Waukesha-based InvestorsBank has added two prominent commercial bankers to its leadership team in the last two months. Timothy Schadeberg, former market president with Irwin Union Bank, and Gary Szpara, a former commercial lender with North Shore Bank, have been hired to be InvestorsBank's new market president and senior vice president of commercial real estate, respectively. Schadeberg started with the bank on April 1. Szpara's first day was May 1. The hiring of Schadeberg and Szpara will ultimately be parts of a succession plan for George Schonath, president and owner of the family-owned bank. "I've thought about it for the last two to three years that I need to prepare for the future," Schonath said. "I need to build a management team to succeed me." InvestorsBank at W239 N1700 Busse Road serves commercial clients in Waukesha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Washington counties from one location.

The bank's focus is business and commercial real estate banking, and it is not interested in retail, private banking or wealth management, Schonath said. "Our core business is commercial real estate investing and business banking, and we will operate in that direction," he said. "We're not going to run off into the ditch. We incur expenses to serve our customers and not to serve someone else's (customers)."

The bank was founded in 1997 by Schonath, who has grown it to about $300 million in assets and 200 to 250 business customers. Because the bank is entirely owned by Schonath and his family, it can make fast decisions on business and commercial real estate loans, Szpara said. "There's a lot less paperwork and red tape," he said. "If you're my client, I can look at (your financials) and say that this is something that the bank wants to do. We're driven by customer service and quick responses." Both Schadeberg and Szpara will help InvestorsBank achieve its goal of doubling its assets within five years, Schonath said. "I see Gary and Tim growing the bank, expanding our reach to customers," he said. "(Bringing in) two experienced leaders like Gary and Tim - without me, it allows the bank to continue." Because InvestorsBank is focused on commercial and commercial real estate banking, achieving its growth goals is easier than with a bank with a broader focus, Schadeberg said.

"What sold me is that this bank knows what it is and what it wants to be," Schadeberg said. "It's a business bank and it's entrepreneurial-driven. It's a family-owned business, and it's run like one. There are no egos in this building. I did as much digging as I could, and there's no dirt out there on George." "There's a sense of direction - where the bank has been, where it is and where it wants to go and how it's going to get there," Szpara said. "I like knowing what the goals are. And Tim and I have a real clear direction of that." For more information, visit www.investorsbank.com.

LauberCFOs Inc., a provider of part-time chief financial officers to privately held companies, will move next week from its offices in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward at 207 E. Buffalo St. to Summit Place in West Allis, 6737 W. Washington St. The company's space in downtown Milwaukee is about 1,700 square feet, and the firm will grow to 2,600 square feet in the new location, said John Lauber, president and chief executive officer of the firm. "We were out of room here (downtown)," he said. "If we had stayed, we would have done something different."

LauberCFOs has four employees that work in its office, with another 20 who work at clients' locations, Lauber said. The larger space in Summit Place is in anticipation of future growth, he said. "As we continue to grow, I expect our corporate team to grow as well," Lauber said. LauberCFOs' offices have been in the Third Ward since it was founded 19 years ago, Lauber said.

"When we moved down here, we were way ahead of the curve," he said. "And I think maybe we are ahead of the curve moving to that development. There's opportunity for continued development (in West Allis and Summit Place)." For more, visit www.laubercfos.com.

Oconomowoc manufacturer to be bought by 3M
Quest Technologies Inc., an Oconomowoc manufacturer of noise, heat stress and vibration monitors, will be acquired by 3M for an undisclosed amount. Quests' monitors measure workplace safety, including noise and heat levels. 3M will add the company to its existing workplace safety lines, which include respiratory, hearing and eye protection, as well as first responder, industrial, automotive, shipbuilding, military, home improvement and consumer safety products. Quest employs about 95 workers at its headquarters in Oconomowoc. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Miller to acquire majority share of Ukrainian brewer
SABMiller plc, the London-based parent company of Miller Brewing Co., announced that it has agreed to acquire a 99.84-percent interest in the Ukrainian brewer CJSC Sarmat. The transaction is subject to approval by the Ukrainian competition authorities and other customary pre-closing conditions.

Sarmat is one of the largest brewers in the Ukraine and, upon completion, will operate one brewery in Donetsk in the east of the country with an annual production capacity of 2.9 million hectolitres, producing the Sarmat, Dnipro and Drive Max brands. Sarmat is owned by System Capital Management Ltd., a diversified holding company that manages a number of interests in the Ukrainian market. The purchase price of the company is not being disclosed, but the value of the gross assets to be acquired is approximately $130 million.

The acquisition represents SABMiller's entry into one of the fastest-growing beer markets globally with a four-year growth rate to 2006 of 14 percent. The Ukraine's medium term forecast for beer market growth is expected to be higher than any other major Central and Eastern European market.

Alan Clark, managing director of SABMiller Europe, said, "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Sarmat and our entry into the fast growing and attractive Ukrainian market.  The Ukrainian beer market has recorded exceptional expansion in recent years, driven by strong economic growth, but it still remains behind other CEE countries in terms of per capita beer consumption."

CNH Capital expands into Puerto Rico
As part of a strategic growth initiative aimed at developing new markets for its products and services, CNH Capital, the financial services business of Racine-based CNH Global N.V., announced that it is now serving equipment dealerships and their customers in Puerto Rico. CNH Global manufactures agricultural and construction equipment. CNH Capital's equipment financing products will be sold through the agricultural and construction equipment dealerships that represent the CNH family of brands in Puerto Rico, including New Holland, New Holland Construction and Case Construction. "Equipment is a major investment for dealers and their customers," said Brett Davis, senior director of CNH Capital Ag Financial Solutions. "By establishing a presence in Puerto Rico, we can now offer equipment financing that makes investing in our equipment brands both easy and affordable." CNH Capital's initial product offering in Puerto Rico includes wholesale and retail equipment financing. CNH Global is a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Group.

Milwaukee team goes to national Fed Reserve competition
A team of five students from the University School of Milwaukee representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Seventh District will compete on May 18-19 in the national finals of the High School Fed Challenge competition to be held in Washington, D.C. The University School of Milwaukee team competed against teams from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan to become district champions of the Federal Reserve's High School Fed Challenge competition.

The Fed Challenge was developed to encourage greater awareness among students of how the U.S. economy functions and the role of the Federal Reserve in the economy. Each team is required to analyze current economic data, develop a monetary policy recommendation and defend that recommendation in front of a panel of judges. The team prepares a 30-minute demonstration, which encompasses a 15-minute presentation on the economy and a 15-minute period where students answer questions from the judges. The students on the University School team are Stewart Long, Ryan Khanna, Emily Cooley, Maxwell Wernecke and Henry Stewart.

Presentations in the competition include: a discussion of economic conditions as of the day of the competition; a forecast of near-term changes in economic, financial and international conditions, such as unemployment and inflation; identification of conditions or situations that warrant attention in the formulation of monetary policy; and a recommendation as to whether the Fed should move to raise or lower interest rates. Judges at the final competition will include members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and presidents of Federal Reserve Banks.