Helios USA, a start-up solar panel manufacturer, expects to have a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility operating in the city of Milwaukee by the end of the second quarter of 2010, according to chief executive officer Steve Ostrenga.

The company is currently negotiating a long-term lease for its facility. It is looking at two facilities, one on Milwaukee’s northwest side and another in the Menomonee Valley.

Although the company expects to have its lease finalized by the end of January, it will take at least four months to assemble its manufacturing operations inside and train its workforce, Ostrenga said.

“This is going to be advanced manufacturing, using a robotic platform,” he said. “It will be highly sophisticated and complex.”

When the Milwaukee plant begins production in mid 2010, it will have 20 to 30 employees. The company expects to have more than 50 workers within three years, Ostrenga said.

Helios USA will produce solar panels for the residential and commercial markets. The company’s designs will allow its customers to produce more electricity per square foot than models that are currently available, Ostrenga said.

Helios USA’s solar panels will sell on the higher end of the cost spectrum because of their higher efficiency. 

“In terms of power per square foot we will be one of the top three in the industry,” Ostrenga said. “The value will be that in a smaller footprint or rooftop, our customers will be able to generate more electricity.”

Earlier this month, Helios USA received a $1 million federal loan from the State Energy Program, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The company is also working to complete a private fund-raising campaign, Ostrenga said.

Ostrenga is a Wisconsin native and former Quad/Graphics employee with experience in the Peace Corps and Army Reserves. He says that his network of contacts has helped him assemble a highly experienced management team.

“Our management has more than 70 years in manufacturing in the solar, electronics, aeronautics and print industries,” Ostrenga said.

Glenn Rieder Inc., a Milwaukee-based designer and builder of architectural millwork for resorts, hotels, casinos, corporate offices, health care facilities and other high-end applications, has opened sales and project management offices in New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

The New Jersey office will have seven employees, while the Washington office will employ three workers. Both offices will be led by Richard Palko, who has more than 30 years in millwork sales experience.

“We haven’t been satisfied, historically, with our East Coast sales efforts and penetration in that market,” said Michael Floyd, CEO of Glenn Rieder. “With these two offices opening up and Rich and his team, we should be able to, overnight, become a significant player in the Mid-Atlantic states in our industry.”

Glenn Rieder has about 150 employees throughout the country. Most of its millwork is done in its 100,000-square-foot facility in Milwaukee, where it has about 100 employees. It also has a large sales and manufacturing facility near Las Vegas.

Triangle Tool Corp., a Milwaukee-based tool maker serving the plastics industry, recently added a new OKK HM1250S shuttle-styled CNC machine, bolstering its ability to serve clients that require oversized specialty machining.

The new machine is able to accommodate pieces as large as 6,600 pounds with a 50 hp spindle that spins as fast as 8,000 rpm. Because it is a shuttle-styled machine, an operator is able to set up one piece for milling while the machine is milling another piece.

Earlier this year, Triangle Tool completed an 18,000-square-foot addition, built to house its specialty machining division. The addition houses the OKK machine along with “The Machine,” a bridge style five axis CNC with more than 31 feet of travel.

“It became evident that we needed to have a shuttle dedicated to specialty machining,” said Vic Baez, technical sales manager. “The versatility of the (OKK) shuttle maximizes worker and machine efficiencies, which is a win-win for us and for companies that are looking to have multiple pieces machined.”

According to a new survey by Milwaukee-based American Society for Quality (ASQ), manufacturers are optimistic about an economic uptick in 2010.

Most respondents (almost 65 percent) predict that their companies will feel some financial recovery in the coming year. However, many believe further cost-cutting measures will continue to be implemented.

According to the study:

• 61 percent believe their organization will create processes to reduce costs.
• 35 percent will have mandatory budget cuts.
• 28 percent expect layoffs.
• 25 percent anticipate reduced employee benefits.

