Wismarq Corp. an Oconomowoc-based firm that specializes in coatings for coiled metals, has reached an agreement to acquire the coil painting assets of North Carolina-based Ply Gem Industries, which are based in Valencia, Penn. No terms of the acquisition were disclosed.

The transaction is expected to close at the end of this month.

The Ply Gem facilities in Pennsylvania primarily serve the residential aluminum and steel building products, which Wismarq’s facilities in Oconomowoc and Franklin Park, Ill. also serve. Wimarq also services the lighting, automotive, HVAC, office products and appliance markets.

Wismarq has about 115 employees in its Wisconsin and Illinois facilities. The Ply Gem facility has about 33 workers, and Wismarq plans to retain most of them, said Charles Terrizzi, chief executive officer.

Tirrizzi owns Wismarq with his wife, Jan Terrizzi, who is also the company’s president.

Wismarq’s facilities in Oconomowoc and Franklin Park are 85,000 and 110,000 square feet, respectively. The Pennsylvania facility is about 175,000 square feet.

“Their painting capability (attracted us),” he said. “We paint metal for people. This will give us the capability to paint strips wider, and they’re geographically closer to the East coast, which is important because of freight costs today.”

Milwaukee’s Harley-Davidson Inc. is at a crossroads – the company is seeking to win new customers among younger riders, women and minorities, while retaining its core customers in the Baby Boomer generation, while it needs to lower production costs because of lower sales volumes.

In its July 23 edition, BizTimes Milwaukee asked several prominent authors and business executives how they believe Harley-Davidson could overcome those challenges. The package of stories also includes an interview with Mark-Hans Richer, the company’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, who discusses how Harley is reaching new customers and introducing new products, while retaining its corporate identity and iconic brand.

For more, read the latest issue of BizTimes Milwaukee.

Based on the feedback from 206 manufacturers that retained the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) during the past fiscal year, the services provided by WMEP have generated an economic impact of $164 million and have helped create or retain 973 jobs. About two-thirds of the economic impact has been through new and retained sales.

“The good news is that we continue to see manufacturers move out of survival mode and into growth mode,” said Michael Klosinski, WMEP’s executive director. “The ability to develop new markets, products and customer solutions is more important than ever.”

The companies that retained WMEP reported a combined $102 million in increased and retained sales, $30 million in cost savings and $32 million in investment into facilities and equipment.

Prism Manufacturing to move to Port Washington

Prism Manufacturing, a precision machine shop operation, plans to moves its operations from Brookfield and Manitowoc to the former Simplicity Manufacturing Co. plant in Port Washington.

Prism will occupy 30,000 square feet of the 407,000-square-foot facility at 500 S. Spring St.

Prism Manufacturing was formed in 2009 when G&P Machine Company Inc. acquired the assets of Panda Industries Inc. The company specializes in precision screw machining.

Prism will bring 24 jobs to the Port Washington facility. The company has 12 current employees who will move to the facility, and it plans to hire another 12 employees.

The Port Washington plant was formerly used to build snowthrowers and riding lawn mowers by the Simplicity division of Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corp., which closed the plant in 2008, eliminating about 325 jobs.

After the building was closed by Briggs & Stratton, it was sold to Chris Coakley, the owner of Milwaukee-based C. Coakley Relocation Systems Inc. Coakley’s company is using a portion of the building, and he is leasing the remainder to other tenants.

Johnson Controls caps strong quarter with acquisition

Johnson Controls Inc. has posted another robust quarter and announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 90 percent of its existing joint venture with Delkor Corp., a leading automotive battery manufacturer based in Seoul, South Korea.

The remaining 10 percent will be acquired by the local management team, with all transactions completed no later than Aug. 15.

"Delkor is a strong and well-respected brand in Asia," said Alex Molinaroli, president of Power Solutions for Johnson Controls. "The acquisition further represents our commitment to local manufacturing presence and growth in Asia, complementing our recent announcements regarding our planned investments in China."

Johnson Controls reported fiscal third quarter net income of $418 million, or 61 cents per share, up from $163 million, or 26 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

The Glendale-based company’s net sales grew to $8.5 billion from $7 billion a year earlier.

"We are pleased with our third quarter results. We capitalized on the recovery in several of our markets, leveraging our market leadership and improved cost structure to gain share and improve profitability," said Stephen Roell, Johnson Controls chairman and chief executive officer. "Sales in our automotive and power businesses grew at a double-digit pace, and our Building Efficiency business generated top-line growth for the first time in more than a year. In addition, the Building Efficiency order rate increased 9%, nearly double the pace of the second quarter, which exceeded our expectations."

