~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Developments

August 2014
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in this issue

Workforce Training Panel

Sister City Delegates

Welcome, Cadence!

Door County COIN

Business Plan Contest

DKBEP Update

Pro Products, Inc.

Revolving Loan Funds

Board Moves

Workforce Training Resources Panel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recognizing business' need for workforce training, on Tuesday, September 23rd, 9-10:30am, DCEDC and the Door County Visitor Bureau are hosting a panel discussion in the Sturgeon Bay City Hall community meeting room (421 Michigan Street) on locally available workforce training resources for area business leaders. Door County businesses might not be aware of the many nearby, flexible (and affordable!) resources available for employee training for management, supervisory leadership, team building, employee retention and motivation, effective communication, conflict management, and critical thinking, among other topics. There are also state grant opportunities that can help businesses cover some of their training expenses. Our panel of experts will include Tim Pflieger (Team Leadership Center), Blake Siewert (LogiTran Group, an industrial-organizational psychology consulting and recruiting firm), Jon Bartz (Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation), Dean Stewart (NWTC Corporate Training and Economic Development) and Ryan Kauth (UW-GB Small Business Development Center).

To RSVP for this free event, please contact Cindy Wick at 920-743-3113 x200 or via email at cindy@doorcountybusiness.com.

Sister City Delegates Wanted

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adult applicants are sought for the October 2014 delegation that will travel to Door County's Sister City of Jingdezhen, China. The delegation of ten or fewer will be guests of the City of Jingdezhen for four days in October and will be treated to a tour of a variety of business, cultural and community events and sights, including the 2014 International Ceramic Fair. All Door County delegation expenses, travel, food and lodging while in Jingdezhen will be provided by the City of Jingdezhen. Members of the Door County delegation will be responsible for the cost of their transportation to and from Jingdezhen. Applicants, interested persons and those seeking additional information are encouraged to contact Bill Chaudoir 920-743-3113 or bill@doorcountybusiness.com.

Cadence Inc. Acquires Plainfield Precision

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cadence Inc., a leading contract manufacturer and maker of complex components and sub-assemblies for medical device and life sciences companies worldwide, recently announced that it has acquired three operating business units of Plainfield Precision Holdings, including Plainfield Precision of Sturgeon Bay.

Cadence manufactures the critical elements of the most complex minimally invasive surgical devices in the world, enabling these devices to perform better and improve patient outcomes. This acquisition firmly positions Cadence within the top global providers of technologies and services used in advanced surgical products. Headquartered in Staunton, Virginia, Cadence now employs more than 400 people worldwide with other facilities in Cranston, RI, Pittsburgh, PA, Plymouth, MA, and the Dominican Republic.

DCEDC, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the City of Sturgeon Bay have been working with representatives from Cadence to assess their needs and discuss how to support their continued growth in the community. DCEDC is pleased to welcome Cadence, Inc. to the Door County business community!

Door County COIN Mentor Orientation

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Door County COIN Business Mentoring Program is seeking experienced business leaders to volunteer as mentors to up and coming Door County entrepreneurs. COIN, which stands for Community Opportunity Investment Network, is an innovative effort that is using private philanthropic dollars to create a micro-loan fund that will lend to entrepreneurs, stimulating economic activity and ultimately creating jobs. COIN also offers a Business Mentoring Program that taps into the experience of Door County's active, seasonal and retired business leaders to help new entrepreneurs succeed. Door County COIN is a fund of the Door County Community Foundation, Inc. and is administered by DCEDC.

Experienced business professionals who are interested in volunteering as a mentor, or just want to learn more, are invited to attend either of two orientation sessions:

Monday, August 25th, 1:30-3:30pm

Wednesday, August 27th, 1:30-3:30pm

Bertschinger Community Center

7860 Highway 42 in Egg Harbor

The same material will be covered at both sessions.

Please register by email to mentor@investdoorcounty.org or by calling 920-746-1786. For more information visit Door County COIN online at www.InvestDoorCounty.org.

Business Plan Contest Winners

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tami Polster and Dorothea Carson receive their award checks from DCEDC's Sam Perlman.

