Focus on Calumet
A bi-weekly update on economic development opportunities in Calumet County
and the region for businesses, entrepreneurs, and communities.
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Honeymoon Acres Keeps Growing (and growing!) in New Holstein
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The March 27 meeting of the New Holstein Economic Development Corporation was held at
Honeymoon Acres
in New Holstein, where owners Joe and Marci McShaw were on hand to provide an update about their business and its growth. Due to the company’s continued annual double digit growth, Honeymoon Acres has acquired the neighboring property and buildings from Gruett’s Inc. (formerly the Loyal Ford dealership) to allow expansion for offices and more production. Future plans call for the closure of Ford Drive which currently splits the two properties.
Honeymoon Acres
brings approximately 50,000 customers to its north side New Holstein nursery each year from throughout northeast Wisconsin. Approximately 3 to 4 million plants are raised at the properties every year by the company’s ten staff, who are joined by canine companions Roy and Ollie, beautiful English Cream Golden Retrievers, and new this year, their “little brother,” Ace.
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Ace, the newest (and possibly cutest, although we’ll leave that up to the customers) staff member at Honeymoon Acres.
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Production is gearing up at the new Honeymoon Acres facility.
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WTCS Board recognizes partnership with Sargento
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The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Board and Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) honored Sargento Foods, Inc. in mid-March with a ‘Futuremaker Partner’ award. Among other efforts, the partners work together to deliver apprenticeship opportunities and assure that what students learn in the classroom is what employers need in the field.
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Sargento Executive Vice President of Operations Mike McEvoy (third from right) accepts the Futuremaker Partner award from WTCS Board President S. Mark Tyler. Also pictured from left are Sargento Workforce Development Liaison Anne Troka, Wisconsin Technical College System President Dr. Morna K. Foy, Sargento Director of Corporate Communications Portia Young, and Lakeshore Technical College President Paul Carlsen. [WTCS Photo]
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During the 2018-19 academic year, LTC is providing classroom instruction to 14 Sargento employees who are registered apprentices, meaning they are also receiving on-the-Job Training at the company. This “earn while you learn” approach infused needed talent at Sargento immediately, while offering team members an opportunity to continued learning, growth, and advancement.
In addition, Sargento team members serve on numerous LTC program advisory committees, which consistently involve industry in the design of college programs and courses. As a result, LTC students in programs as varied as Culinary Arts, Business Management, and Electro-mechanical Technology benefit from the knowledge and experience of Sargento professionals. The result is quality instruction and graduates who are in high demand because they have a unique understanding of industry.
“The future of our workforce in Wisconsin depends on successful partnerships between business and educational institutions. That’s why Sargento is committed to workforce development and is honored to receive this recognition from LTC.”
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Briess President explains Manitowoc Expansion, New Experience Center and Ramping Down Production at its Craft Malting Facility in Chilton
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Craft Brewing Business: 3-14-19
Briess Malt and Ingredients Co.
continues to invest heavily in its Manitowoc, Wis., footprint. America’s most famous maltsters acquired a large grain processing operation in Manitowoc back in 2014 — about 40 miles from its Chilton campus in Wisconsin. The site was selected as the company’s eighth roaster after more than a year of study and discussion. The expansive Manitowoc operation includes a 244 ft elevator, onsite lab, 4.3 million bushels of storage along the shore of Lake Michigan and rail connection to the company’s Ralston Elevator in Wyoming and two other malting operations in Wisconsin.
In 2015, Briess recommissioned a large malthouse on that Manitowoc property, more than doubling malting capacity. In 2017, the company announced a $17 million expansion of its barley processing and malting facility, including replacing an aging structure and installing a roaster and automated packaging line for the production and packaging of specialty roasted malts. This week Briess announced even more investments in Manitowoc, commissioning additional malthouses and building the Briess Experience Center, a gathering spot to engage with customers and highlight the company’s rich culture.
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Downtown Housing Projects Remain Popular
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Living downtown is a growing trend across the Midwest and one that cities in Northeast Wisconsin can tap into, according to Jim Kumon, an urban designer and neighborhood advocate with the Minneapolis-based Incremental Development Alliance. He spoke to more than 350 people at Tuesday’s 10th annual InDevelopment Conference in Appleton.
