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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Career CONNECT Event Set for January 27
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Local employers are invited to reserve a booth space to connect with local 10th and 12th graders on January 27. Career CONNECT participation will allow businesses to have direct conversations with high school sophomores as well as explore hiring opportunities for high school seniors who will enter the workforce or are looking for apprenticeships. See below for more information, and click the image to register.
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Please Take the Broadband Survey
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Calumet County is working with New North, our regional economic development entity, to study broadband internet service throughout the county and across the region, to identify gaps and prioritize investment. The study is being conducted by Design Nine, Inc.
Employers in Calumet County can support the study by making employees aware of the survey and encouraging them to taking this household survey by October 29. The survey includes use of an accurate speed test. Each household is asked to take the survey one time, using the speed test while at home, but may use the speed test multiple times, both at home and at work, to provide more data for the study.
In addition, businesses are requested to have someone in each organization respond to this business survey by October 29.
Note: Better local internet will lead to better opportunities to attract and retain workers.
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… And Manufacturers, Please Take the Industry 4.0 Survey
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The NEW Manufacturing Alliance, working in partnership with St. Norbert College, is replicating a study on Industry 4.0 that was done in March 2019. Thanks to a Microsoft grant, they are able to host this study again and understand regional manufacturers needs related to Industry 4.0. The study will also serve as a benchmarking tool for companies to compare where they are compared to other companies. The 2019 study results had a significant impact on new degree programs now being offered at the colleges.
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How is Math Involved in Making Cheese Sticks?
Wisconsin manufacturers made these videos to show kids the real-world value of their learning.
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Most kids have sat in their math and science classes and had the thought run through their heads: "When am I ever going to need to know this?" A Green Bay math teacher was tired of hearing that, so she decided she was going to start showing her students how what they were learning in the classroom was applicable to real jobs.
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Marie Viste was the Green Bay Area Public School District's secondary mathematics curriculum coordinator a decade ago when she, in conjunction with the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance, came up with the idea to show students how the math they were learning is used by manufacturers every day.
"What I tell them is that you don't know where your life is going to take you, you don't know what mental muscles you're going to be using, you don't know what skills (you'll need to use) and so we're learning so many of these things to get us ready for all those possibilities," Viste said.
The NEW Manufacturing Alliance's "Get Real Math" video series has grown to include more than 50 math videos for elementary school through high school students.
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Employees at Robinson Inc. film a Get Real math video at the company’s De Pere office. Courtesy of Lynn Jones.
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Each video comes with a lesson plan for teachers to use, which outlines the Common Core education concepts that are being taught and includes questions for students.
The Alliance recently expanded the project to include science videos, which premiered Tuesday.
The free videos and lesson plans have been used by teachers in more than 150 schools all over the nation, NEW Manufacturing Alliance Executive Director Ann Franz said.
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NEWMA is a membership organization open to all Northeast WI manufacturers. Calumet County manufacturers are encouraged to explore opportunities like this with NEWMA.
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The Great Resignation Is Accelerating
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I first noticed that something weird was happening this past spring. In April, the number of workers who quit their job in a single month broke an all-time U.S. record. Economists called it the “Great Resignation.” But America’s quittin’ spirit was just getting started. In July, even more people left their job. In August, quitters set yet another record. That Great Resignation? It just keeps getting greater.
“Quits,” as the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls them, are rising in almost every industry. For those in leisure and hospitality, especially, the workplace must feel like one giant revolving door. Nearly 7 percent of employees in the “accommodations and food services” sector left their job in August. That means one in 14 hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and barbacks said sayonara in a single month. Thanks to several pandemic-relief checks, a rent moratorium, and student-loan forgiveness, everybody, particularly if they are young and have a low income, has more freedom to quit jobs they hate and hop to something else.
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Retail Imports Stifled by Port Congestion
Retail imports have continued to remain near all-time highs, but port congestion in the U.S.’s busiest ports are stifling higher increases.
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Cargo ships are backed up in California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles waiting for room to unload their cargo. And those backups are likely to result in a slight dip from last year’s unusually high numbers, according to the latest monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
“The cargo is there for larger gains at several ports, but congestion issues are impacting fluid operations,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Ships will eventually get unloaded, but the pressure is on for everyone to work together to get the containers out as quickly as possible. Retailers are doing whatever it takes to make sure shelves are well-stocked for the holidays, from bringing in merchandise earlier to chartering their own ships. Consumers should be able to find what they need, but it’s always safer to shop early than wait until the last minute.”
