BIZNOTES FOR 10/15

RedPrairie Corp., Waukesha, has integrated its LENS global visibility solution with active radio frequency identification (RFID) technology from RF Code, Inc. and Avery Dennison. The agreement will allow RedPrairie to provide a total solution for global asset and inventory visibility and security, integrating its software and optimization tools with active RFID reader technology from RF Code and the active RFID Secure Strap from Avery Dennison for container security.
RedPrairie Corp., Waukesha, has integrated its LENS global visibility solution with active radio frequency identification (RFID) technology from RF Code, Inc. and Avery Dennison. The agreement will allow RedPrairie to provide a total solution for global asset and inventory visibility and security, integrating its software and optimization tools with active RFID reader technology from RF Code and the active RFID Secure Strap from Avery Dennison for container security.
Froedtert Hospital
The Friends of Froedtert Hospital Foundation received $40,000 from the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) to help fund Froedtert Hospital’s palliative care program for cancer patients. The Froedtert Hospital palliative care program was awarded grants for adolescent/young adult issues, physical activity, survivorship education and palliative and end-of-life care. The Froedtert Hospital palliative care unit opened in 1998 and offers inpatient and outpatient services, including pain management and symptom control, medical decision-making and coordination of care for quality of life.
Creative Colors International, Inc.
Creative Colors International, Inc. (CCI), Milwaukee, has added a fifth mobile unit, expanding the company’s operation from Sheboygan to Kenosha. The mobile units are equipped with tools to provide material repair services, including an air compressor, generator, air hose retractor and heat guns and dyes. The additional mobile unit purchase was prompted by sales growth. CCI, established in 1999, announced 2003 sales exceeding $400,000 and plans to surpass $500,000 in sales for 2004.
Mercury
Mercury, Elm Grove, has developed two educational videos for the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Mercury wrote, produced and directed the videos in conjunction with the "Think Big. Start Small," statewide public outreach campaign designed to increase awareness of the importance of quality early education and care. One video promotes collaborative community approaches to 4-year-old kindergarten in Wisconsin. The second video educates viewers on the advantages of inclusion of all 3 to 5-year-olds with disabilities in Wisconsin to early education settings. Recipients of the videos include school administrators, early education staff, Head Start and child care directors, legislators and members of business organizations.
Ameripay Payroll Ltd.
Ameripay Payroll Ltd., Elk Grove Village, Ill., has opened its first Milwaukee-area office, located in Summit Place at 6737 W. Washington St., Suite 1111, West Allis. The payroll and human resource services company targets small and mid-sized businesses. Ameripay has had more than 60 metropolitan Milwaukee clients since it began its Milwaukee sales one year ago, and expects to have more than 100 clients by January 2005 and more than 200 by 2006. Tom Quinlan is the sales manager for the new office.
Meyer & Wallis
Meyer & Wallis, Milwaukee, has gained media placement responsibilities for WCGV-TV UPN 24 and WVTV-TV WB 18. Both companies are owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Meyer & Wallis will place advertisements supplied by both The WB and UPN television networks as well as those created by the station’s in-house team. The advertisements will support programs such as "That 70’s Show," "Frasier," "The Simpsons," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Friends," and "WB 18 News at Nine."
Promotional Marketing Group, Ltd.
Promotional Marketing Group, Ltd., Mequon, has developed an online promotional merchandise catalog (E-MPG), which interfaces with enterprise resource planning (ERP) procurement software. The company distributes promotional merchandise such as pens, clothes and mugs. The E-MPG allows Promotional Marketing Group to reduce the cost of producing promotional merchandise orders for clients, streamline the procurement of promotional items, eliminate waste and increase the return on investment (ROI) of the ERP system.
Piper Jaffray & Co.
Werner Brandenburg, assistant vice president of investments for Piper Jaffray & Co., Milwaukee, has formed an in-office partnership with Tom Warden, a financial advisor for the company, called Brandenburg-Warden. The team advises clients on financial strategies including retirement planning, estate planning, third party money management, asset allocation, banking and insurance services. Brandenburg has been with Piper Jaffray since 1989 and Warden since 1997. Combined, Brandenburg-Warden has more than 50 years of experience.
SKF Precision Technologies
SKF Precision Technologies, Pa., is relocating to Grafton and received a $24,000 Economic Diversification Loan (EDL) grant from the state for a training program. The grant is part of Gov. Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin initiative and will pay for the manufacturing company to train 20 new full-time employees on the production and assembly processes for precision hydraulic actuators. The total cost of the training program is $48,000. The EDL program provides financial assistance to Wisconsin businesses interested in improving and expanding their operations.
Johnson Level and Tool
The Mequon-Thiensville Chamber of Commerce gave the 2004 Business of the Year award to Johnson Level and Tool, Mequon. Johnson Level and Tool has supported community projects including Crossroads Presbyterian Church’s youth mission program for Habitat for Humanity and constructing a playground in Milwaukee’s Berryland development. Bill Johnson is the owner of the company. The other nominee recognized for the Business of the Year award was Art Escape Gallery, Thiensville, for providing the community with a new venue for original art. Owners Kyle Zubatsky and Diane Arenberg are involved with Homestead High School’s student art exhibit and internship program, the senior art league exhibit, Camp Heartland and the Tartan Ball.
