The Oilgear Company, a Milwaukee-based designer and manufacturer of hydraulic components and systems used in the industrial, mining and energy exploration markets, has seen a rebound in orders for its parts and components over the last several months.

“It’s getting better. The trends, one would say, are increasing in our business and inquiries,” said Richard Armbrust, president and CEO of the company. “We’re cautiously optimistic.”

Oilgear now has about 900 employees around the globe. While its total employment has fallen over the last 18 months, it is significantly higher than it was in 2007, when the company had about 700 workers.

Part of the increase is two acquisitions the company has made during the recession. Oilgear acquired Clover Industries, based in Wausau, in December, 2009, and Olmsted Products based in Traverse City, Mich., in November, 2008. The company would not disclose terms of either acquisition.

Clover Industries is a manufacturer of cylinders, piston accumulators and intensifiers for the oil and gas, military, industrial, construction and civil markets. Oilgear believes it will see additional growth in 2010 by adding the company’s products to its existing offerings, Armbrust said.

“When you look at the markets they’re in, their products fit nicely in with who we are,” he said. “We’re quite optimistic about the cylinder business. The acquisition of these two companies will allow us to expand our product offerings to better serve our global customers in our core markets.”

Through the Great Recession, Oilgear’s domestic and European orders have fallen off dramatically. But the company has found increasing opportunities for sales in Asian markets, Armbrust said.

“We’ve spent a great deal of time capturing business in these markets and we’ve been quite successful,” he said.

Xten Industries, a Kenosha-based plastic injection molder and contract manufacturer, will host gubernatorial candidate and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker today as part of Walker’s “Brown Bag Guide to Government” tour.

Today’s visit at Xten will allow the company’s employees to meet with Walker and ask him questions. He will also discuss several of the principles of his campaign for governor – including the need to limit borrowing, the importance of a smaller government and the need for private sector investment rather than public investment.

“Xten embodies the characteristics Walker is talking about: using fewer resources improves the health of the company and its community,” said Matthew Davidson, president of Xten. “We are proud of our growth and his support as we bring global business opportunities to Kenosha that will result in additional jobs.”

Buyers have emerged for two well-known Milwaukee manufacturing companies that are now in state receivership protection.

Milwaukee Forge, which entered state Chapter 128 protection in February, currently has two different groups that have announced their intention to bid for the company’s assets, properties and will hire some or all of its employees. Last week, MF Acquisition Corp. a wholly owned subsidiary of NOG Inc., announced that it has entered into an agreement to bid on the assets of Milwaukee Forge. Later the same day, an investor group led by David Messick the current president and CEO of Milwaukee Forge, announced that it intends to bid for the company’s assets.

“Our local group is prepared to make a very strong bid, and we believe that it will be successful when the auction is completed,” Mesnick said. “Our investor group represents the best overall package, and it also is the best chance to retain the 100-plus jobs in Milwaukee and continue operating the company as a local business.”

NOG, which has a forging facility in Kentucky, and which employs managers who formerly worked at Interstate Forging Industries, which was formerly headquartered in Milwaukee, said that Milwaukee Forge would allow it gain new customers in the local market.

“The Milwaukee Forge situation looked like an opportunity to expand our offerings in our forging group,” said Dave Lauer, chief financial officer of NOG. “We will do our best to retain the customers and hire the employees there to try and make it a sustainable business.”

The purchase of Milwaukee Forge is not expected to close until late April. A buyer will ultimately be determined by the court. Until the case is decided, other bids can still be submitted to the court or the company’s receiver.

Meanwhile, an agreement to purchase Milwaukee-based Super Steel Products Corp. was announced last week by Fred Luber, founder of the company. Under the agreement, which still needs court approval, Luber and an investment group would purchase selected assets of the company out of Wisconsin Chapter 128 receivership.

Super Steel Products Corp. manufactures steel and metal equipment and products for the freight locomotive and passenger rail industries, as well as the industrial, construction and agricultural markets. The company operates at two facilities in the city of Milwaukee – its headquarters and manufacturing facility at 7900 W. Tower Ave., and its transportation and manufacturing facility at 7100 W. Calumet Road.

The company has approximately 250 employees. At its peak earlier this decade, Super Steel had more than 700 employees.

Luber is already a significant stakeholder in Super Steel. He has formed a new company, called SS Acquisition LLC, that would be the buyer of Super Steel if the bid is approved. 

The purchase would include the Super Steel name, inventory, all machinery and equipment, as well as current customer contracts. 

Luber indicated that if the sale to his company is approved, he has agreed to hire “substantially all” 250 Super Steel employees.

