Photographs by Shane Van Boxtel, Image Studios

Adam Rupp believes in making things. And it’s on manufacturing companies, he says, to help grow that belief.

“Kids love making things. Most people like to make things. It’s just bridging that gap from when they’re young to when the career opportunities come up,” says the Wisconsin Lighting Lab president.

Rupp and co-founder Tyler Oestreich say manufacturing should be “an interesting place,” so their Fond du Lac company is methodically building a solid model for exactly that: keeping things interesting.

And it started with a humble light pole.

Manufacturing spirit, tech mindset

Wisconsin Lighting Lab, also known as WiLL, has firm roots in manufacturing and is for all intents and purposes the latest iteration of NAFCO, which was founded in Fond du Lac 50 years ago as a maker of aluminum light poles. Rupp’s father, Randy Rupp, purchased the NAFCO fab shop in 1993, and the company has been in the family ever since.

Rupp and Oestreich are cousins who grew up around the family business. They started a rock band together and developed a shared passion for technology and entrepreneurship. Then, as college students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, they created 1030 Interactive — a web design and marketing agency that counted NAFCO among its early clients.

After graduation they continued to explore marketing and technology, working with Randy Rupp and Pat Ringsred to create the e-commerce platform LightPolesPlus.com. In 2017, the four were inspired to bring all the illuminating enterprises together under one new, eye-catching brand: Wisconsin Lighting Lab, a small manufacturing and distribution company with a techie twist. From among the four co-founders, Adam Rupp and Oestreich serve as the faces of the company today.

“That engineering and manufacturing foundation is certainly the launching point, but without 1030 Interactive there’d be no LightPolesPlus.com, and without that there’d be no Wisconsin Lighting Lab. So it’s all really a fusion of those experiences,” Rupp says.

Today WiLL hires workers with backgrounds in a wide variety of disciplines — mechanical, electrical, industrial and computer engineering, plus a wide range of non-engineering fields (Rupp and Oestreich both have business degrees) — but the most important characteristic of a WiLL hire isn’t academic.

“Our products are technology integrated, and you need people that can adapt and do it quickly,” says Rupp, adding that he likens the mindset at WiLL to that at a tech startup — something that is not often seen in a manufacturing environment.

The fact that WiLL operates on the cutting edge of technology while also physically making products is exactly the sweet spot in which WiLL Vice President of Sales Chad Dolphin says he wants his career to be. And he knows he’s not the only one — it’s a Wisconsin mindset that WiLL has been proud to embrace.

“Having been all over the country in my travels, people just don’t make things. It’s different for us here in Wisconsin, and it’s pretty cool to be part of [it],” he says. “I’ve seen a lot of people in the middle, and when they don’t have a physical product to deliver it’s tough to add value and at times, they’re expendable. Being able to build and sell a product is a very important thing.”

Today WiLL manufactures and markets multiple product lines: WiLLSport, WiLLStudio, WiLLev, NAFCO, and LightPolesPlus.com, as well as the rapidly-growing WiLLCloud, which allows users to create their own dynamic light shows with the touch of a screen or mobile app. But while WiLL’s innovations are organized into different categories, its products don’t exist in silos; they’re meant to work together.

“We’re heading in the direction of not product catalogs, but systems,” Oestreich says. “It’s a user interface where we have certain systems that are future-proof, where we can actually deploy features to customers over time. There’s a lot of worlds colliding right now.”

“WiLL is right there with us, continually raising the bar for our guests.”

—Mike Kertscher, president and general manager, Road America

Full speed ahead

While WiLL’s bread and butter, LED lighting, represented the world’s first significant lighting technology change in 70 years and the industry boomed from 2008-2016, deflation and tariffs have led to periods of “lighting recession,” Rupp says. Adopting Lean continuous improvement practices and re-shoring the supply chain ahead of the pandemic have been important in weathering recession, he says — but so is developing new products.