Respondents were also asked what one tip they would give to manufacturers to ensure revenue growth in 2010. The top four tips from respondents were:

Continue to take part in continuous improvement practices and increase use of quality processes. Increase customer satisfaction.

Implement more lean processes.

Reduce costs.

"Since the manufacturing sector greatly impacts the economic climate, this survey may serve as a good predictor of the overall 2010 financial outlook," said ASQ president Peter Andres. "This information will also help ASQ keep a good pulse on the right tools and resources to better serve the needs of our members and customers in the new year."

Army may re-evaluate $3 billion contract for Oshkosh Corp.

The U.S. Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the U.S. Army re-open bids won by Oshkosh Corp. to produce a family of medium-duty tactical vehicles, which could cost the Oshkosh-based company up to $3 billion and hundreds of jobs.

The GAO has sustained protests filed by Navistar Defense LLC of Warrenville Ill., and BAE Systems, Tactical Vehicle Systems LP of Sealy, Texas. BAE Systems, PLC, is the London-based parent company of BAE Systems, Tactical Vehicle Systems LP.

“Our review of the record led us to conclude that the Army’s evaluation was flawed with regard to the evaluation of Oshkosh’s proposal under the capability evaluation factor, and the evaluation of Navistar’s past performance,” a press release by the GAO stated.

That ruling means there could have been a mis-evaluation of Oshkosh’s production capabilities in the evaluation process, said Michael Golden, managing associate for general counsel for procurement law with the office.

“We also recommend that if, at the conclusion of the reevaluation, Oshkosh is not found to offer the best value, the agency should terminate Oshkosh’s contract for the convenience of the government,” the release stated.

Oshkosh was awarded the contract to manufacture the vehicles on Aug. 26, and Navistar and BAE appealed the award of that contract on Sept. 4 and 5, respectively.

Although the GAO recommends that the Army re-open the bidding process, a decision on whether or not to reopen the process lies with Army officials. However, federal agencies almost always follow GAO recommendations, Golden said.

“In theory, the Army doesn’t have to follow our recommendations,” he said. “But I can only think of one case in the last 10 years when an agency didn’t do that.”

The Army has 60 days to notify the GAO if it will re-open the bidding process.

Despite the GAO recommendation, Oshkosh Corp. believes it will retain the disputed contract.

"We believe the Army will quickly and appropriately address the GAO's recommendations," said Robert G. Bohn, Oshkosh Corp. chairman and chief executive officer. "We believe that in its review, the Army will find that Oshkosh Corporation was and continues to be the correct choice for the FMTV contract, providing proven capability and the best value to the Army and the taxpayer."

Oshkosh Corp. said previously that it was able to save 550 to 600 jobs in Oshkosh and another 600 jobs in Pennsylvania because of the contract. The first delivery order, due in mid-2010, was for 2,568 trucks and trailers and was worth approximately $281 million.

The FMTV series ranges from 2.5 ton to 5 ton payloads, with 23 different variants and 17 different models.

Over the past several months, Oshkosh Corp. announced it was seeking about $3.5 million to $5 million in tax incremental financing to build a new 150,000-square-foot electrocoat painting facility, where it would paint the FMTV vehicles.

Generac launches new line of industrial generators

Waukesha-based Generac Power Systems Inc. has unveiled Generac Industrial Power, a newly redesigned and re-engineered industrial product line of generators.

Product improvements include new engines, new enclosures, several ergonomic enhancements and aesthetic changes.

"The business of selling and supporting industrial generators is extremely demanding, requiring reliable and flexible solutions that are acceptable for our clients," said Noreen Brooker, senior channel manager at Generac. "The new Generac Industrial Power line of standby generators is a strong reflection of Generac's commitment to providing its customers with the most superior and reliable products that they demand."

At the heart of the new Generac Industrial generators are new industrial-certified, Generac-approved diesel engines from Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT) and Volvo powering the 60 to 400 kilowatt (kW) power range.

