Dallas-based Southwest Airlines officially kicked off the carrier's service from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, which began Sunday, at a news conference this morning.
"We want our relationship with Milwaukee to be about more than just our nonstop flights, low fares, and Customer Service--although those are important," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's chairman, president, and CEO. "Southwest Airlines is truly here as a member of this community and our weekend involvement with the Ronald McDonald House and our fabulous tailgate are just the beginning."
Kelly joined officials from Milwaukee County in kicking a ceremonial football filled with confetti to cap-off Southwest's Touchdown in Milwaukee celebrations which featured a free tailgate watching party for a thousand Green Bay Packers fans on Sunday.
"Southwest is now a community partner in so many ways," said Scott Walker, Milwaukee County Executive. "Above all, these new flights and new markets clearly help fuel the economic engine of this entire region, Mitchell Airport."
"This added service will build on Mitchell's reputation as one of the most competitive airports in the United States," said Lee Holloway, Milwaukee County Board Chairman. "We look forward to working with Southwest Airlines in the coming years to help them grow their service even more."
"I thank Airport Director Barry Bateman and the entire airport staff for bringing Southwest here to Milwaukee County," said Supervisor Michael Mayo, Sr., Milwaukee County Board Transportation, Public Works, and Transit Committee Chairman. "This truly is a win-win for both business and leisure travelers. With this low-fare service to six cities, I am sure even more people from the entire region and beyond will choose Milwaukee for their travel needs."
Southwest Airlines new service from Milwaukee features 12 daily flights to six nonstop destinations (Baltimore/Washington, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix, and Tampa Bay).

One day after Southwest Airlines entered the Milwaukee market with service at Mitchell International Airport, Midwest Airlines last flight using a Boeing 717 jet and Midwest’s legacy pilots and flight attendants will land in Milwaukee tonight.
Republic has been replacing the Midwest Airlines flight crews and aircraft with its own less expensive aircraft and crews.
Midwest Airlines pilots and flight attendants will greet the crew of Midwest Airlines Flight 210, the airline’s last Boeing 717 flight, when it arrives in Milwaukee at 9:40 p.m.

Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. announced today it has added Denise Wypiszenski as managing director, chief operating officer of its Private Wealth Management group.
Wypiszenski will focus on supporting Baird’s financial advisors and branch offices nationwide to better serve clients and grow the business. She also will help advance ongoing recruitment, financial advisor training and other key strategic initiatives.
She was most recently the director and COO of the western division of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a division of Morgan Stanley.
Baird’s Private Wealth Management group has added nearly 100 financial advisors since the beginning of 2009.

West Allis-based Avalon Rail Inc. will rebuild 12 rail cars for VIA Rail Canada.
Avalon Rail specializes in remanufacturing passenger rolling stock of all types. The company will use various Canadian engineering, design and supply firms for a portion of the project. The cars will be delivered in 2011.
"Avalon Rail was selected for this demanding work through a competitive bidding process based on numerous factors,” said VIA president and CEO Paul Cote. “These included price, craftsmanship, a detailed knowledge of the equipment to be rebuilt and on-time completion of previous projects."
VIA Rail Canada today announced a $19.5 million program for the reconfiguration of the 12 stainless steel passenger cars used on its western transcontinental train, the Canadian, to increase its accessibility and market appeal. The work is being funded from a $407 million allocated for passenger rail improvements under the Government of Canada's Economic Action Plan.
"We are honored to undertake this work for VIA," said June Garland, president of Avalon Rail. "The Canadian is a living legend, offering thousands of travelers from around the world the ultimate in safe, stylish and sustainable rail travel every year for more than a half-century. I can think of no better showcase for the skills of Avalon's dedicated craftspeople."

Milwaukee-based Derco Aerospace Inc. announce today that it has signed an exclusive two-year F-16 spare parts supply contract with Belgian-based company SABCA.
Under the agreement Derco will provide specified Hamilton Sundstrand, Honeywell and Argo-Tech F-16 spare parts for component repair and overhaul on a just-in-time basis in support of SABCA maintenance activities.
The contract further expands Derco's role in supporting European maintenance facilities and enhances Derco's F-16 inventory holdings. As partners, SABCA and Derco jointly will improve maintenance turn-around for F-16 operators.
"Derco values this opportunity to work with SABCA to provide support to European F-16 maintenance activities," said Brian Holt, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "This contract will allow Derco to support maintenance activities on a just-in-time basis to ensure European customers have improved fleet readiness."
 Derco Aerospace provides aircraft spares, services and solutions.

The importance of water industries to Milwaukee and the state’s economy was highlighted at the “Milwaukee 2015: Water, Jobs and the Way Forward” conference this morning.
At the conference, Gov. Jim Doyle discussed state efforts to support the future of Milwaukee as a hub for freshwater companies, research and education.
In mid-November, Governor Doyle will travel to Israel to address the Water Technology and Environmental Control Exhibition and Conference in Tel Aviv.
At 12 noon Doyle will celebrate the completion of the Kinnickinnic River dredging project at Paul Davis Restoration in Milwaukee. The Kinnickinnic River Sediment Remediation Project, co-sponsored by U.S. EPA, the Great Lakes National Program Office and the Wisconsin DNR, removed contaminated sediment from the river in the Milwaukee estuary.

