Milwaukee-based Badger Transformer Co. Inc., has purchased two Minnesota-based electronic component manufacturers in the past10 months. On Aug. 3, it closed on its purchase of Nicollet Technologies, located in Minneapolis.

Badger Transformer bought Sub-Tronics, based in Stacy, Minn., in December, 2008.

No terms for either transaction were disclosed.

By the end of the year, the Milwaukee-based manufacturer of electronic transformers used in commercial and industrial projects will have folded the operations of both companies into its Milwaukee operations and Mag-Con Engineering, a Minnesota-based subsidiary, said Cliff Evans, president of Badger Transformer.

“The entire Sub-Tronics operation has been folded into Mag-Con,” he said. “And half of the Nicollet business will go to each (location).”

Badger Transformer has 17 employees in Milwaukee. Its Mag-Con subsidiary has 27 employees. Each location will likely add a handful of employees with the Nicollet acquisition.

“It kinds of depends on how quickly things pick up,” Evans said. “We’re starting to see signs of (improvement in the economy) now. I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Badger Transformer makes transformers and electromagnetic components that are used in products built for the defense, power conversion and storage, overhead crane, lighting system and alternative energy markets. The U.S. Navy is a large customer, and many of Badger’s systems are installed on battleships, submarines and combat ships.

The acquisitions have allowed the company to expand into the oil exploration and library security markets, Evans said.

“With both companies, we kind of bought the same thing – customers and markets that we weren’t into,” he said.

The acquisitions were made possible because of Badger Transformer’s strong balance sheet, Evans said. While the company has seen sales fall off a bit during the recession, the acquisition of Sub-Tronics has helped bolster its position. Because of its strong balance sheet, Badger Transformer has had no difficulty in obtaining financing for the two purchases.

“The bank is still willing to fund us, they’ve been extremely cooperative,” Evans said. “They want to invest in funding growth and have been eager to work with us as long as we bring them good deals.”

Evans believes that Badger Transformer will be positioned for significant growth once the recession ends because of its acquisitions.

“That’s the whole idea – we believe in this economy and that America will pull through this,” he said. “We’re positioning ourselves to capitalize on the economy.”

Actuant to build new HQ in Menomonee Falls

Butler-based Actuant Corp. plans to consolidate several of its operations into a new campus in the Westbrook Corporate Center, located near the intersection of Main Street and 124th Street in Menomonee Falls.

The company said the $15 million project will retain its 650 Wisconsin jobs and will result in the creation of as many as 140 new professional, administrative and distribution jobs.

Actuant is acquiring an existing 175,000-square-foot building and land to construct a new, 100,000-square-foot office building for its new headquarters campus. The newly acquired building at N85 W12545 W. Westbrook Crossing will house the operations of three Actuant electrical businesses, including a distribution center, in one facility, in addition to the Electrical segment headquarters. Actuant purchased the 1750,000-square foot building from Sheboygan Falls-based Bemis Manufacturing Co., which moved operations out of the building several months ago.

The businesses will begin moving into the facility in early 2010. The other planned building, which will not be completed until early 2011, will consolidate the support functions of several of Actuant's Industrial, Energy and Engineered Solutions segment businesses, as well as corporate functions including executive, finance, human resources, lead office and other corporate staff.

In addition, Actuant will create a global training center in its headquarters to support the training and development needs of its 6,000 employees worldwide.

Actuant currently operates seven separate buildings in both Glendale and Butler. The new facility will help the company gain operating efficiencies and will incorporate energy efficient technology to reduce operating costs, the company said.

"This is a logical expansion for Actuant as we seek to gain efficiencies by consolidating our North American electrical businesses and several business unit and administrative operations," said Robert Arzbaecher, Actuant chairman and chief executive officer. "We are proud to make this commitment to continue to grow our business in southeast Wisconsin as our roots in the Milwaukee area go back almost 100 years. We are pleased with the support we received from both the State of Wisconsin and the Village of Menomonee Falls to expand here and retain and create more jobs in the community."

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce is providing a $1.5 million forgivable loan and $1.75 million in tax credits for the Actuant project.

"I am pleased the state is partnering with Acutant Corp. to create and retain jobs and invest in the future of the Menomonee Falls community," Gov. Jim Doyle said. "We look forward to working with this major employer as they grow here in Wisconsin."

In addition, the company will receive about $3 million in incentives, in the form of property tax relief, from the Village of Menomonee Falls.

Actuant is a diversified industrial company with operations in more than 30 countries.  The Actuant businesses include hydraulic and electrical tools and supplies, umbilical, rope and cable solutions as well as highly engineered position and motion control systems. The company had sales of $1.66 billion in fiscal 2008

Grede Foundries to close plants in Michigan and Kansas

Milwaukee-based Grede Foundries Inc. will "right-size" its production capacity during the next few months by closing its plants in Vassar, Mich., and Wichita, Kan.

Grede filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.

Richard Koenings, chairman of Grede Foundries, said the decision will allow the company to realign its production capacity to position itself for the post-recession economy and the reduced worldwide market, particularly in the automotive industry.

