By Sharon Verbeten
With a proud German heritage and history in sausage-making, Sheboygan has long been known as the “bratwurst capital of the world.” But these days, thanks to Old Wisconsin Sausage, it’s also celebrated for its beef sticks…and turkey sticks…and hot sticks.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the company that started on the shores of Lake Michigan with a small shop owned and operated by Frank Thielmann and William Stolzman, whose classic sausage recipes are still used today.
While the company started with fresh sausage, Old Wisconsin is known today primarily for shelf-stable deli sticks and summer sausage.
“At a national level, we are one of the largest producers of deli sticks,” says Chuck Pfrang, Old Wisconsin’s vice president of operations.
In 1981, the company was purchased by the family-owned meat processing company Carl Buddig and Co. In 2021, Old Wisconsin made the difficult decision to discontinue wieners and brats from its offerings.
“We had been making brats and wieners for years,” Pfrang says. “It was a forward-looking decision; we had to discontinue those so that we could make more deli sticks. We certainly heard from some of our customers. Old Wisconsin participated in a local parade this past summer, and a group chant began: ‘Bring back the wieners.’”
Today, the company — which employs 550 at three buildings in Sheboygan — makes approximately 40 million pounds of sausage a year (approximately 1 million pounds a week between their plants in Sheboygan and Montgomery, Illinois).
Pfrang says the company’s focus on snack sticks has proven a shrewd business decision. Their product can be found in many convenience stores and in large retail outlets like Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and most grocery stores across the U.S.
“Consumer preferences have changed. Grab-and-go is huge,” Pfrang says.
Consumer preferences — and interest in keto, gluten-free and high protein diets — have also fueled the growth of turkey as an ingredient in their products. “If you go back eight to nine years, deli sticks were predominantly made from beef; today, we produce more turkey than we do beef, mainly because it has less fat and it tastes great.”
The company also experiments with flavors to entice taste buds. Their newest product is hot and spicy; other flavors include honey brown sugar turkey, natural cut beef and buffalo chicken.
“Flavors have come and gone over the years,” Pfrang says. “We do enjoy innovating with new flavors and proteins.”
Not a lot of companies survive for 75 years, but Pfrang says the company’s culture and staff keep it strong. “We have an awesome staff here,” he says, noting that there are several 35-year to 40-year veterans in management and longtime production staff.
“We are very good to our people,” says Pfrang, who has been with the company 12 years.
Wisconsinites love their sausage, and the state has no shortage of producers. But while it may be a crowded market, Pfrang says that with Old Wisconsin’s concentration on deli sticks, “we don’t really compete directly with any of them.”
“We’re friends with all of them; the relationship that we have … is one of mutual respect.”