One example is electric vehicle charging, which has been a burgeoning segment over the last five years that makes up approximately one-sixth of WiLL’s overall business today. It’s a natural adjacency to the lighting business that allows for innovation and integration, Oestreich says.

And with companies worldwide scrambling to cut themselves a piece of the EV charging pie, Dolphin says WiLLev has found a way to differentiate itself in the crowded market.

“A lot of companies focus on the chargers themselves, and then they’ve created pedestals because they had to,” he says. “We’ve come the other direction in the market and focused on the pedestal itself; we’re agnostic to the charger and focused on the cable management systems and a way to build [pedestals] quickly and develop them in a way that can handle any charger on the market.”

Another area that has seen significant growth is WiLLSport, the company’s product line specializing in lighting and controls for sporting venues. Recent projects have included the University of South Florida’s indoor football training facility in Tampa, the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, and the state of Virginia’s oldest all-wooden baseball stadium, in which existing light fixtures were retrofit with WiLL technology.

“We do a lot of retrofit jobs,” Oestreich says. “We can add functionality and turn it into a cool entertainment venue without digging up important infrastructure that’s already there.”

But for Dolphin, one of the most memorable WiLLSport projects will always be the sparkling new Fond du Lac High School stadium that opened last month as a hyper-local showcase of WiLL’s customization, integration and technology.

“That is really the best of the best; the fixtures are painted school colors, there’s branding on the remote driver cabinets, full RGB, a full control system. It’s a pro level field at the high school level,” Dolphin says. “And we’re excited to have that one in our backyard, just a couple of miles from the factory.”

 “Having been all over the country in my travels, people just don’t make things. It’s different for us here in Wisconsin, and it’s pretty cool to be part of [it].”

 —Chad Dolphin, vice president of sales, Wisconsin Lighting Lab

Branding big

As for Rupp, his most memorable project also comes from the Wisconsin sports world — as well as his heart.

Mike Kertscher, president and general manager of Road America in Elkhart Lake, says that any time the track can keep its business relationships within the racing family is a “win-win.” So when it came to revamping Road America, he turned to Rupp — a guy he knew was not only in the lighting business but also “a pretty damn good race car driver.”

Road America, where Rupp and his father have spent decades both cheering on and participating in races, now has an official lighting sponsor in Wisconsin Lighting Lab. The partnership has not only improved safety and aesthetics at the track, but also turned races into thrilling light shows. Kertscher says fans have been wowed by the post-race lighting entertainment and enjoy the coordinated in-race green, yellow and checkered-flag-themed lights. One-third of the mile-long straightaway has been upgraded with WiLL technology thus far.

For Rupp, the project is a source of personal pride and a remarkable showcase for the WiLL brand. “The entire main straightaway, over time, is going to be an outdoor lab and showroom for us,” says Rupp, who can do about 190 miles per hour at Road America in his Ford GT1 Mustang.

“We’re a motorsports venue and we’re always kind of pushing the limits with the entertainment aspect,” Kertscher says. “[WiLL is] right there with us, continually raising the bar for our guests.”

Branding, marketing, outreach and innovation have all helped Wisconsin Lighting Lab grow its business by double digits year after year — even through the pandemic, Rupp says. And not only did WiLL grow its business and add more than 100 new products during the pandemic, it also expanded its physical footprint. In 2022, WiLL completed a 27,000-square-foot facility expansion that doubled its manufacturing space. Rupp says the company will break ground on an additional 14,000 square feet next year, as well as invest in new paint and material handling lines.

Today, the WiLL campus on Brooke Street is a gleaming showpiece at the center of an industrial area that didn’t previously catch many eyes. Admirers of Wisconsin Lighting Lab, including Envision Greater Fond du Lac Vice President of Membership Joe Venhuizen, say the building’s striking black and gold color scheme and co-branded products are among the many ways the company has set itself apart.

