INSIGHT - Business-to-Business Publication

Fed Reserve economist speaking March 5 in Appleton

Compiled by Insight — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:32:47 +0000

William Strauss, senior economist and economic advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will be the featured speaker at the next NEW Manufacturing Alliance general meeting on March 5.

The event starts at 3 p.m. at Fox Valley Technical College’s D. J. Bordini Center in Appleton

Strauss is a senior economist and economic advisor in the economic research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, which he joined in 1982. His chief responsibilities include analyzing the current performance of both the Midwest economy and the manufacturing sector for use in monetary policy. He produces the monthly Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index and organizes the Bank’s Economic Outlook Symposium and Automotive Outlook Symposium.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Ann Franz at either ann.franz@nwtc.edu or 920-498-5587

Best Bet Business Events for Week of Feb. 20

Compiled by Insight — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:07:21 +0000

The St. Norbert College CEO Breakfast and Strategy Series will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the F.K. Bemis International Center at St. Norbert College in De Pere. The speaker will be Mike Haddad, president and CEO of Schreiber Foods, who will talk about “People Leadership.” The cost is $60. Click here for more information. www.snc.edu/president/ceobreakfast.html.

Tuesday: Sail, the young professional group in Manitowoc, is kicking off a new and engaging event, “Read to Lead, Lively Discussion – inspired leaders – bold actions” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Roorbach Flowers and Coffee Garden. This will be an opportunity for individuals to exchange ideas while developing themselves and our community. Discussion will be based on the book, “You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference,“ by Mark Sanborn. Jenner Reinke of Bartow Builders, Inc. and Juliet Kosarzycki of Yellow Zone International, LLC will facilitate the discussion. To register, contact the chamber at sail@chambermanitowocounty.org.
Wednesday, Feb. 29: The annual Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the KI Convention Center. Admission is free with a business card. For more details, visit www.titletown.org.
- Wednesday, Feb. 29: The Heart of the Valley Chamber Annual Dinner and Awards will at the Grand Meridian in Appleton with a reception at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6. The event will feature speaker Dick Leinenkugel. For more information, visit www.heartofthevalleychamber.com.
- Wednesday, Feb. 29: The Fox River Ad Club’s ADDY Awards gala will be held at the Legends Ballroom at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The event honors the best in advertising created in Northeast Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.aaffoxriver.org.
  - Thursday, March 1: The fifth annual Converters Expo will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Lambeau Field Atrium in Green Bay. The event features about 100 exhibitors as well as skybox seminars. For more details and to register, click here.
  - Tuesday, March 6: The Fond du Lac Area Association Commerce and the Leadership Fond du Lac Alumni Group is hosting Chalmers Brothers for a management seminar from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Fond du Lac. Chalmers will talk about effective leadership and management and provide attendees with tools they can begin using immediately. Register online at www.fdlac.com.
  - Wednesday, March 14: Women in Management-Fox Cities Chapter is hosting “Learning to see – identifying waste in the workplace” at 11:30 a.m. at Fox Banquets in Appleton. The speaker will be Cynthia Berken Wetzel, who is lean certified by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Association of Manufacturing Excellence and is a Six Sigma Green Belt. For more information, visit www.wimiwi.org.
  - Tuesday, March 20: The Wisconsin Family Business Forum will host Generation Dynamics & Family Business Life Cycle: Mentoring & Coaching the Next Generation from 8 a.m. to noon at the Bridgewood Resort Hotel in Neenah. Sandra L. Shirk McNeely of the Abbey Group LTD will be the presenter. All family businesses are invited to attend the free event. Register at http://wfbf.uwosh.edu.

If you have an item you would like to be listed in this weekly blog posting or in the Connections feature in Insight, please send it to edit@insightonbusiness.com.

Downtown Oshkosh hotel gets new owners, new life

Compiled by Insight — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:01:39 +0000

Oshkosh’s City Center Hotel is under new ownership, and the local partnership holding the keys is reenergizing revitalization plans.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation and local hoteliers Richard Batley of RB Hospitality in Neenah and John Pfefferle of Pfefferle Companies, Inc. in Appleton announced their new ownership of the hotel, which was finalized today.

The partners have officially closed on the sale of the property, purchasing it from Nashco Hospitality Group LLC, which owned it since 2009. They plan to transform the 179-room waterfront property into a full-service, state-of-the-art business hotel, anchoring the city’s downtown and serving as an economic catalyst for the entire community.

The new owners of the hotel also own the CopperLeaf in downtown Appleton and the Bridgewood in Neenah.

