Viewpoints

First Business Bank-Milwaukee, part of First Business Financial Services Inc., has hired Bob Bell as vice president.

Brown Deer-based Bank Mutual is offering specials on its new money loans for small businesses in order to meet customers' changing business needs.

Harley-Davidson Inc. unveiled the official calendar of its 110th Anniversary Celebration events for the coming year.

Tailored Label Products Inc. of Menomonee Falls has acquired the label products division of Norcross, Ga.-based Stratix Corp.

Nashotah-based Dickten Masch Plastics (DMP), a thermoplastics and thermoset manufacturer with metal stamping and assembly capabilities, has acquired Nyloncraft Inc., a technical plastics manufacturer based in Mishawaka, Ind.

Milwaukee-based Brady Corp. reported fiscal fourth quarter net income of $11.7 million, or 22 cents per share, down from $29.6 million, or 55 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

One of my favorite pop quizzes for people outside Wisconsin, especially those who understand the tech-based economy, is to ask them to name the nation’s top five academic research universities. The answers invariably include the likes of Stanford, Yale and Harvard, but rarely does anyone outside the Midwest guess that UW-Madison is perennially on the list.

Glendale-based Chameleon Brewing Company, subsidiary of Sprecher Brewing Company, has won an award for its Witty, a Belgian white wheat ale with spices.

Generac has acquired a former Briggs & Stratton facility in Jefferson.
The building is about 250,000 square feet and sits on an 18 acre lot at 900 N. Parkway.

Open houses will be held in Milwaukee, Mequon and Racine to celebrate Manufacturing Day, a national event being held for the first time this year on Friday, Oct. 5.

A stellar panel of executives from Milwaukee-area manufacturing companies will share their insights and best practices at the 2012 BizTimes Manufacturing Summit.