“They’ve just taken great pride in rebranding and showing it off,” says Venhuizen, whose organization helped support and advocate for WiLL’s facility expansion. “I love their philosophy of really owning and highlighting your brand in an industry that doesn’t often do it. I think they’re a really cool, cutting-edge manufacturer, and I think that’s what it takes to stay relevant in the competitive search for talent.”

‘Impossibly curious’

Tucked inside WiLL’s engineering and manufacturing building you’ll find a room filled with 3D printers named after beloved cows. Inside the sales and showroom building — a former radiator repair shop renovated DIY style by WiLL team members and their families — you’ll also find cozy and collaborative workspaces, an auto shop for resident gear heads, a podcast studio, a drum kit, a gong and a mini brewery.

Creating a work environment that appeals to team members’ interests, many of which are common — like dairy farming, cars and music — is a cornerstone of WiLL’s employee recruitment and retention strategy. It also seems to appeal particularly to young talent. WiLL currently maintains one of the New North region’s youngest workforces, with an average employee age of 33.5 across all positions, including on the shop floor.

“We’ve never hired an executive,” Rupp says. “The people who have been here a long time started when they were 25 to 30 years old and were young professionals that learned on the job.”

WiLL’s fun, youthful office culture reflects Rupp and Oestreich, who describe themselves as “impossibly curious.” Take for example “WiLLCast,” the company’s community podcast produced by Marketing Manager Becca Schumacher and hosted by she and Rupp. Rupp says it was inspired in part by “all the stuff I’ve learned over the years that I wish had been recorded.

“When we want to learn something, why not interview somebody and hit the record button so other people can learn from it? I think that’s the cool thing about podcasting — it’s learning in real time that can be shared,” he says.

There’s the brewing operation, which is a nod to the curiosity of Project Engineer Nick Puddy and now includes recipes for both beer and coffee. High-end home brewing equipment was installed on campus as a thank you to Puddy and an opportunity to enjoy his hobby, but today the creations of the WiLL Brew Lab have become something of a company calling card, with customers and visitors readily receiving six packs by which to remember Wisconsin Lighting Lab.

“My thought is, if we were in Napa Valley it would be OK to have a winery,” Rupp says. “We’re in Wisconsin, so why not be proud of that? It’s a really cool touch point and it’s been great.”

Then there’s the Ledge Games, a fundraiser created by Oestreich and WiLL Manufacturing Director Josh Michaels to support engineering, manufacturing and technology scholarships at Moraine Park Technical College. The amateur lumberjack competition features events like keg throwing, archery and axe throwing and has garnered flannel-clad enthusiasm beyond WiLL’s walls.

“It’s gotten turned into a little bit of a celebration of some of the manufacturing heroes in our area,” Oestreich says of the games, now in their eighth year. “It’s gotten some good momentum and we’ve raised $55,000.”

Making things and believing in things are values that shine through at WiLL, Venhuizen says.

“Make something cool that you’re passionate about — I think that’s the theme at Wisconsin Lighting Lab,” he says. “It’s almost like, yeah, this is what we do, but it’s not what we’re about. What we do is produce light fixtures and light poles and we’re really good at it, but what we’re about is race cars and beer and marketing and Ledge Games. We [at Envision] put them on a pedestal as a smaller manufacturer that does things the right way and are easily able to attract talent in a space where a lot of others struggle.”

Rupp says his guide to the “right way” is all in the company name.

“Wisconsin is a top-of-mind reminder of our history and values. Lighting is our products — we’re a products-driven company that embraces technology,” he says. “Then I think a good chunk of our values are in the lab: always curious, always learning, always improving, not afraid to experiment.”

Truly embracing the “lab” part of Wisconsin Lighting Lab, Rupp says, is ultimately how the company will thrive.

“I think there’s going to be some large change by the end of the decade,” he says. “It’s going to be that willingness and ability to change and adapt.”

 “I think they’re a really cool, cutting-edge manufacturer, and I think that’s what it takes to stay relevant in the competitive search for talent.”

  —Joe Venhuizen, vice president of membership, Envision Greater Fond du Lac