“This local partnership’s vision, diligence and perseverance will result in great benefit to all of Wisconsin’s Event City,” says Oshkosh Area Community Foundation President and CEO Eileen Connolly-Keesler, who, in 2010, helped rally a local partnership around the hotel revitalization concept. “I’m pleased that the revitalized hotel will serve as one more successful example of how high-impact collaborations are improving our city’s economy and quality of life.”

The partners remain dedicated to the hotel vision originally proposed last fall: A renovated, state-of-the-art, full-service downtown business hotel with a new restaurant, reopened in early 2013. The hotel will complement the revitalized, attached Oshkosh Convention Center and enhance nearby UW Oshkosh’s vibrant academic conference business. It will also bring new downtown jobs and economic energy to Oshkosh retail storefronts, cafes, performance venues and other businesses aligned with the city’s ongoing redevelopment efforts.

Based on the level of shared investment in hotel renovations, it is estimated the project can directly create more than 200 new construction jobs. The reinvigoration of hotel business has the potential to create dozens of new hospitality jobs on site.

The new hotel owners said they also remain dedicated to using the revitalized hotel as an additional source of public good. They propose spinning off some revenue annually as UW Oshkosh Foundation scholarships for Oshkosh high school graduates. Another proposal suggests the potential, future establishment of a collaborative, off-campus academic hospitality program inside the hotel.

New Capital Management unveils second venture fund

Compiled by Insight — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:26:02 +0000

New Capital Management, an Appleton-based venture capital and growth equity firm, recently closed its NEW Capital Fund II Limited Partnership with committed capital of more than $25 million.

The fund focuses on Wisconsin and Great Lakes region-based early and growth stage investment opportunities in the areas of advanced manufacturing, information technology and life and material science technologies.

NEW Capital Management is led by Bob DeBruin, Dave Gitter, Charlie Goff and Steve Predayna. Fund II’s investment size will range between $500,000 and $3 million. The firm expects to invest in 12 to 15 companies.

For more information, visit www.newcapitalfund.com.

Best Bet Business Events for week of Feb. 13

Compiled by Insight — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:57:47 +0000

Learning how entrepreneurs can soar with Wisconsin’s emerging aerospace industry is the topic of the Wednesday meeting of the Wisconsin Innovation Network’s Northeast Wisconsin chapter. The group meets starting with registration and networking at 4:45 p.m. at the DJ Bordini Center at Fox Valley Technical College. Meridith Jaeger, director of AeroInnovate and outreach program at the UW-Oshkosh, will be joined by others from Wisconsin’s aerospace cluster to talk about how entrepreneurs and others can connect with opportunities within the industry. Register at: www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.

Here’s a look at some other upcoming events:

Wednesday: Management Women Inc. will hold its monthly luncheon program at 11:45 a.m. at Brett Favre Steakhouse in Green Bay. The speaker will be Mandy Nycz, director of career services at St. Norbert College in De Pere. She will talk about ways to refresh your career. For more information, visit www.managementwomen.org
Thursday: The Chamber of Manitowoc County’s Safety Council will host “OSHA Updates”from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at The Club, 200 E. Waldo Blvd., Manitowoc. Kelly Bubolz from the Appleton OSHA office will be the speaker. To register or for more information, contact the chamber at (920) 684-5575.