The Menomonee Valley Partners will receive a $300,000 grant for construction of the Hank Aaron State Trail, if the 2010 Department of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Conference Report is approved by President Barack Obama. The bill has been approved by the U.S. House and Senate.
The funds would be used to purchase native trees, shrubs and grasses for a major segment of the Hank Aaron State Trail that runs along 2,000 feet of the Menomonee River.
“The Menomonee River Valley is on its way to reclaiming its livelihood,” said U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, who sponsored the provision. “What was once an important center of commerce from the time of Native American tribes to early 20th century industries is on its way back. By redeveloping the Menomonee River Valley into a place where business, parks, green space and other public infrastructure intersect, Menomonee Valley Partners is working to create hundreds of jobs and a renewed use of and appreciation for the Milwaukee area’s natural resources.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with U.S. Bank, NA, of Minneapolis, a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, to assume all of the deposits and essentially all of the assets of nine more failed banks.
The nine banks were closed late Friday night by federal and state bank regulators, which appointed
the FDIC as receiver.
The nine banks involved in today's transaction are: Bank USA, National Association, Phoenix, Arizona; California National Bank, Los Angeles, California; San Diego National Bank, San Diego, California; Pacific
National Bank, San Francisco, California; Park National Bank, Chicago, Illinois; Community Bank of Lemont, Lemont, Illinois; North Houston Bank, Houston, Texas; Madisonville State Bank, Madisonville, Texas; and Citizens National Bank, Teague, Texas. As of September 30, 2009, the banks had  combined assets of $19.4 billion and deposits of $15.4 billion.
The nine banks had 153 offices, which will reopen as branches of U.S. Bank beginning Saturday during their normal business hours. Depositors of the nine banks will automatically become depositors of U.S. Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers
to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their existing branches until U.S. Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of the nine failed banks.
Over the weekend, depositors of the nine banks can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the banks will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
The FDIC and U.S. Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on approximately $14.4 billion of the combined purchased assets of $18.2 billion. U.S. Bank will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-sharing arrangement is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The agreement also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers.
Last Friday night, Racine-based Bank of Elmwood became the first Wisconsin bank closed by regulators since the recession began. To date, federal officials have closed 106 banks around the country.
The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions ordered the bank to close and asked FDIC to act as receiver. Oak Creek-based Tri City National Bank purchased all of Bank of Elmwood’s deposits and most of its assets. The Wisconsin DFI closed Bank of Elmwood because its level of non-performing loans could not be overcome, said Michael Mach, administrator of the division of banking with the state agency.
The FDIC has now closed 115 banks across the country.

This week, Milwaukee-based Strattec Security Corp. will unveil its first line of consumer products - its BOLT (Breakthrough One-key Locking Technology) series of padlocks. The locks are being unveiled at the 2009 Specialty Equipment Marketing Association trade show, held in Las Vegas on Tuesday through Friday. Read more and view a demonstration of the locks at this week’s edition of BizTimes Manufacturing Weekly.

Harley-Davidson Inc. chief executive officer Keith Wandell is making big changes to try to improve the company’s performance. Whether he saves or destroys the company it will be a bumpy ride says BizTimes Milwaukee Executive Editor Steve Jagler, author of today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog.

More than $129 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds intended to jump-start the economy has been designated for 12 west-central Wisconsin counties and will be spent on projects from public housing to road repairs to preserving government jobs to weatherizing homes and providing food for the needy. Read more in BizTimes Milwaukee's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

The stock market got the week off to a good start after some positive economic reports spurred the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 100 points, but then pulled back with a gain of about 50 points.
The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in October for the third consecutive month. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 55.7 in October from 52.6 in September. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the manufacturing sector, while a number above 50 means expansion.
In addition, U.S. construction spending made its largest gain in a year in September, the Commerce Department said on Monday. The Commerce Department said spending on construction projects rose 0.8 percent to $940.3 billion, after dropping 0.1 percent in August.
And an index that tracks pending sales of existing homes rose a seasonally adjusted 6.1 percent in September, the eighth consecutive increase, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Pending sales are up 19.8 percent compared with September 2008. The index is the highest since December 2006. The index rose 6.4 percent in August.
The BizTimes Stock Index fell 1.75 points to close at 115.90 Friday, but local stocks shifted course and most moved upward in early morning trading today. The biggest local gainers were Bucyrus International Inc. (up $2.26 to $46.68) and Joy Global Inc. (up $1.74 to $52.15). The biggest local decliners were Modine Manufacturing Co. (down 91 cents to $9.39) and Wisconsin Energy Corp. (down 40 cents to $43.27).

Racine-based Modine Manufacturing Company announced today that Bradley C. Richardson, executive vice president of corporate strategy, chief financial officer and director, has resigned his position effective Nov. 13. Richardson has accepted another position with a publicly held company.
Robert R. Kampstra, Vice President and Corporate Controller, will assume the responsibilities of the Chief Accounting Officer on Nov. 13. He will report directly to Thomas Burke, president and CEO of Modine, while the company begins a search for Richardson’s successor.
“Brad Richardson has been a valued member of our executive team since 2003 and has played an important role in helping guide the strategic transformation of our company,” Burke said. “He leaves with our blessing in order to accept a similar position and at the same time fulfill his desire to return to his native Ohio where much of his family still resides. Brad leaves Modine at a time when we are well positioned both strategically and financially to build on our Four-Point Plan and continue our drive for long term, sustainable growth. We thank Brad for his service and wish him and his family our very best on this next chapter in their lives.”