Got Game?
Huffy Sports Co. of Sussex, a manufacturer of basketball systems, inflatable sports balls and related sporting goods products, has introduced Got Game?, a new brand of products and games designed for young adults and families.
"Huffy Sports is a well established, mainstream brand that holds a certain place in a consumer’s mind," said Patrick Ehren, vice president of sales and marketing for the company. "Got Game? allows us to offer more niche-oriented products under a fresh, brand new identity. With Got Game? we can expand our product line to support traditional Huffy Sports channels of distribution as well as new channels that have previously been untapped."
The first product to launch under Got Game? is HoleShot, a high-end version of the traditional bean-bag toss.
Roast inc.
A new coffee house, Roast inc., has opened at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Locust Street near UWM on Milwaukee’s east side. In addition to freshly roasted coffee, Roast serves light pastries in a smoke free environment. Business hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The coffee house will host a series of "Coffee Cuppings," designed to educate patrons about the growing, roasting and brewing process of coffee. Roast, inc. will begin its series of "Coffee Cuppings" in March.
"Roast inc. not only offers high-quality coffee at a convenient location," said Ryan Mason, a former UW-Milwaukee graduate and co-owner of the establishment, "but it is also our goal to educate students and residents of the east side about what makes a great cup of coffee."
Sulli & Associates
Sulli & Associates, a Cedarburg-based program and fund development company for the non-profit community, has opened a multi-media division offering Web development, site promotion, logo design, photography, presentation development, royalty-free music and IT project management.
The company is on the Web at www.sulliassociates.com.
Restaurateurs of the Year
William Specht, James Sheppard and Robert Otto of Cousins Subs were honored as the Outstanding Restaurateurs of the Year at the Wisconsin Restaurant Association’s recent 8 meeting.
Specht and Sheppard, cousins from Atlantic City, N.J., are co-founders of Cousins Subs while Otto is vice president of operations who started out with the company as a store manager more than 30 years ago. The company is now based in Menomoneee Falls, but the first restaurant was in Milwaukee. They currently own 40 Cousins Subs in southeastern Wisconsin.
Franchising began in the late 1980s. The restaurant chain is now in 10 states with 130 franchise locations. Another 200 stores are under development.
Sales Dynamics
Brookfield-based Sales Dynamics, along with M.L. Smith & Associates, have launched "The Nurture Factor," a relationship sales and marketing system.
"This system will align your sales and marketing strategies by automating your efforts to create an environment for your prospects and clients to develop an irresistable relationship with you," said Mary Lynn Smith of M.L. Smith & Associates. "It is the foundation that will allow partnerships with your clients to flourish."
The Nurture Factor nurtures a prospect or client along the continuum of the sales cycle, said Jim Fletcher of Sales Dynamics (www.salesdocs.com).
"Nurture can be applied to three main target areas: existing customers via a retain/build nurture strategy, new customers via a conquer strategy, and past customers via a recapture strategy," Fletcher said.
Tools that Rock
Tools that Rock has been launched in West Bend to design and develop tools primarily for the use of plumbing and heating contractors, along with some domestic applications. The company’s president, Larry Bayer, has been in the plumbing business for more than 20 years and is also the owner of Bayer Plumbing and Heating of West Bend. He began developing accessory tools to help plumbing and heating contractors complete daily projects more efficiently.
The company is at 2295 Continental Dr., www.toolsthatrock.com.
CybrCollect
Financial Control Solutions of Germantown is now offering CybrCollect, an electronic check-collection system for businesses. The system verifies that funds are available for collection prior to check representment, says Frank Nuck, company president.
CybrCollect, based in La Crosse, has been offering the system since electronic check presentment and debiting were authorized in 1998.
"We’ve known that continual enhancements to the electronic funds transfer process would eventually make paper-based check collection obsolete," said Nuck.
Nuck, an attorney, acquired Financial Control Solutions in 1999. Since then, it has experienced a 35% year-on-year growth while diversifying its markets and products, he said.