Grede officials said the closures will not have any impact on the company's Milwaukee operations.

"Decisions like this are never easy and always difficult, particularly because we do and have always cared a great deal about our people," Koenings said. "Nevertheless, in order to restructure and return to profitability in the future, it is necessary to realign our production capacity to reflect the business environment and utilize our resources in the best way possible.”

Koenings said the Vassar facility employs about 145 people and that the Wichita facility has about 90 workers

Report: Wisconsin lost 31,000 manufacturing jobs in past year

Industrial employment in Wisconsin fell 5 percent over the past 12 months, according to the 2010 Wisconsin Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Evanston, Ill.-based Manufacturers' News Inc. (MNI).

MNI reports that Wisconsin lost 31,296 industrial jobs and 413 manufacturers between June 2008 and June 2009, the sharpest decline MNI has ever reported in the 25 years it has been tracking the state's industry.

Manufacturers' News reports Wisconsin is now home to 12,026 manufacturers employing 600,017 workers.

"As with the entire nation, the recession continues to affect Wisconsin's industrial sectors, with the auto industry and sectors related to the housing market taking the biggest hit," said Tom Dubin, president of MNI. "However, the state's educated workforce and strong exports should help lay the groundwork for recovery,"

Transportation equipment manufacturing saw the worst drop in employment, down 20 percent over the past 12 months, due in part to the shutdowns at General Motor Corp.'s Janesville assembly plant and the Janesville Lear Corp. plant, which closed in December. As a result, industrial employment in Janesville fell 45 percent.

Other auto industry manufacturers shutting down in the state include Alcoa Wheel Products, which shuttered its Beloit plant in March.

Manufacturers in the state associated with the housing industry also saw declines over the year, with employment in lumber and wood down 8.3 percent and furniture/fixtures down 3.2 percent.

Industrial machinery and equipment remains the state's top sector by manufacturing employment with 105,816 jobs, down 3.9 percent over the year. Fabricated metal products account for 67,206 jobs, down 5.4 percent, while third-ranked food products manufacturing accounts for 66,447 jobs, down 1.2 percent over the past 12 months.

Most other industrial sectors in Wisconsin lost jobs within the past year and included: primary metals manufacturing, down 6.1 percent; printing/publishing down 5.4 percent; rubber/plastics down 5.1 percent; paper products down 4.9 percent; electronics down 4.6 percent and stone/clay/glass down 2.3 percent. Employment in chemicals manufacturing remained steady.

Bright spots for the state include the planned expansion of Oshkosh Corp., creating 300-500 jobs.

The continued increase in exports from Wisconsin - rising 13 percent from 2007 to 2008 according to government data - has also helped to offset losses, the report said.

Manufacturers' News reports that southeastern Wisconsin saw the largest drop in industrial employment, down 6.1 percent over the year with the region currently accounting for 324,967 jobs or 54 percent of the state.

Manufacturing employment declined 4.1 percent in southwestern Wisconsin, with the region currently home to 47,429 jobs, while northern Wisconsin suffered a 3.8 percent drop and is currently home to 38,318 jobs. Central Wisconsin saw a 3.4 percent decline and currently accounts for 189,303 of the state's manufacturing jobs, according to MNI.

MNI's city data shows Milwaukee is Wisconsin's top city for manufacturing employment, home to 60,467 jobs, with jobs down 4 percent over the year.

Second-ranked Green Bay accounts for 23,694 jobs, with employment down 2.9 percent.

Madison is home to 19,058 industrial jobs, down 3.1 percent over the year, while Waukesha accounts for 17,320 jobs, down 3.5 percent. Appleton is home to 14,641, down 7.9 percent over the past 12 months.

Herman Miller to expand with 150 more jobs in Sheboygan

Herman Miller Inc. will consolidate its Brandrud subsidiary operations in Sheboygan with a $2.5 million project that will create up to 150 new jobs over the next two years and support the retention of 394 jobs.

The company will receive a $500,000 loan and up to $750,000 in economic development tax credits from the state government to assist with the project, in addition to further anticipated support from the city and county of Sheboygan.

"Manufacturing is a cornerstone of the Wisconsin economy, and Herman Miller is the kind of innovative company we are proud to have in our state," Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said. "I’m pleased that we could work with the company to retain and consolidate its health care product operations in Sheboygan."

Zeeland, Mich.-based Herman Miller Inc. acquired Sheboygan-based Nemschoff Inc. in June.

"Our employees and the Sheboygan community have welcomed the announcement of new production at our Nemschoff operations,” said Beth Nickels, president of Herman Miller Healthcare. "We appreciate the assistance offered by Gov. Doyle and the State of Wisconsin, as well as Mayor (Bob) Ryan and the City of Sheboygan, in support of our investment."

Herman Miller Inc. is a global manufacturer of office, health care, educational and residential furniture. It is credited with the invention of the office cubicle, among other innovations.