“As our industry arises from one of the most tumultuous economic periods in history, I believe very strongly that there are good things ahead for Super Steel,” Luber said.  “I am hopeful that the judge will approve our offer.”

Briggs & Stratton receives grant for new power regeneration system

Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corp. has received a $203,800 grant to install a new power regenerating system that will recapture power lost during its engine and generator testing. By recovering the lost power, the company believes it will be able to save 1.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, saving roughly $104,000.

The grant to Briggs & Stratton was among $1.7 million in energy efficiency grants to six state companies announced by Gov. Jim Doyle. In total, the efficiency programs the six manufacturers are developing are expected to save roughly 12.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year and about 1.1 million therms of natural gas.

Briggs & Stratton was the only Milwaukee area manufacturer that was awarded one of the grants. The other companies that received grants include BPM Inc. of Peshtigo, Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP of Green Bay, Mercury Marine of Fond du Lac, Procter & Gamble of Green Bay, and Thilmany Papers of Kaukauna.

Cooper Power lands contract with We Energies

Waukesha-based Cooper Power Systems, a division of Cooper Industries Ltd., has signed a contract to supply We Energies with a large majority of the Wisconsin-based utility’s electrical transformer product needs through 2014.

Cooper Power Systems employs nearly 2,200 people at facilities throughout southeastern Wisconsin. We Energies has approximately 4,800 employees throughout its Southeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan service area.

“This agreement represents joint financial commitments from two major Wisconsin-based employers to help advance the economy of the state,” said Cooper Power Systems group president Mike Stoessl. “It’s a reflection of our efforts to work with We Energies to live up to our corporate commitment of ‘Energy Delivery Reinvented,’ to keep up with the electrical demands of the region, and to shape our new energy economy.”

Stoessl said that the agreement to supply We Energies with single-phase pole-mounted transformers, single-phase pad-mounted transformers, and, three-phase pad-mounted transformers is “not only good for our business, but special for our employees, many of whom are We Energies customers.”

Cooper Power Systems employs nearly 2,200 people at facilities throughout Southeastern Wisconsin.

“This agreement represents one of the many ways We Energies is providing more reliable electric power to our customers, strengthening the electrical energy infrastructure in Wisconsin, reducing our dependency on expensive imported power and continuing to improve the environment,” said Tom Wick, director of electric distribution asset management for We Energies. “We are proud to provide reliable energy for Wisconsin’s growing economy using Wisconsin manufactured equipment.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Germantown manufacturer honored by Rockwell

TecStar Mfg. Company, a division of the MGS Mfg. Group, has been awarded the 2009 Mechanical Supplier of the Year award by Rockwell Automation.

TecStar was honored for its ability to offer multiple services, including mold making, multishot injection molding, blow molding and secondary operations. It was also recognized for its 94 percent on-time delivery rate and its ability to handle technically transfer programs.

“TecStar’s technical capabilities and global footprint provide Rockwell Automation with a strategic partner who offers a competitive supply chain advantage,” said Matthew Sprader, Rockwell’s strategic sourcing commodity manager.

Business groups denounce Clean Energy Jobs Act

A coalition of 41 business groups, including 13 local chambers of commerce, is urging the Legislature to reject Gov. Jim Doyle’s Clean Energy Jobs Act.

The group refers to the proposed legislation as a “global warming bill.”

“It is increasingly clear that the costs associated with this legislation will be enormous, and the benefits will be nominal,” the groups wrote in a memo to lawmakers.

The coalition noted that efforts to “scale back” the bill would still keep the most expensive and economically harmful proposals in the bill. The memo specifically stated “the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and energy efficiency surtaxes will be tremendously expensive, and will result in double-digit increases for Wisconsin utility customers.”

The bill would increase energy taxes, place limits on low-carbon fuel, force 25 percent of electricity to be provided by renewable resources, impose California vehicle emission standards, and require other costly measures.

“Clearly the business community is united in opposing this bill,” said Scott Manley, director of environmental policy at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC). “Businesses know that higher taxes and higher energy prices are a recipe for losing jobs, not creating them.” 

Last month, WMC presented lawmakers with more than 3,000 signatures from business executives and others calling for defeat of the bill.

The organizations signing on to the memo against the bill include the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC), the Menomonee Falls Chamber of Commerce, the Racine Are Manufactures & Commerce, the West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as several statewide organizations such as the Independent Business Association, the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

To view a webcast video about Doyle’s defense of the bill and several Wisconsin company executives who are supporting the bill, click here.