Quick Fuel Fleet Services
Quick Fuel Fleet Services of Milwaukee has acquired Solar Fuels’ mobile refueling business in Kansas City, Mo., and Des Moines, Iowa.
The Kansas City customers are all fleets requiring mobile refueling while the Des Moines customers are a mix of mobile refueling fleet accounts, construction accounts, skid tank accounts and home heating oil accounts. Overall, the acquisition includes six tank-wagon delivery trucks and several hundred customers.
Quick Fuel Fleet Services offers on-site mobile refueling, where drivers fuel trucks and equipment at a terminal or job site, during down times in 30 metro markets of the Midwest and South.
Quick Fuel Fleet Services also offers fleets a rapidly-expanding network of 50 fueling facilities throughout the Midwest and South. The Solar Fuels acquisition allows Quick Fuel to offer commercial fleets both on-site mobile refueling and off-site fueling at its automated facilities in Des Moines and Kansas City.
"The Solar Fuels acquisition gives us a stronger portfolio of customer offerings in two solid Midwestern markets. This is consistent with our goal of being the ‘Total Fueling Solution’ for commercial fleets in our target markets," stated Charles Jacobus, Quick Fuel’s president.
Quick Fuel is a division of Milwaukee-based Jacobus Energy.
Turf Scholars Inc.
Heather Schuster and John Landers, owners of Turf Scholars Inc. in Muskego, have purchased their second Weed Man franchise, giving them exclusive rights to Waukesha and Milwaukee counties. Weed Man provides slow-release fertilization, weed and crabgrass control and preventative white grub control. It is on the Web at www.weed-man.com.
Russ DarrowAutomotive Group
The Russ Darrow Automotive Group has purchased the HUB North Chrysler-Jeep franchise and combined with the Darrow Dodge to create Milwaukee’s first Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealership.
"The future of DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group is based on having all three brands, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge all in one location," said Russ Darrow III, president and chief operating officer of Russ Darrow Automotive Group.
The dealership will be at 7676 N. 76th St., where the Kia and Isuzu franchises were. Kia vehicles will now be available at the former Darrow Dodge location, 8330 N. 76th St. Isuzus will be sold at 7200 W. Mequon Rd. in Mequon.
The Russ Darrow Group, with headquarters in Menomonee Falls, owns and operates 20 separate franchises out of 22 locations. It has 900 employees.
RFP Commercial
RFP Commercial Inc., a Milwaukee-based commercial real estate firm, entered into a joint venture with Chicago-based MB Real Estate. The new venture, RFP/MBRE Joint Venture, will bring together RFP Commercial’s knowledge and understanding of the Wisconsin real estate market and its players with MB Real Estate’s regional and national property management expertise. The venture may collaborate on brokerage and leasing assignments on a case-by-case basis.
RFP Commercial principal Bob Flood said, "This venture will benefit both companies as it will allow RFP to provide its existing and future clients with access to one of the finest property managers in the business. Our clients may also benefit from MB Real Estate’s excellent ties to institutional owners for other transactional business."
MB Real Estate senior vice president Kevin Purcell added, "RFP’s knowledge of the Wisconsin market and MB Real Estate’s experience in property and facility management, as well as transaction services, will provide for a solid platform on which clients can find effective real estate solutions."
RFP Commercial was started in September 2002 by Scott Revolinski, Bob Flood and Ned Purtell.
Decker Weighing Systems
Gene Decker has opened Decker Weighing Systems to serve the weighing equipment needs for Wisconsin.
Decker is the former president of Decker Scale Company and former general manager of Batson Scales & Systems. He has more than 30 years of experience in the scale industry.
The new company is in Wales in Waukesha County, and can be reached at 262-968-6736 or via e-mail at deckerweighing@aol.com.
Feb. 20, 2004 Small Business Times, Milwaukeee
