BizTimes Milwaukee

Milwaukee-based IGC Technologies LLC experienced 52-percent revenue growth in 2010 and expects 5- to 6-percent growth in 2011, which is why it appeared valuable for a strategic acquisition this year by one of its suppliers.

Dorner Mfg. Corp. chief operating officer Rich Ryan expects 2011 to be the best-performing year in the history of the company, which manufactures conveyor systems.

Kenosha-based IEA Inc. has taken advantage of the cloud computing trend to create a new product division. In 2009, near the end of the Great Recession, IEA established its Silver Linings division to make cloud server enclosures, which are used in data centers to cool down computer products.

While many companies have struggled to survive, much less grow, in recent years, Mayville Engineering Company has increased its annual sales from $60 million five years ago to $180 million.

Bill Goggins, chief executive officer of Harken USA in Pewaukee, will be one of the featured speakers at the BizTimes' Manufacturing Summit. The event will also feature leaders from several other key Wisconsin manufacturing companies, including Bob Kamphuis, CEO of Mayville Engineering Company Inc.; Jim Kettinger, president and CEO of IEA Inc.; Rich Ryan, chief operating officer of Dorner Mfg. Corp.; and Tom Groble, vice president of operations at IGC Technologies Inc.

Many would not expect yacht hardware manufacturing to be a growth industry in the weak post-recession economy. However, through a bold expansion and diversification plan, Pewaukee-based Harken Inc. is defying expectations.

Christopher Butson has a background in engineering, but he currently works as an associate professor and researcher in the departments of neurology and neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa. A lot of the work done in Butson's lab is transitional, he said.

Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong successor, said this about the path China must follow to modernize: "Feeling the stones when crossing the river."

Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes, a producer of cheesecakes and other desserts, will move from St. Francis to a new, 50,000-square-foot building that will be constructed in the Menomonee Valley in Milwaukee.

Foreign trade is now a component of sales and/or purchasing activities for many businesses. The exchange rate can have a significant impact on profit margins. Businesses have tools available to mitigate the risk of currency fluctuations.