The port delays come just ahead of the 2021 holiday shopping season, when retailers are bringing in the highest levels of imports. Rising COVID-19 infections in Asia has also slowed the loading of U.S.-bound ships. Compounding the import back-ups are shortages of equipment, labor, and outbound truck and rail capacity.
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Irish Dairy Co-op Acquires Leading US Cheese Business Whitehall Specialties Inc.
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Irish dairy cooperative, Ornua, has completed the acquisition of U.S. cheese ingredients business, Whitehall Specialties Inc. (WSI) for an undisclosed sum from Mason Wells, a private equity firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The acquisition complements Ornua’s U.S. Ingredients division, Ornua Ingredients North America (OINA), and is central to Ornua’s long-term growth strategy in the U.S. cheese ingredients market.
OINA is a leading provider of customized functional cheese solutions for U.S. food manufacturing and foodservice customers.
This acquisition significantly increases OINA’s current position in the U.S. cheese ingredients market, expanding its production footprint to six well-invested facilities across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. The transaction is central to Ornua’s long-term sustainable growth strategy, unlocking significant advanced capacity and flexibility to support its existing and new customers’ ambitious growth plans.
Outside of the cheese ingredients sector, Ornua is a leading supplier in the U.S. consumer market with its flagship brand, Kerrygold. Kerrygold, Ireland’s only €1 billion food brand, is the number two butter brand in the U.S. and sells 10 million packs each week globally.
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Local Grocery Stores in Upper Michigan & NE Wisconsin Bought by Coborn’s, Inc.
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Three Tadych’s Econofoods grocery stores in Northeast Wisconsin and three in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were sold to Coborn’s, Inc.
According to officials, Coborn’s signed a purchase agreement to buy the six Tadych grocery stores. The six stores that were included in the acquisition were:
- 1250 North 14th Avenue – Sturgeon Bay
- 278 South Main Street – Clintonville
- 109 North Main Street – Brillion
- 1401 O’dovero Drive – Marquette, Mich.
- 1600 South Stephenson Avenue – Iron Mountain, Mich.
- 1000 West Sharon Avenue – Houghton, Mich.
Coborn’s CEO says they are looking forward to using the same operating philosophies in those six locations.
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Professional Plating Earns 7th Top Shop Recognition
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The team at Professional Plating has once again—for the unprecedented seventh year in a row—been named a “Top Shop” in North America by Product Finishing Magazine.
In a competition of all plating and anodizing operations, the team at Professional Plating has been honored to have been chosen every year of the competition’s existence.
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Professional Plating will be receiving a seventh consecutive gold medal for being named a Top Shop in North America by Product Finishing Magazine.
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“Being honored with this award and pinning a seventh gold medal on our team is amazing,” General Manager Larry Dietz said. “Displaying impeccable customer service, with industry leading quality, the team has proven that Professional Plating is the true Top One Stop Shop in the U.S. having the ability to provide zinc rack and barrel plating, shot and sand blasting, trucking, acrylic and epoxy e coating and world class quality powder coating all out of our 200,000 square foot Brillion, Wisconsin plant.”
Three members of the PPI Leadership Team—Jessica Moskow, Powder Coat manager; Kerry Behnke, Zinc Business Team manager; and Dietz have the honor of representing the PPI Team in Cincinnati the week of Oct. 11 at this year’s Top Shop Finishing Conference giving a presentation on the what, why and how at Professional Plating and what drives the engine. Dietz said that can be summed up like this: “Our success is our team’s passion.”
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The Kiel Area Association of Commerce is welcoming Watson’s Tents and Events to
the chamber. Watson’s Tents and Events is a family-owned business established in
2017. It is their goal to help make events hassle-free by providing free setup and
delivery for all rental items. They are located in Kiel and service all the surrounding
counties (Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Calumet and Fond du Lac). They offer tents,
bounce houses, tables, chairs and other party accessories. Pricing can be found on
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New Discoveries (formerly Circle of Friends) Childcare Center in Brillion closed in mid-October. The closure adds pressure to an already overburdened childcare system in this region.