Other improvements include new enclosures that provide better sound attenuation, offer a rugged exterior coating with RhinoCoat and feature a gasket-free, interconnected roof joint panel that requires no additional caulking.

To enhance the branding of Generac Industrial Power products and make them easily identifiable in the marketplace, a dark gray has been designated as the new standard enclosure paint color and a new 'Generac Industrial Power' logo has been developed.

Actuant CEO says ‘the worst is behind us’

Actuant Corp. reported fiscal first quarter net earnings of $11.9 million, which was an improvement over $11.6 million in the same period a year ago.

However, the company’s earnings per diluted share fell to 17 cents from 19 cents a year earlier, and its net sales dropped to $305.2 million from $370.8 million last year.

The first quarter sales of $305 million was the highest quarterly amount in the past

four quarters for Actuant, which plans to move its corporate headquarters from Butler to Menomonee Falls.

“From a global economic standpoint, we believe the worst is behind us,” said Robert Arzbaecher, chairman and chief executive officer. “We’ve experienced stabilization in most end markets and sequential improvement in certain early cycle businesses and those where inventory destocking was meaningful. From a cost reduction and business simplification standpoint, our activities are on track and we are confident we will realize the $35 million in committed annual cost savings once these projects have been completed.”

Joy Global caps record year

Joy Global Inc., a Milwaukee-based mining equipment manufacturer, reported a strong fourth quarter that led the company to a record fiscal year.

The company’s net income for the quarter was $124 million, or $1.20 per fully diluted share, compared with $118 million, or $1.11 per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. The firm’s net sales for the quarter decreased by seven percent to $964 million from $1.0 billion in the same period a year earlier.

For the full 2009 fiscal year, Joy Global’s net sales were $3.6 billion, up from $3.4 billion in fiscal 2008, an increase of 5 percent. Net sales for the company’s Underground Mining Machinery segment increased by 11 percent, primarily the result of increased original equipment shipments to the United States underground coal markets. The company’s Surface Mining Equipment segment saw a 6 percent decrease in sales, primarily due to production slot adjustments resulting from the cancellation of machines for the North American copper and iron ore markets and a slight decline in aftermarket sales associated with softness early in the fiscal year for copper, iron ore and oil sands end markets.

"We continued to deliver exceptional performance in our fourth quarter, and finished our fiscal year with record revenues, earnings, and profitability," said Mike Sutherlin, president and chief executive officer of Joy Global. "In addition, our process improvement efforts have delivered the second consecutive quarter of reduced inventory levels. With the help of higher profits and lower inventories, cash from operations was strong despite reduced customer deposits, and we finished the year with substantially lower net debt. We delivered performance that was exceptional and balanced, and we enter next year a much stronger company with more efficient processes, a healthy balance sheet and improved liquidity."

This week, I would like to take a break from the “how to do business in China” mode and consider how China evolved form a third-world country into its present form in just 30 years.

The conventional explanation is China transformed itself through “cheap labor.” The mantra of “cheap labor” does not adequately explain how a third-world economy rose from the bottom of the world’s economic ratings to being America’s banker and a leading player in the world economy. The fact is that “cheap labor” exists, and has existed, for years in abundance in various parts of the world, and yet few other than China, India and Brazil have been able to make much progress recently.

To read more, click here.

Louie Gentine is new president of Sargento Foods

Sargento Foods Inc. has appointed Louie Gentine president and chief customer officer of the Plymouth-based company.

Lou Gentine, Sargento chairman and chief executive officer, made the announcement that his son will succeed Bob Clouston, who is retiring.

"Bob has made many significant and lasting contributions to our success since he was hired in 2000, and we wish him the best in his retirement," Lou Gentine said. "With Bob's transitional counsel and mentoring, Louie is well-prepared to build upon our recent successes."

Louie Gentine earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and his master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University.