Doyle is providing funding for Herman Miller through a new $94 million consolidated tax credit program. In the budget Doyle signed in June, he consolidated five existing economic development programs into one - streamlining administrative issues and better focusing resources on supporting job creation and retention, worker training and investment in new equipment.

Pest control professionals in the commercial, residential, industrial and farm markets around the world rely on the products made in Milwaukee by Liphatech Inc., which manufactures a wide range of baits that target rats, mice, gophers, prairie dogs and other rodents.

Liphatech’s baits rely on three different chemical compounds – chlorophacinone, bromadiolone, and difethialone. All are organic compounds which act as an anti-coagulant. The rodents die from internal bleeding within several days of injesting them.

Liphatech holds a patent on difethialone. It had a patent on bromadiolone, but that patent expired several years ago, said Rene Jimenez, manager of operations at the company’s Milwaukee facility. The three different chemicals are routinely made into a wide range of different baits, he said.

“We make them into blocks, pellets, a grain-based product that coats winter wheat, a tracking powder made of clay that the rats track back to their nests (and gets ingested when they lick themselves clean) and soft bait that looks like paste,” Jimenez said. “From those baits, there are literally hundreds of SKUs (stock keeping unit).”

To read more, click here.

The Chinese sense of humor embraces everything from slapstick, to subtle word plays. A lot of Chinese humor, other than the usual adolescent stuff pervasive to all cultures, depends on speaking Chinese and knowing its history.

My suggestion is tread carefully if you attempt to be humorous to the Chinese. If you want to tell a joke, ask the Chinese side to start and get the drift of what is acceptable. Humor can give you a valuable insight into the character of the people you are dealing with, individually and collectively, but it can also be a lightning rod for bad feelings.

One area that most people do not understand is that political humor is very popular in China. But, as a foreigner, in a country with a highly nationalistic population, making political jokes is a very, very bad idea. On the other hand, understanding Chinese political humor is an essential part of understanding China.

To read more, click here.

American Transmission Co. sponsors study of alternative power transmission

Pewaukee-based American Transmission Co. has joined a group of U.S.-based power related companies to commission a study of the transmission infrastructure needed in the upper Midwest to support renewable energy development and transportation. The study is to begin immediately.

The states to be included in the study include North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“The region under study has some of the richest renewable wind potential in the U.S.,” said John Procario, ATC president and chief executive officer. “Harvesting this Midwestern wind potential and bringing the resulting electric generation to market requires an upgrade to the transmission system in the heart of the nation. Studying the transmission options at the regional level is key to identifying the most economic options.”

Craft brewers will focus on water conservation at Milwaukee conference

The first independent conference on water conservation for craft brewers will bring together water policymakers in the Great Lakes and experts in water saving systems to Milwaukee.

The panels and presentations for the two-day conference will begin on Monday, Oct. 26, at the Pilot House of Pier Wisconsin in downtown Milwaukee.

The conference will help craft brewers save water and save money. Many of them will be facing water utility increases of 25 percent or more next year.

Policy panel discussions cover the Great Lakes Compact, which affects 20 percent of the world's supply of freshwater. Presentations include:

Dick Leinenkugel, secretary of commerce, State of Wisconsin, who will discuss the M-7 Water Council and initiatives to foster water technology and innovations in his keynote address.

Jeff Edgerton, assistant brewmaster, Bridgeport Brewing Co., Portland, Ore., will discuss water savings and retrofits, from rinse water reclamation to re-use of bright tanks, and how procedural changes added up to significant annual savings.

Dan Carey, co-founder and master brewer, and Randy Barr of New Glarus Brewing Co., will conduct tours of the new wastewater treatment center at thecompany's Hilltop Brewery's. The system is the which is the first of its kind to be installed outside the Pacific Rim.

Doug Odell, co-founder and "head water guy," Odell Brewing Co., Ft. Collins, Colo., will talk about how to work with local governments.

Fred Strachan, supervisor, water process and systems, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif., will discuss water audits and equipment monitoring to track water usage throughout the brewhouse and pub operations, and how to work with your water utility.

"I think the conference is a great idea. Craft brewers have the opportunity to be leaders in water conservation and sustainability. All we have to do is apply our natural penchant for innovation and we can change the norm. Many of us have made good progress but there is more we can do through collaboration," said Odell.

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the group will take bus trip to tour the wastewater treatment facility at the New Glarus Brewing Co.'s Hilltop Brewery.

Early registration for the two-day conference is $195, including lunches and the reception. After Sept. 18, the rate will raise to $250. Space is limited to 250 attendees. Online registration and details are available at www.conserve-greatlakes.com.

Waukesha County Technical College will present "Principles of Lean Manufacturing" on Thursday, Sept. 17 from 8 to 11:55 a.m. and 12:30 to 4:25 p.m. at its campus, 800 Main St., Pewaukee, Room C053. The class will provide a mix of lecture and hands-on demonstrations focusing on standardized work, workplace simulation, visual controls, set-up reduction, batch size reduction, point of use storage, quality at the source, workforce practices and pull systems. Cost is $300. For information, click here.