Excerpted from Janesville Gazette
By Jim Leute

Tom Eckert heard the same message from employers as president of a technical college in Washington state that he hears now as president of Blackhawk Technical College.

“It doesn’t matter how nice your parks are. Are you going to have the workers that can run my business?”

Leaving one industrialized area, Eckert arrived in Rock County in 2010 to find another that had been crippled in large part because of a devastating national recession.

Many companies that survived have done so because of newfound efficiencies and a conversion to what’s known as advanced manufacturing, generally defined as the use of technology to improve products and processes.

Eckert immediately recognized the need for Blackhawk to help connect local students and employers in the new manufacturing model.

The result is Blackhawk’s Advanced Manufacturing Center, the goal of which is to create a talent pipeline to local employers. The first phase will open this fall in a renovated Milton building that was the former home to ANGI Energy Systems.

The idea is to consolidate all of BTC’s manufacturing programs into a space that’s more than double what’s devoted to the programs at BTC’s central campus. The center will include new equipment, labs and classrooms that lend themselves to cross training among several disciplines.

It also will include an advanced program lab where students in different programs work together.

“The programs will get together and build something. The instructors will break it, and then the students will fix it and tear it down again,” Eckert said. “People in different disciplines have to work with others, and they’ll be able to do so at the new center.”

Eckert said the face of manufacturing is changing radically, and the need for highly trained technicians has never been greater. Blackhawk’s capacity is tapped out, and the new facility will not only provide more space, it also will deliver better-trained students to help fill the local workforce gap.

Eckert and others have said employers have expressed a critical need for more skilled workers in areas such as CNC, electro-mechanical, industrial maintenance mechanics and welding.

“The new center will look like modern manufacturing,” he said.

Garry Krause came to Blackhawk last year as the dean of advanced manufacturing and transportation. The new center in Milton quickly topped his list of priorities.

“It’s very exciting to be a part of this,” he said. “It’s all so very innovative.

“Too often, we end up with silos. Welders don’t necessarily understand the issues machinists face, and machinists don’t understand the things welders deal with. With this center, we can bring them together and create a much more flexible employee.”

Renovation of the Plumb Street facility is ongoing. Blackhawk expects to move its welding, CNC and industrial mechanic programs to the facility this fall. Automation, HVAC and mechanical design will follow in fall 2015.

When complete, the $12 million center will have more than 100,000 square feet in which the programs can work together to produce employees that Eckert said are in demand—both now and in the future. An anonymous donor has committed $600,000, and the remainder will come from operating budgets and bonding.

“We are working very closely with industry, and we will be on the cutting edge,” he said. “So many people think of manufacturing in the way it was in the 1970s.

“But so much has changed, and we think many of our students will pursue dual degrees because of the new center. Those are people employers need, and the pay is very good.”

Eckert said he has yet to hear a negative comment about the center.

“Our business partners are thrilled; Milton is very enthusiastic about getting the center up there, and our economic development people are bragging up the center wherever they go,” he said.

One of those business partners is United Alloy, the Janesville company that provides custom metal fabrication and powder coating services. Its products include diesel fuel tanks and generator frames.

The company, which is currently doubling the size of its plant, has historically been in search of welders.

Shannon Moe, the company’s human resources manager, said the new BTC facility will turn out better students.

She said the center’s state-of-the-art technology and equipment will allow students to learn more, in some cases even learning customized welds that local companies use.

“The ability for these students to learn multiple things is wonderful,” she said. “Any time you can pick up more skill sets, you’re a more rounded employee, and you can learn and grow with the company.”

James Otterstein, Rock County’s economic development director, is equally excited for the innovations the new center will provide.

There are several examples of consortiums, partnerships and other shared-facility training centers around the country, he said, but few share the Blackhawk model’s characteristics.

“Very few are equipped with the appropriate facility layout, integrated technology or the modern equipment necessary to create a value-added, integrated training environment,” he said.

Even fewer, he added, have the ability that Blackhawk will have to open its facility to area companies in need of prototyping, research and development or other testing.

“Efficiencies, productivity, quality, safety and cost-control standards—driven by continuous innovation and technology—are the premiums separating those firms that are struggling and those that are growing,” Otterstein said.

The center will be a showcase that ties directly into the recently launched Inspire Rock County program that connects middle and high school students with manufacturing careers, he said.

“It’s critical for younger people to think about higher education earlier,” Eckert said. “These young people, as well as those underemployed, need to look at the two- and four-year programs that are out there and decide where their passion leads them.

“The Advanced Manufacturing Center will be a wonderful option that we think will lead to a long-term solution.”

Read the full article.

Excerpted from Janesville Gazette
by Jim Leute

Citing Wisconsin’s fiscal stability and business climate as advantages over Illinois, Gov. Scott Walker said his state picked up another Wednesday when he signed a bill that allows the transfer of state income tax credits awarded as economic development incentives.

As part of its economic development toolbox, the state for years has provided income tax credits if companies meet benchmarks spelled out in economic development contracts.

Forward Janesville, where Walker signed the bill Wednesday, has long maintained that the income tax credits were of little value to many companies because they didn’t generate enough income to make the credits meaningful. The group argued that companies involved in the transfer of tax credits would have a relationship that creates jobs and fosters investment on the local level.

For example, Company A might want to lease space from the more established Company B. Company B makes improvements to its facility to accommodate Company A and therefore assumes a degree of risk. As a way to mitigate that risk, Company A—if it doesn’t have sufficient income to use awarded tax credits—would transfer them to Company B.