Snap-on sales up 9.8%

Kenosha-based Snap-on Inc. reported second quarter net earnings of $45.3 million, or 78 cents per share, up from $37.4 million, or 65 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

The company’s quarterly sales grew 9.8 percent to $647.6 million.

"Our second quarter results provide further testament to the benefits we continue to realize through our unwavering commitment to the Snap-on Value Creation Processes," said Nick Pinchuk, Snap-on chairman and chief executive officer. "We're encouraged by the higher sales and operating margins on both a year-over-year and sequential basis, particularly since the shape of the global economic recovery is still not yet fully evident. Furthermore, our financial services transition remains well on track as we realized positive operating income in that segment for the quarter. In addition, we believe we're making significant progress on our most important strategic initiatives: to enhance the franchisee network, to expand in vehicle repair facilities, to extend in critical industries, and to build in emerging markets. We believe that our advancements in those areas place Snap-on in a strong position to take full advantage of the global economic recovery, however it occurs. As always, I wish to thank our franchisees and our associates worldwide for their significant second quarter achievements and ongoing commitment."

Bucyrus reports dip in quarterly profit

South Milwaukee-based Bucyrus International Inc. reported second quarter net earnings of $73.2 million, or 91 cents per share, down 11 percent from $82.28 million, or $1.11 per share, in the same period a year ago.

The company’s quarterly sales grew to $868.7 million, up from $724.43 million a year earlier.

“We were very pleased with the quarter,” Tim Sullivan, chief executive officer of Bucyrus, said in a conference call with analysts this morning. “We were exactly on our plan and we exceeded it in several areas.”

Bucyrus’ sales and gross margins are also tracking to its estimates from earlier this year, Sullivan said. The company’s bookings are up significantly and could be bolstered if the U.S. Export Import Bank approves a loan guarantee for a large order from an Indian coal mine.

“I am cautiously optimistic that we can get that booking into our backlog … into the fourth quarter of the year,” Sullivan said. “We’ve been cautious to talk about it, but (the order) is really substantial. We’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that the government will do the right thing for us.”

Badger Meter posts record quarter

Badger Meter Inc. reported record second quarter net earnings of $8.0 million or 53 cents per share, up from $7.8 million, or 52 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

The Milwaukee-based company’s quarterly net sales grew to $74.3 million from $67.8 million a year earlier.

"The increase in orders and shipments that began late in the first quarter continued into the second quarter. Sales were up in the majority of our product lines. Higher sales of our products for water applications were driven by increased demand for automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology products, especially the Badger Orion radio frequency automatic meter reading system, and products for commercial water applications. Sales of our specialty products continued to improve from the lows of 2009," said Richard Meeusen, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Badger Meter.

Meeusen said the record second quarter earnings reflected a favorable product mix, the impact of the stronger U.S. dollar on international purchases and ongoing cost controls, somewhat offset by higher commodity costs, particularly copper. In addition, results include a gain of $740,000 for the fair value of land in Mexico which was received in settlement of claims against a building construction contractor.

Briggs to invest $35.5 million Kentucky plant

Briggs & Stratton Corp., a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of air-cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment, will invest $35.5 million in its plant in Murray, Ky., where it will retain more than 640 jobs.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has preliminarily approved Briggs & Stratton for tax incentives up to $15 million over 10 years through the Kentucky Reinvestment Act, according to a report at AreaDevelopment.com.

“Briggs & Stratton has a longstanding relationship with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and receiving this incentive is key to ensuring the ongoing success of our Murray, Kentucky facility,” said Joseph Wright, senior vice president of Briggs & Stratton and president of the Engine Power Products Group. “This program shows Kentucky's commitment to the retention and continued success of businesses currently operating in the state.”

The company’s 290,040-square-foot facility in Murray completes die casting, machining, and assembly of engines and related components. Briggs & Stratton will use the money to make renovations, upgrade tooling, install new machinery and provide worker training.

World Trade Center Wisconsin will present “Harley-Davidson’s Perspectives on Thriving in India” on Tuesday, Aug. 3 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Location is to be determined. The event will include a panel of Harleys’s executives from India, Asia and other international divisions. The event is free for WTC-Wisconsin members and $20 to non-members. To register or for more information, call (414) 274-3840.