Women in Construction in the subcontractor category.
Great Northern Oshkosh announced its renewal of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Sourcing Label Certification, which verifies that products come from recycled content or certified forests and that all the fiber in its products is acquired from sources that comply with state, province or federal laws.
Agnesian HealthCare, a member of SSM Health, was recognized on the Forbes list of Best-In-State Employers 2021.
Weidert Group earned accreditation as a Google Partner.
Verve, a Credit Union was named to the 2021 Best Credit Unions to Work For list, awarded by the American Banker and Best Companies Group.
Grants
The Green Bay Packers Foundation awarded a $250,000 impact grant to N.E.W. Community Clinic in Green Bay. The funds will be put toward furnishing its new facility.
Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley, which recently broke ground on a new facility, has raised over $2.2 million for the project. Philanthropist and former Appleton Area School District teacher Mary Beth Nienhaus announced a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $250,000, over the next five years to help the organization exceed its goal, create greater visibility and attract new donors.
A project in Fond du Lac providing housing to low-income elderly and disabled residents was among those to receive funds as part of a total of $1.3 million in National Housing Trust Fund financing by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.
Rainbow House Domestic Abuse Services received a $45,500 grant from the Basic Needs Giving Partnership of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation.
The Canary Fund provided “seeds for deeds” by donating more than $20,000 to nine individuals in Northeast Wisconsin who saw an unmet need and will work to address it.
WPS and WE Energies donated equipment to first responders at fire and police departments for several municipalities.
All the rest
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designated an area on the Lake Michigan coastline as a Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The area encompasses the coastline from Two Rivers to Port Washington and is only the second such entity on the Great Lakes.
HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital Emergency Department in Sheboygan has expanded its emergency services to include an opioid recovery program. The project is funded by a $134,499 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Care and Treatment Services.
Nonprofit Hands On Deck launched the Estuary Connection Opportunities program for the purpose of providing matched mentoring pairs with a unique experience of exploring the Fox River and the bay of Green Bay in a wooden boat. The guided 45-minute boat rides are free.
The Green Bay Packers introduced a new, history-inspired third uniform entitled the ’50s Classic Uniform. The uniforms will debut at Lambeau Field on Oct. 24.
After an 18-month hiatus due to the pandemic, Old Glory Honor Flight of Northeast Wisconsin has resumed travel out of Appleton International Airport.
The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region debuted a podcast, Voices from the Valley. It incorporates personal stories and educational discussions from people of all walks of life.