After spending three years in commercial banking, Louie Gentine returned to Sargento and has had many cross-functional training and leadership experiences in marketing, production, procurement and, most recently, as president of the consumer products division.

In his new role, Louie Gentine will have responsibility for the company's four sales divisions, new product development and corporate-wide customer and consumer research.

The company also announced that Michael Pellegrino has joined Sargento as president of its consumer products division. Pellegrino most recently worked at Kraft Foods as senior vice president for global strategic planning.

Strattec names Krejci as new president

The board of directors of Milwaukee-based Strattec Security Corp. has elected Frank Krejci as its president and chief operating officer, effective Jan. 1, 2010.

Krejci will report to Harold Stratton II, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, who has also acted as president since October, 2004.

Krejci will continue on the Strattec board of directors. He has been a member of the board for more than 14 years.

Stratton said, "Frank brings to his new role with Strattec a wealth of experience and expertise, including strategic planning, merger and acquisition activity, venture capital investments, and a significant role as a vice president of Briggs & Stratton Technologies, our predecessor company. He has been president of The Custom Shoppe, a privately held custom furniture manufacturer in Watertown, Wis., for the past 13 years. As a result of his participation on the Strattec board and the role he played at Briggs & Stratton Technologies, Frank has a solid understanding of our company, the industry we serve, our customers and challenges. With that understanding and his high level of expertise, he will be a great enhancement to our management team."

Illinois chemical company plans to move jobs to Pleasant Prairie

North Chicago, Ill.-based EMCO Chemical Distributors Inc. has a contract to purchase a 259,580-square-foot building at 8601 95th St. in Pleasant Prairie’s LakeView Corporate Park from Hexion Specialty Chemicals, which ceased operations there earlier this year.

Village officials said EMCO plans to have 80 to 125 full-time employees at the facility for packaging and distribution operations.

The purchase is pending EMCO’s due diligence procedures, which includes an environmental study, EMCO president Edward Polen said. The company will know in January if it will complete the purchase, he said.

“We think everything is going to be fine,” Polen said.

The company wants to purchase the building because it is located along a rail line. The company ships materials in via rail and ships them out on truck, Polen said. It is difficult to find facilities with easy access to rail lines, he said.

Some of EMCO’s operations at its headquarters in North Chicago will likely be moved to the Pleasant Prairie facility, but the company has yet to determine exactly what will be moved, Polen said.

Pleasant Prairie village officials this week approved a conditional use permit for EMCO.

Some of EMCO’s larger customers include Rust-Oleun, Exxon Mobile, Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore & Co., PPG Industries and Valspar.

The company’s waste transfer and storage facility at 9114 58th Place, Suite 900, Kenosha, will not be affected by the addition of the Pleasant Prairie facility, Polen said.

Sensient expands in Costa Rica and China

Sensient Technologies Corp. has opened a new state-of-the-art facility in Alajuela, Costa Rica, and two additional plants in China.

The Milwaukee-based company said its new flavors center in Costa Rica will serve as the base of its Central American and Caribbean operations. The facility includes laboratories for beverage and dairy applications and savory flavors staffed by product application teams, and a quality control laboratory. The site will also develop products for local markets by blending flavors to fit local tastes.

Sensient’s new China facilities are located in Guangzhou and Shanghai. The new 62,000-square-foot Guangzhou location includes a four-story office and laboratory building, a manufacturing plant and a separate fragrance building. The facilities were built to Sensient's specifications when the company outgrew its original facility and relocated.

The facilities will produce colors, flavors, pharmaceutical coatings and fragrances, primarily for the Chinese market.

Kenneth Manning, chairman and chief executive officer of Sensient, said, "These new facilities highlight China's increasing role in Sensient's continued strategic growth. China's emerging middle-class constitutes an important new market for our products, one that has already begun to contribute to Sensient's growth and will gain in importance going forward."

Feingold calls for tighter ‘Buy American’ requirements for government

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) reintroduced his Buy American Improvement Act to help American workers and manufacturing.