DCEDC, in association with the UW-Green Bay Small Business Development Center, announced that Tami Polster Walls, owner of Wisconsin Family Visitation Center, and Dorothea Carson, owner of CW Family Solutions LLC, are the joint winners of the $1,000 cash award for the best business plan originating from the 13th annual Door County Entrepreneurial Training Program course conducted earlier this year.

Wisconsin Family Visitation Center provides children with supportive visitation services. The company mission is to provide a safe, secure and structured alternative for the exchange and/or visitation of children with parents in an environment that promotes healthy interaction between family members and prevents the victimization of any person.

CW Family Solutions provides family support services to families using Wisconsin Family Visitation Service's visitation and exchange services and to families needing mediation, an anger management group, father's groups, and/or parenting plans.

The $1000 award was generously sponsored by Associated Bank, Baylake Bank and FirstMerit Bank. The award is to be used for business expansion expenses. The Entrepreneurial Training Program course will again be offered in Door County beginning January 26, 2015. Contact DCEDC for information about the class.

DKBEP Update

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Door/Kewaunee Business & Education Partnership (DKBEP) submitted a successful grant application to the state Department of Workforce Development as part of Governor Walker's Wisconsin Fast Forward initiative. The Legislature recently authorized $35.4 million into this grant. The grant program addresses high school pupil training in building a skilled workforce in order to move Wisconsin "forward." The DKBEP submission focused on the High School Home Construction Program to provide future opportunities for students to learn all the trades areas in residential home construction.

DKBEP will soon embark on their 8th Annual High School Home Construction project home in the City of Sturgeon Bay. The program is designed to grow the local construction and manufacturing industries' skilled workforce while providing real-world workplace learning experiences for area youth. Students representing the four mainland Door County school districts will be participating in this joint collaboration with the Door County Home Builders Association and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College to construct a 1,500 square foot home. Students will build the home from start to finish from 7:30-10:30 each morning for nine months. Upon successful completion, students will earn 16 credits toward NWTC's Structural Systems degree program. The home will soon be listed on the open real estate market.

DKBEP was also successful in acquiring grant funding to launch a State Certified Youth Apprenticeship (YA) Program for the 2014-15 academic year, in an effort to equip student-workers with the skills employers need and to help them succeed in those jobs. DKBEP will be one of 31 regional consortia in the state to receive a share of the $1.86 Million set aside by Governor Walker for the YA program as part of a statewide school-to-work initiative. It is designed for high school junior or senior students who want hands-on learning in an occupational area at a work-site, along with classroom instruction. This one- or two-year elective program will combine academic and technical instruction with mentored on-the-job learning.

SBIP News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pro Products, Inc., a precision CNC machine shop in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park, recently purchased a new lot from the City of Sturgeon Bay at the corner of Neenah and Jib Streets for the construction of their new, 40,000 square foot facility. The new building, to be built by Our Own Construction, is expected to be completed by December 2014. Additionally, their current building, 25,000 square feet at 918 South Lansing Avenue, is available for sale or lease. Contact CEO Joe Hurley to set up a visit to tour the building: 920-743-1575.

Revolving Loan Funds

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DCEDC recently provided Revolving Loan Fund program financing to Rosewood Dairy Inc. and Renard's Cheese Store to facilitate an ownership change for the two business entities. DCEDC administers Revolving Loan Fund programs for the County of Door, City of Sturgeon Bay and DCEDC Board of Directors, providing low interest financing for new or expanding businesses. There are currently 28 active loans between the three revolving loan funds. Visit our Business Financing page to learn more about the Revolving Loan Fund program and other financing programs.

Board Moves

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DCEDC Executive Director Bill Chaudoir thanks departing Board members David Ward and Joe Stutting for their service.

DCEDC recently bid a reluctant farewell to departing Board members Joe Stutting (Sturgeon Bay School District) and David Ward (NorthStar Consulting), as they pursue new challenges in Iowa and Madison, respectively. The DCEDC Board elected two new members to replace them. We are pleased to welcome Gerry Worrick (Ministry Door County Medical Center) and Patty Vickman (Southern Door School District) to the DCEDC Board. Also, with the departure of David Ward as Board Chair, Vice-Chair Mike Baudhuin (WireTech Fabricators and Door County Manufacturers Association) takes the top spot, and Darren Voigt (Bank of Luxemburg) is our new vice-chair.