“Walkable real estate is in big demand and there’s not enough supply for the demand,” Kumon said. “Cities here in Northeast Wisconsin stand to benefit by adding housing. If you have some basic amenities that people are looking for, the demand will really grow.”
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Photo credit: Bryan Aschenbrenner
A networking event and expo followed the presentations. Calumet County’s community economic development efforts were represented with a booth and county staff, shown above. The crowd was dynamic, and there were numerous discussions about development opportunities in Calumet County.
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Demand for rental housing has grown, but it’s challenging to get that housing built, Kumon said. “By 2030, 83 percent of the households will not have children, but the housing stock out there and the housing being built is not suited for them,” he said. “There’s no incentive to build smaller homes since construction companies make more by building bigger.”
Multifamily housing projects are not always the easiest projects to get approved, Kumon continued. “People hear that word and immediately think of ‘apartments in disrepair,’ but there are a lot of ways you can do multifamily housing. We used to build buildings where you didn’t even know how many units were inside of it,” he said.
The City of Appleton — which hosted this year’s conference at the Red Lion Hotel Paper Valley — has several downtown multifamily housing and mixed-use projects in the works, said Karen Harkness, director of community and economic development for the city.
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Helping Students Reach Their Potential through Career and Technical Education
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Kimberly High School, 2-28-2019
For Claire Twomey, a senior at Kimberly High School (KHS), a career in the health care field seemed like a natural path for her future. She was inspired to follow in the footsteps of her mother, a nurse practitioner, and her late grandmother, whose nursing career spanned four decades. The 18 year old balances her school work with her Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Youth Apprenticeship at Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital. Through her apprenticeship, Claire is getting hands-on experience in a real-life health care setting along with classroom instruction to prepare for her future.
The opportunity to work at the hospital came through Andrea Buss, health sciences teacher and HOSA-Future Health Professionals advisor at KHS. “Mrs. Buss knew I was taking my CNA course, and through the clinicals it persuaded me to work in a hospital because I liked the fast-paced type of job,” said Claire. “With the patient outturn (discharges), I get to meet more people and see different cases. That’s interesting to me.”
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Claire Twomey, a
Calumet County resident
and senior at Kimberly High School, is pursuing a Certified Nursing Assistant Youth Apprenticeship at Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital.
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Demographic Trends and Downtowns
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While statewide trends in Wisconsin point toward increased growth predominantly in the upper age brackets, both baby boomer and millennial/Gen Z groups show a preference for downtown. Regardless of geography or community size, many downtowns are witnessing increasing activity on both ends of the spectrum. This is true of new residential developments such as the 102 on Broadway in De Pere or Belle Square in La Crosse, which include residents of all ages as tenants. It is also true for new business owners, which in the past five years have included growing numbers of recent graduates, or even operated by current students as part of their curriculum such as
Bistro 712
in Sheboygan, as well as second-career entrepreneurs (who make up 20 percent of new downtown business owners in the past five years).
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Playing for Keeps in the War for Talent
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By Susan Arledge, Commercial Real Estate/D Magazine, 2-28-2019
I
f you want to win big in the war for talent, you have to be able to attract and retain the best talent. Well-resourced tech companies are now seeking talent like never before — seeking to attract the top tech prospects and engineers and recruiting heavily out of Stanford, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT. The truly “smart kids” have noticed this trend with more Harvard Business School grads going into technology than into banking for the first time since the Dot-Com era.
The war for talent is very real.
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When C-suite executives are asked what keeps them up at night, all of them answer: “Hiring the next generation of leaders.” So, for employers, the future of their organizations depends a lot upon the location of the real estate they select because, for the foreseeable future, they know they will be competing for quality employees.
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How can Calumet County employers – especially those not near an urban area – be positioned to compete in the talent war?
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Survey: Business Economists See Slowdown in Growth this Year
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Martin Crustsinger, Associated Press, 3-25-2019
The nation’s business economists foresee a sharp slowdown in U.S. economic growth over the next two years, in sharp contrast to the Trump administration’s predictions that growth will accelerate this year and next. That finding comes from the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics being released Monday. Its economists collectively project that growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, will reach a modest 2.4 this year and just 2 percent in 2020. Among the key factors in their dimmer assessment are a global slowdown and the ongoing trade conflicts between the Trump administration and several major trading partners.
Still, the NABE economists say they think a recession remains unlikely any time soon.