Tuesday, Feb. 21: St. Norbert College CEO Breakfast and Strategy Series will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the F.K. Bemis International Center at St. Norbert College in De Pere. The speaker will be Mike Haddad, president and CEO of Schreiber Foods, who will talk about “People Leadership.” The cost is $60. Click here for more information. Tuesday, Feb. 21: Sail, the young professional group in Manitowoc, is kicking off a new and engaging event, “Read to Lead, Lively Discussion – inspired leaders – bold actions” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Roorbach Flowers and Coffee Garden. This will be an opportunity for individuals to exchange ideas while developing themselves and our community. Discussion will be based on the book, “You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference,“ by Mark Sanborn. Jenner Reinke of Bartow Builders, Inc. and Juliet Kosarzycki of Yellow Zone International, LLC will facilitate the discussion. To register, contact the chamber at sail@chambermanitowocounty.org.
Wednesday, Feb. 29: The annual Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the KI Convention Center. Admission is free with a business card. For more details, visit www.titletown.org.
Wednesday, Feb. 29: The Heart of the Valley Chamber Annual Dinner and Awards will at the Grand Meridian in Appleton with a reception at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6. The event will feature speaker Dick Leinenkugel. For more information, visit www.heartofthevalleychamber.com
Wednesday, Feb. 29: The Fox River Ad Club’s ADDY Awards gala will be held at the Legends Ballroom at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The event honors the best in advertising created in Northeast Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.aaffoxriver.org.
Thursday, March 1: The fifth annual Converters Expo will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Lambeau Field Atrium in Green Bay. The event features about 100 exhibitors as well as skybox seminars. For more details and to register, click here
Tuesday, March 6: The Fond du Lac Area Association Commerce and the Leadership Fond du Lac Alumni Group is hosting Chalmers Brothers for a management seminar from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Fond du Lac. Chalmers will talk about effective leadership and management and provide attendees with tools they can begin using immediately. Register online at www.fdlac.com
Wednesday, March 14: Women in Management-Fox Cities Chapter is hosting “Learning to see – identifying waste in the workplace” at 11:30 a.m. at Fox Banquets in Appleton. The speaker will be Cynthia Berken Wetzel, who is lean certified by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Association of Manufacturing Excellence and is a Six Sigma Green Belt. For more information, visit www.wimiwi.org.
Tuesday, March 20: The Wisconsin Family Business Forum will host Generation Dynamics & Family Business Life Cycle: Mentoring & Coaching the Next Generation from 8 a.m. to noon at the Bridgewood Resort Hotel in Neenah. Sandra L. Shirk McNeely of the Abbey Group LTD will be the presenter. All family businesses are invited to attend the free event. Register at http://wfbf.uwosh.edu.

If you have an item you would like to be listed in this weekly blog posting or in the Connections feature in Insight, please send it to edit@insightonbusiness.com.

Converters Expo rolls into Green Bay on March 1

Compiled by Insight — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:29:40 +0000

The fifth annual Converters Expo rolls into the Lambeau Field Atrium on March 1. The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Converters and supporting industries on display include slitter-winders, coating, laminating, embossing, packaging, folding, adhesives, inks, flexo printing and other manufacturing processes using paper, tissue, film and nonwovens. Allied suppliers on hand range from roll handling, equipment, assembly, ultrasonics, automation-conveying to patent expertise and logistics.

The day also features skybox seminars, which are limited to 20 people each, and focus on the following topics: the latest in flexo printing, an industry outlook and how to operate your small business and what you need to know from HR to finances.

As part of the expo, there will be plant tours available on Feb. 29 at several area businesses. For more information about Converters Expo or to register, please click here.

FVTC offers sustainable business exchange

Compiled by Insight — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:11:39 +0000

Fox Valley Technical College is hosting its second Sustainable Business Exchange for organizations interested in employing green solutions that directly impact the bottom line.

At the first exchange last fall, more than 100 business professionals from various local industries attended. The next gathering will be from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. March at D.J. Bordini Center in Appleton.
Participants will engage in real-life problem solving exercises regarding gamification strategies to aid in transforming corporate culture, employee engagement, and motivating behavior change as they relate to sustainable practices in business and industry. The event will also feature a panel discussion featuring regional industry leaders in sustainable business practices.

The event is free. For more information or to register, visit www.fvtc.edu/sustainabilityseries or call (920) 831-4325.

Ministry takes on sole sponsorship of Affinity Health System

Compiled by Insight — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:23:50 +0000

Ministry Health Care is now the sole sponsor of Affinity Health System. The Menasha-based health system had been sponsored through a partnership between Ministry and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare since 1996.

Affinity is a network of three hospitals, 26 clinics, a medical group that includes nearly 300 providers, and 4,000 employees who serve the health care needs of the greater Fox Valley area. In addition, Affinity’s Network Health Plan also provides health insurance benefits to more than 133,000 members in communities located throughout northeastern Wisconsin in 17 counties. Ministry’s sponsor, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, founded Affinity’s Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh in 1891. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare’s sponsor, the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters, founded Affinity’s St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton in 1899.

Area residents shouldn’t notice a difference with the change, says Daniel E. Neufelder, president and CEO of Affinity Health System.

“Our patients and members should expect a continuation of personalized care from our physicians and care teams in the same close-to-home clinics and hospitals they currently visit,” he says.

Nelessen: Younger generation drives development

Compiled by Insight — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:09:49 +0000

At Friday’s InDevelopment Conference at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, world-renowned urban planning expert Tony Nelessen delivered some “hard, tough recommendations” for the future of the Fox Cities: Incorporate a variety of transportation options, include pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and pay attention to what the Millennial generation wants.