That’s what the bill now allows.

“It’s a good day for Forward Janesville, a good day for Rock County and a good day for other communities around the state that want to have more tools in their tool chest when it comes to economic development.”

Loudenbeck said the bill would help entrepreneurs, promote existing business expansion and retention efforts and secure new business development investments.

It allows for up to $15 million of economic development tax credits to be re-assigned over a three-year period using a mechanism of pre-approvals and notifications authorized and guided by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and the state Department of Revenue.

“I appreciate Gov. Walker making another trip to Rock County and for recognizing that this bill was inspired by local economic development professionals,” Loudenbeck said.

Walker said Forward Janesville and Rock County 5.0 are doing impressive work. He said two of the organization’s three key goals—expansion of Interstate 90/39, tax credit portability and reform of tax increment financing—can be checked off, and the other will be done in a matter of years.

Read the full article.

Excerpted from Beaver Dam Daily Citizen
By Paul Scharf

Gov. Scott Walker attended the grand opening, dedication and ribbon-cutting of the new facility for E.K. Power Products, a part of E.K. Machine Co. Tuesday afternoon.

The new building at 465 Quality Court represents a $3.6 million investment. It was built on 11 acres. Construction on the facility began Aug. 8, 2013.

“We’re all proud of this expansion,” Walker told the crowd. “It’s a great sign about the future and it’s a great commitment to the E.K. family. The reason this company is able to expand is not only because of the quality of the product but the quality of you (the employees). We are excited about where things are headed in this state. We want to make it easier for manufacturers to invest in new equipment to put people to work.”

Walker said that lowering taxes across the state — such as on manufacturers like E.K. Machine — is the key to increasing state revenue.

“I am excited about where we are headed in this state,” Walker said. “ Thank you for what you do to make this company successful. It is an honor to be here today.”

E.K. Machine employs 157 people — including an additional 30 people at the new facility.

The new building is 53,000 square feet and is used to construct backup power generator products and some agricultural items.

Read the full article.

Excerpted from The Cap Times
By Mike Ivey

In what local officials call a sign of the area’s robust recovery, private sector wages in Dane County jumped 9.3 percent over the past 12 months, the second largest increase in the nation.

Only San Mateo County, southwest of San Francisco, saw average wages grow at a faster rate, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released this week.

The Dane County wage numbers were included in the quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (CEW), the same that showed Wisconsin 35th among states in private sector job growth.

Areas like healthcare, information technology and education services were driving the pay increase, with wages in those sectors jumping by double digits. Construction wages in Dane County were also up sharply.

Paul Jadin, president of the business boosting Madison Region Economic Partnership or MadREP (formerly Thrive), says the jump in wages here is reflective of the region’s strength in higher-paying, technology-based sectors.

“What is most telling to me is how it shows Dane County doesn’t rely on manufacturing as much as the rest of the state,” he says.

Manufacturing wages in Dane County were up only 2.7 percent over the past year, with about 24,000 workers in that sector out of a population of 503,000.

Ken Harwood, who edits Wisconsin Development News, credits Epic Systems for contributing to the wage growth. The Verona-based medical records giant is the Dane County’s largest private sector employer with more than 6,000 staffers.

“Epic is bringing in all these kids and paying them $50,000 or $60,000 right out of college,” he says.

But Aaron Olver, economic development director for the city of Madison, was quick to caution that Epic Systems accounts for only 2 percent of total employment in Dane County and doesn’t account for the entire pay boost.

“While Epic certainly has an important impact, this top-line growth in wages reflects a more robust economy,” says Olver.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi cheered the numbers, saying it shows the attractiveness of the region, its outdoor recreation, arts scene and diverse communities.

“Dane County leads the state in high-tech employment growth,” he says. “We have a culture of collaboration and innovation that suits this industry very well.”

Read the full article.

For more than a century, Madison has been a hub of anesthesia and respiratory innovation. Since 2003, the General Electric logo has appeared on the building at 3030 Ohmeda Drive, after GE Healthcare acquired Datex-Ohmeda. Anesthesia and respiratory equipment are not just designed and manufactured here, but shipped all over the globe to places such as China, India, and Europe.

Last week, GE Healthcare released the results of an independent study quantifying the company’s economic impact on the Madison Region.

Did you know…

• GE Healthcare’s total economic impact in Madison is $342 million.
• For every one person employed at GE Healthcare in Madison, nearly two additional jobs are created.
• GE Healthcare operations in Madison were responsible for more than $115 million in exports from the state of Wisconsin in 2012.

To highlight GE Healthcare’s impact in the region last week, MadREP partnered with GE Healthcare and BioForward during a panel discussion focused on med-tech innovation, manufacturing, and high tech jobs, with much of the conversation centering on the region’s capacity across these industries.

“It’s not that we have an identity crisis. The Madison Region is strong in both advanced manufacturing and high-tech innovation,” said MadREP president Paul Jadin. “That industry merger is one of the assets that differentiates us.”

Other panel participants included Bryan Renk, Executive Director of BioForward, and Neal Sandy, Chief Marketing Officer of GE Healthcare Life Care Solutions. Mitch Higashi, GE Healthcare Chief Economist, served as moderator.

GE Healthcare also hosted an event at their plant where local business leaders and government officials were able see anesthesia equipment dating back 70+ years and the newest equipment being made today.

To learn more, read the GE Healthcare press release or listen to this podcast with GE executives.