For 2018, economic growth amounted to 2.9 percent, the government has estimated. The economy benefited last year from tax cuts and increased government spending, the gains from which are now thought to be fading. It’s one reason why most economists foresee a more sluggish pace of growth. The new NABE projections, from a panel of 55 professional forecasters, represent a significant drop from their previous forecast in December of 2.7 percent growth this year. And their estimate is much lower than the Trump’s administration’s new projection that GDP growth will remain above 3 percent this year and over the next six years.
But the administration is already projecting huge deficits above $1 trillion over the next four years. If growth falls short of its optimistic forecasts, those deficit figures could soar even higher and inhibit the economy’s ability to accelerate.
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Improve Interpersonal Communication Skills
Learn strategies to enhance oral interaction critical to productive discourse. Participants will also learn about their own styles and others and how to make them work together in the workplace.
Learn About:
- Your own interpersonal communication style
- Ways to enhance your communications with other styles
- Effective listening skills
- The value of giving and obtaining feedback
Thursday, April 25, 2019
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
$139 | Materials & refreshments provided
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Fostering Successful Internal Customer Relationships
A logical, analytical approach to refocusing and re-centering the team, this course focuses on the way that people view others and the collective work of the team.
Learn About:
- How paradigms can be self-limiting
- Building and maintaining the relationships we have with others
- Understanding how others' perception of us influences the reciprocal value of relationships
- Tips to improving even the best workplace relationships
Thursday, April 25, 2019
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
$99 | Materials & refreshments provided
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Microsoft Excel Functions & Formulas
Explore the functions available in Microsoft Excel 2016 and learn how to create formulas to enhance your worksheets.
Learn About:
- Excel formulas and functions
- Entering formulas and functions
- Reference operators
- AutoSum
- Cell references
- Order of operations
- Using names in formulas
- Troubleshooting
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
$99 | Materials & refreshments provided
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Microsoft Excel Tables & PivotTables
Create Tables, PivotTables, and PivotCharts and learn how they can be an effective summary and visual communication tool as well.
Learn About:
- Creating an Excel table
- Sorting and filtering a table or list range
- Creating a PivotTable and PivotChart
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
$99 | Materials & refreshments provided
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The Language to Lead: Public Speaking Skills
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Effective communication is critical for successful supervision and leadership. Learn what good communication looks like and sounds like. Identify the communication styles of others and yourself. Beyond the words we use, what do people see in our eyes, gestures, and body language? Do we command attention, motivate, and engage our audience?
Enhance communication skills and build more productive working relationships for yourself and your organization. Learn by doing in this activity-filled seminar. Participants will have an opportunity to practice the skills they learn.
Key Takeaways
- Discover how your body language, speaking style, and ability to deliver messages are working
- Learn to use greater vocal range, how to control mannerisms, and reduce nerves
- Apply presentation skills to small group situations
- Learn to motivate and engage an audience
Date: April 30, 2019 | 8:30-3:30 pm
Location: Advance Business & Manufacturing Center, 2701 Larsen Rd, Green Bay
Cost: $200
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Explore Starting A Business
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The complimentary “Explore Starting a Business” session provides a look inside at what it takes to launch a startup and small business. Explore key factors in starting and growing a business. Begin to determine if you have a feasible idea, learn about critical questions to consider, and additional entrepreneurship training opportunities. Whether you are looking to turn your side hustle into a full-time gig, grow your small business, or scale a startup, this session will help you understand your next steps. Many dates are available around the region. Get more details and register
here. The closest session is on May 8 at 4:30 pm at the Fox Valley Technical College Venture Center in Appleton.
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Free Small Business Counseling Available
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Once a month, a counselor with the Green Bay Small Business Development Center meets with entrepreneurs and existing business owners at the Calumet County Courthouse in Chilton; he is also available to meet with Calumet County entrepreneurs and businesses on a periodic basis at other locations in the county or his office as schedules permit. These free, individual business counseling sessions are held to help answer questions and put businesses and entrepreneurs in a better position to make the best decisions for themselves and their businesses.
To schedule an appointment with the business counselor, contac
t
Mary Kohrell
using the information provided below. The next regularly scheduled session will be held on Tuesday, April 16.
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Calumet County Community Economic Development contact information:
Mary Kohrell,
Community Economic Development Director
Connie Leonhard
, Program Assistant
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