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A recent view of the Tecumseh Products Company demolition showed that much of the interior of the factory was already down, providing a view to the west which had not been possible for many decades. (Mark Sherry photo, Tri County News, Oct. 14, 2021)
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Community Shines at Best and Brightest Awards
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The big time isn’t a place. The big time is a state of mind. That was the message from Peter Kittel as he hosted last Thursday night’s Fourth Annual Brillion’s Best and Brightest Awards Night presented by the Brillion Area Chamber of Commerce.
Kittel said it best, adding that the award recipients had the big-time state of mind, as did the attendees that filled the Round Lake Farms venue. Cobblestone Creek catered dinner and Tadych's Econofoods sponsored dessert. All award recipients thanked the Chamber of Commerce for the award and spoke glowingly of the community.
Michael S. Ariens Leadership Award: Zane Zander
Zane Zander was unable to attend the event due to an illness, but watched the ceremony via a FaceTime call, and the entire crowd of people waved to him through the screen.
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Main Street Bounceback Grants
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The Main Street Bounceback Grant program provides $10,000 to new or existing businesses and non-profit organizations moving into vacant properties in Wisconsin’s downtowns and commercial corridors. Funds can be used to pay leases or mortgages, operational expenses and other business costs related to the newly opened location. The reimbursement grant program is open to new or existing businesses opening a new location or expanding operations in a vacant commercial space as of January 1, 2021. Contact the grant program coordinator at East Central WI Regional Planning Commission for information.
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Calumet County Business Assistance
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Business Start-Up and Expansion Assistance
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Ray York of the Small Business Development Center serves Calumet County with business assistance to existing and start-up businesses throughout the county. Small Business Development Center services are available at no cost to businesses. Ray’s goal is to provide opportunity to clients by guiding them to make informed decisions to start, expand, or transition their business. He can be reached by phone at 920-946-9379 or york@sheboygancountyedc.org.
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Wisconsin Lt. Governor's Small Business Academy
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The Wisconsin Lt. Governor’s Small Business Academy is a two-day virtual conference focused on providing the state’s entrepreneurs and start-up businesses an opportunity to connect with technical and financial resource providers and identify the tools needed to start and grow a business.
Registration is required. Please click here to register. The agenda is available at the conference webpage. Click here to view the full agenda.
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Project Management
Complete Projects On-Time and On-Budget
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Provides an introduction to project management, project planning, project management tools and project debriefing. Explains the importance of project management for the current project team and fosters learning in the organization for future projects.
Learn About:
- Developing project goals and objectives
- Project management tools such as work breakdown structure, risk analysis, Gantt charts and progress review meetings
- Obtaining cooperation and commitment for the project from team members and assuring sponsor support
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Starts Wednesday, Nov. 17
8:30 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor-Led, Virtual
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$300 | Materials provided
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Workplace AHA BLS Provider CPR
Receive Your American Heart Association Healthcare CPR Card Upon Completion
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Learn how to perform CPR and obstructed airway techniques. Use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), pocket mask, and Bag Valve mask.
Learn About:
- Two-rescuer CPR
- One-rescuer CPR
- Obstructed airway techniques
- Automated External Defibrillators (AED)
- Pocket masks and Bag Valve masks
Monday, November 1, 2021
5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
FVTC Chilton Regional Center
$70 | Materials provided
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Intro to the Amazon.com Selling Platform
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Build your business by selling on Amazon. In this seminar, explore the fundamental information needed to sell products on Amazon and help build your business.
Discover the common business models sellers use, learn the differences between the models and explore which one will work best for you.
You will learn about:
- Amazon product sourcing vs. launching a new product
- Amazon MFN and FBA Programs
- Upsides and downsides to selling on Amazon
- Critical concepts to selling on Amazon
- Third party tools to simplify selling on Amazon
- Strategies to move your business off the Amazon.com platform
Monday & Tuesday, November 8 & 9, 2021
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Explore Starting a Business
November 10, 2021
December 8, 2021
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Work for Yourself at 50+
November 11, 2021
December 7, 2021
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1 Million Cups Appleton
Join us virtually every Wednesday
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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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