United Way
Beverly Njuguna, a self-sufficiency portfolio manager for United Way of Greater Milwaukee, received the 2004 Warner Bloomberg Award. Njuguna serves as lead staff in working with volunteers to oversee the impact of 60 programs in the areas of youth development, older adult disabilities, and employment. The Warner Bloomberg Award recognizes individuals at the national and international level who promote a vision of the future on the principles of social justice. Njuguna has been with United Way since 1999 and was chosen for the award based on her commitment to human rights, leadership and public service. She is the vice chair of the Milwaukee County Commission on Aging and a member of the Wisconsin Council on Long Term Care Reform, a former director of The Center for Successful Child Development in Chicago and a former regional field specialist for the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).
K.B. & Associates
Kathy Bornheimer, owner of K.B. & Associates, Milwaukee, has written and published, "The Street Smart Approach to Job Search," a book based on articles she has written for the Employment Times when it was owned and published by Small Business Times. "The Street Smart Approach to Job Search" was released for public sale in September through Dorrance Publishing and discusses topics including career transitions, self defense for lay-offs and nontraditional approaches to job searches. Bornheimer is a career coach and public speaker.
Planning and Design Institute, Inc.
The Wisconsin Chapter of the American Planning Association (WAPA) presented awards to the Planning and Design Institute, Inc., Milwaukee, for three projects that featured plan development and urban design work by the company. One award was for the Fond du Lac and North Neighborhood Comprehensive Plan, which was recognized for being an outstanding planning document for a large jurisdiction. The second award was for the Westown Guidelines for the educational, informative and innovative elements of the planning tool. The guidelines include illustrations, explanations and color-coded "fa?ade-zones" to help simplify the process for applicants. The third award was for the River Shores Master Plan, a 38-acre industrial site in West Bend that is being redeveloped into a traditional mixed-use neighborhood. The master plan includes a central village green as well as a riverwalk with public vantage points overlooking the Milwaukee River.
Hays Companies of Wisconsin
Hays Companies of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, has developed a specialized property/casualty insurance brokerage unit to target clients in the construction industry. Kevin Carl, a recent hire at Hays, will head the unit. Carl has 10 years of experience working with business insurance for contractors. The unit will assist in creating balance between risk transfer insurance and risk retention to reduce the cost of risk and serve construction clients in the areas of loss control, claims management and risk consulting.
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c.
Delos Lutton, an attorney for Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c., Milwaukee, was named president-elect of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA), an international association of lawyers, bar associations and law societies. Lutton is the third American elected president since the association was founded in 1927. The UIA is headquartered in Paris, France. Lutton practices corporate and international law, working with clients on international transactions including joint ventures and acquisitions, distribution and license agreements, export licensing, customs and international trade finance issues. He advises foreign businesses and investors on U.S. regulation of foreign investment and legal aspects of operation in U.S. markets. Lutton is a graduate of DePauw University and received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Shorewest Realtors
The Taxman Investment Company (TIC) has made Shorewest Realtors, Brookfield, its exclusive marketer for the Bayside Commons condominium development located at 905 W. Fairy Chasm Rd. The condominium community has 20 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units and heated underground parking. TIC specializes in real estate investment and management.
WomenConnected
Betty Arndt, vice president of communication for Johnson Controls, was recently named chairperson, and Mary Lodes, vice president of inpatient services at Waukesha Memorial Hospital was named chair-elect of WomenConnected, an organization of philanthropic women who support essential health care programs. WomenConnected enables women to pool their gifts to fund and direct the expansion of health care services at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. The 2004 funds for grants are expected to total more than $55,000.
Manpower, Inc.
Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Manpower Inc., Milwaukee, was named Strategic Partner of the Year by The Business Council, an affiliate of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) dedicated to assisting with the development of Milwaukee-area minority businesses. Joerres was recognized for Manpower’s commitment to developing minority-owned businesses in the Milwaukee-area, including helping minority-owned companies increase the volume of their business through expansion.
Kingshead
Kingshead, a Milwaukee hair and wellness salon, has added a new hair extension system to its line of products for women. The extension system is called Hairdreams and is a patented advanced system that creates added hair strength, volume, body and length. The product originated in Europe and was recently introduced in the U.S.
Traveling Bags
Traveling Bags, Milwaukee, has moved from its location at 9227 W. Beloit Rd., Milwaukee, to a new location, 3314 W. Loomis Rd., Greenfield. The new location allowed for Traveling Bags to expand its retail space and offer new retail luggage lines and travel accessories.
Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin
Jeffrey Thiel of Fitzgerald, James & Kasten, Inc., has been elected as the president for the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin. Thiel has been a member of the organization for 10 years and has served on the executive committee as president-elect and secretary-treasurer. He has also served on a number of committees including the best practices committee and the larger agencies committee. The Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin is a professional insurance trade association with 5,000 member agents.
R.A. Smith & Associates, Inc.
R.A. Smith & Associates, Inc., Brookfield, has been selected as one of the nation’s winners in CE News magazine’s "Best Civil Engineering Firms to Work For," for 2004. R.A. Smith & Associates and its National Survey & Engineering division ranked No. 12 out of 50 companies selected for recognition and had the highest ranking among Wisconsin firms on the list. Ninety-five companies competed. Other civil engineering firms from Wisconsin that made the list were Ruekert/Mielke, Waukesha; Mead & Hunt, Madison; and Kapur & Associates, Milwaukee.
Medical College of Wisconsin
The Medical College of Wisconsin department of biophysics has received a four-year, $260,000 scientific development grant from the American Heart Association to develop a multi-disciplinary non-invasive cardiac imaging program. Dr. Ming Zhao, assistant professor of biophysics, is the principal investigator of the grant, which is titled, "Development of a Targeted Contrast Agent for High Resolution Imaging of Myocardial Apoptosis by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). His research focuses on molecular imaging and development of target-specific contrast agents. Zhao has been with the Medical College faculty since 2003 and holds a doctoral degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, U.K.