To read a previous Milwaukee Biz Blog about how Wisconsin’s business community is divided about the bill, click here.

Harley-Davidson, Inc., Milwaukee, has announced the retirement of James A. McCaslin, executive vice president of corporate product planning, he previously served as president and chief operating officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

Andrew Chatfield has been appointed to the newly created position of director of architectural glass systems for Butler-based Wagner Companies. Chatfield comes to Wagner with over 25 years of technical and sales management experience in the international glass hardware industry.

Systems Inc., Germantown, recently added Joel Lotspeich and Eugene Schenk, Jr. as regional sales managers for the Poweramp division of the company. 

QuadTech asks court to expand patent infringement suit

QuadTech Inc., a subsidiary of Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc., asked the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to expand its patent infringement action against Q.I. Press Controls (QIPC).

QuadTech, a provider of press control technology, asked the court to assert infringement against two additional QIPC products: its Intelligent Register System (IRS) and Intelligent Density System (IDS).

The suit was first filed by QuadTech in June 2009, alleging that QIPC’s mRC register control system infringes on a Quad patent.

Today, QuadTech moved to amend its complaint to assert that QIPC’s Intelligent Register System and Intelligent Density System also infringe on the same QuadTech patent. The founders and owners of QIPC are former QuadTech employees.

QuadTech president Karl Fritchen said, “Through the process of our ongoing litigation against Q.I. Press Controls, it became clear to us that they are infringing on QuadTech’s technology with not only their mRC system, but their IRS and IDS products as well. We invest a lot of time, money and other resources in developing and enhancing our best-in-class technologies and will continue to protect our intellectual property to the highest extent possible.”

QuadTech recently succeeded in preventing Q.I. Press Controls from infringing a related patent in Germany. There, the Court has prevented Q.I. Press Controls from marketing or otherwise selling its mRC system (also known as markless Register Control) in Germany. Q.I. Press controls accepted this judgment by the German court.

Manpower forecasts jobs growth for Milwaukee

The metropolitan Milwaukee job market is expected to be among the 13 strongest in the nation in the second quarter, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis area expect to hire at a solid pace during the second quarter of 2010, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook

From April to June, 21 percent of the local companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while only 5 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, 69 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels and 5 percent are not certain of their hiring plans. This yields a Net Employment Outlook of 16 percent for the metro Milwaukee market.

“Hiring levels in our area appear to be considerably stronger compared with last quarter

when the Net Employment Outlook was 0 percent,” said Manpower spokeswoman Nicole Langley. “In addition, employers are also much more optimistic about hiring activity as compared with one year ago, when the Net Employment Outlook was -4 percent.”

“We continue to see encouraging signs in hiring activity in the U.S.,” said Manpower Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Joerres. “Key industries such as manufacturing and construction are seeing notable improvements on a year-over-year basis.”

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in durable goods manufacturing,

transportation & utilities, information, financial activities, professional & business services, education & health services, leisure & hospitality and other services.

Employers in nondurable goods manufacturing plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in construction and government is expected to remain unchanged.

The Independent Business Association will present the program “Digging Deep” by Tim Sullivan, president and CEO of Bucyrus International Inc., on Friday, March 19 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Wisconsin Club, 900 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee.

Cost is $20 for IBA Members and $35 for guests. Go to www.ibaw.com for more details or call (608)251-5546.

ASQ to present webinar on new ISO quality standards

The American Society for Quality will present a webinar explaining the new ISO 9001:2008 quality management standards on Wednesday, April 21, from noon to 1 p.m. The free webinar will include information on the management principles of ISO, some of the changes between the 2008 and 2000 versions of ISO 9001 standards, and a question and answer session.

The webinar will be hosted by Charles Cianfrani and Jack West, authors of the third edition of the book “ISO 9001:2008 Explained.”

To register for the webinar, visit http://www.asq.org/webinars/iso-9001-2008-explained.html.

For more information about ISO 9001:2008, visit the ASW Knowledge Center at http://www.asq.org/knowledge-center/iso-9001/index.html.

The Milwaukee chapter of the Society of Professional Engineers will hold the seminar “Injection Molding Part Design Ideas That Reduce Tooling Costs and Lead Times” on Wednesday, March 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel, 375 S. Moorland Rd., Brookfield. Presenters include Mike Miller, director of engineering with New Berlin Plastics; Chevis Watkinson, president and CEO of Design Consortium; and Steve Gurchinoff, polymer engineer with Briggs & Stratton Corp. Cost is $30 for members, $35 for nonmembers. For information, visit www.milwaukeespe.org.