The proposed legislation would help close loopholes in current law that have allowed federal agencies to circumvent Buy American requirements. The requirements, which date back to 1933, were created to help ensure the federal government buys U.S.-made goods for federal procurement projects.

The Buy American Improvement Act will make it harder to waive certain provisions of the Buy American Act and improve transparency in the law by, among other things, requiring federal agencies to publish requests for waivers and waivers granted under the Buy American Act on their websites so that American taxpayers and workers can see how well the federal government is doing at supporting U.S. workers. 

“The federal government needs to be held accountable on whether it is supporting hard-working Americans," Feingold said.  “My legislation will help close loopholes in current law that have allowed federal agencies to evade the Buy American Act. By purchasing American-made goods whenever possible, our federal government will send a simple message to American workers: We support you.”

Another wind farm to be built in Wisconsin

A new 20-megawatt wind farm, featuring eight wind turbines, is being developed in Glenmore, Wis., located near Green Bay.

The project, called the Shirley Wind Farm, will generate nearly 64 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power about 8,000 homes and displace an estimated 55,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

Nordex USA Inc. has announced an order for eight N100 wind turbines for the project, which is being developed by Hubertus-based Emerging Energies of Wisconsin. The CH Energy Group, owner of the New York utility Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., holds a controlling interest in the project via its unregulated subsidiary Central Hudson Enterprises.

"The project debuts some of the most advanced turbines in the U.S.," said Ralf Sigrist, president and chief executive officer of Nordex USA. "It's been a pleasure partnering with Emerging Energies to provide the best technology for the site, designed to make the absolute most of Glenmore's wind resources."

The project represents a shift in the U.S. market toward larger turbines with higher efficiencies and yields. In 2008, the average installed turbine was 1.67 megawatts. Nordex built the first 2.5-megawatt turbine in 2000 and has the longest track record for reliability in the multi-megawatt class, with over 1,000 installed worldwide.

"We looked very carefully at the N80/N90/N100 Nordex turbines and were convinced by their great track record, along with the quality and experience Nordex brings to the market," said Bill Rakocy, one of three founders of Emerging Energies of Wisconsin. "We selected the N100s because they accomplish two critical project goals -- maximizing available land and wind resources by using the largest, tallest turbines available. We're excited to introduce them in the U.S. and in Wisconsin."

Nordex will deliver and install the turbines in the third quarter of 2010, with project completion slated for the fourth quarter. The order also includes maintenance and technical operation under a 10-year service contract. The project carries a 20-year power purchase agreement contract with Wisconsin Public Service Corp.

BizTimes Milwaukee invites readers to get a jumpstart on 2010 by attending the annual Northern Trust Economic Trends Breakfast.

The breakfast, which will be presented by BizTimes Milwaukee on Friday, Jan. 22, at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, will provide forecasts and insights about the year ahead in business.

The featured panelists for 2010 will be:

• Michael Knetter, Ph.D., the dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Business in Madison and a former U.S. presidential economist. Knetter will provide a macro-economic overview.
• Bob Arzbaecher, CEO of Actuant Corp., which is expanding and moving its global headquarters from Butler to a facility in Menomonee Falls. Actuant is a $1.2 billion diversified manufacturing company with facilities in 30 countries. Arzbaecher will discuss the outlook for global competition and manufacturing.
• Aaron Jagdfeld, CEO of Generac Power Systems Inc., which is growing in Waukesha and recently filed to become a publicly traded company. Generac manufactures portable residential power generators. Jagdfeld will provide the outlooks for manufacturing, innovation and energy.
• Andy Nunemaker, president of EMSystems LLC, a Milwaukee-based company that develops software systems for emergency rooms throughout the United States. EMSystems has acquired three other companies in the past 18 months and continues to grow. Nunemaker will discuss the outlooks for technology and health care.

For additional information or to register to attend, visit www.biztimes.com/trends.