“They think as a team, and this is going to transform everything,” Nelessen told the crowd of about 300 area developers, real estate professionals, municipal officials and other business leaders. The Millennial generation includes young people in their early 30s down to their early teens.

Nelessen, who was the event’s keynote speaker and author of Visions for a New American Dream, also emphasized the need for planning and cooperation between local, state and federal officials as well as with developers, bankers, engineers and environmentalists as they plan a future for a new generation of Fox Cities residents.

“The Baby Boom Generation will no longer be in control by 2020,” Nelessen said. “It will become a whole other world. The question is how can you profit from it? I think the profitability is enormous if the right decisions are made.”

Nelessen continued his visit with a breakout session that included a ranking of development ideas for the Fox Cities (everyone in the session – 100 percent of the participants – said adding more bike paths to the area would be desirable).

Other breakout sessions were presented by Gwen Carr of the Tribal Procurement Technical Assistance Center; Jim Bath, director of the Research and Engineering Center of Excellence for North American and European Personal Care at Kimberly-Clark; and Shannon Meyer Full, president of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

The conference also included a speed-networking event and booth talks on development-related topics that included social media, legal issues in commercial development and the impact of appraisals on real estate deals. The day concluded with a visit from Paul Jadin, CEO and secretary of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Brian Oleson of OMNNI Associates, who served on the InDevelopment Event Planning Committee, said he enjoyed learning about self-directed IRAs at one of the booth talks and that the networking event is always great for connecting with different groups.

“Everybody seemed to be excited to be there,” he said. “People were optimistic, and it seems like there’s a lot of hope that things are turning around.”

– By Nikki Kallio

Best Bet Business Events for Week of Feb. 6

Compiled by Insight — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:56:54 +0000

The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce is hosting its economic outlook breakfast beginning at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Oshkosh Convention Center. Economist Brian Beaulieu will review what happened in 2011 and provide his economic outlook for the future, along with providing a little bit of advice to individuals and business owners. To register, click here. http://www.oshkoshchamber.com/economic_outlook

Here’s a look at some other upcoming events:

Wednesday: The Green Bay Chapter of Women in Management is holding its monthly meeting beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Midway Best Western. The luncheon will feature speaker Jennifer Maier of Junior Achievement Brown County who will talk about the U.S. dropout crisis. For more information, visit www.wimiwi.org.
Wednesday: Lisa Werner, a certified register investment advisor and owner of Pivot LLC in Neenah, will speak about networking while playing golf at the February Women in Management-Fox Cities Chapter meeting at 11:30 a.m. at Fox Banquets, Appleton. For more information, visit www.wimiwi.org.
Wednesday: The Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the National Railroad Museum. Register at www.titletown.org.
Thursday: QR Codes will be the topic of a Chamber Café from noon to 1 p.m. at the Chamber of Manitowoc County. Mark Sewacki of Zimmermann Printing Company will present “Understanding the QR Code: What it is, How it Works and How it Can Work for You.”
Thursday, Feb. 16: The Chamber of Manitowoc County’s Safety Council will host “OSHA Updates” from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at The Club, 200 E. Waldo Blvd., Manitowoc. Kelly Bubolz from the Appleton OSHA office will be the speaker. To register or for more information, contact the chamber at (920) 684-5575.
Tuesday, Feb. 21: St. Norbert College CEO Breakfast and Strategy Series will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the F.K. Bemis International Center at St. Norbert College in De Pere. The speaker will be Mike Haddad, president and CEO of Schreiber Foods, who will talk about “People Leadership.” The cost is $60. Visit: www.snc.edu/president/ceobreakfast.html.
Wednesday, Feb. 29: The annual Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the KI Convention Center. Admission is free with a business card. For more details, visit www.titletown.org.
Wednesday, Feb. 29: The Heart of the Valley Chamber Annual Dinner and Awards will at the Grand Meridian in Appleton with a reception at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6. The event will feature speaker Dick Leinenkugel. For more information, visit www.heartofthevalleychamber.com.
Wednesday, Feb. 29: The Fox River Ad Club’s ADDY Awards gala will be held at the Legends Ballroom at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The event honors the best in advertising created in Northeast Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.aaffoxriver.org.
Thursday, March 1: Converters Expo 2012 will be at the Lambeau Field Atrium in Green Bay from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The fifth annual expo will feature more than 100 exhibitors from various converting industries. For more information, visit www.convertersexpo.com.

If you have an item you would like to be listed in this weekly blog posting or in the Connections feature in Insight, please send it to edit@insightonbusiness.com.