Jockey International Inc., one of the leading U.S. brands for underwear, sleepwear and apparel, has been named the Business of the Year by the Kenosha Area Business Alliance.
Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Kenosha since 1900, Jockey highlights the list of winners for KABA’s annual Ovation Awards, which recognize top performing Kenosha County businesses and business leaders, and their support of the community. Winners are chosen by a selection committee, which includes previous Ovation Award winners, KABA staff and board members, BizTimes Media, and representatives from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Gateway Technical College and Carthage College.
The Ovation Awards winners will be recognized at a banquet event on Feb. 6, 2025 at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside Student Center Ballroom. Click here to register. BizTimes Media is the media sponsor for the event.
In addition to its corporate headquarters at 2300 60th St. in Kenosha, Jockey has a store in downtown Kenosha at 5500 6th Ave. In 2022, Jockey opened Coopers Uptown, a café and gift shop at 2401 60th St., across the street from its headquarters.
Jockey is a third-generation family-owned company. It has more than 1,600 global employees.
Other Ovation Award winners:
Karla Krehbiel, regional president of Johnson Financial Group, is the Business Leader of the Year. She has 40 years of experience in the financial services industry and joined Johnson Financial Group in 2007 as senior vice president of commercial banking. She was promoted to regional president for the southeast market in 2016. In that role, Krehbiel oversees all business lines including commercial, retail and wealth management in the Kenosha and Racine areas. She has served on the boards of several organizations in the community, including the Kenosha County Food Bank, University of Wisconsin-Parkside Foundation, Carthage College Business Coalition, Kenosha Area Business Alliance, Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce, Kenosha Achievement Center, United Way of Kenosha
Franks Diner is the Small Business of the Year. Located at 508 58th St. in downtown Kenosha, Franks Diner opened in 1926. It claims to be the oldest continuing operating diner in the U.S. and has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and on The Food Network. Julie Rittmiller and Kevin Ervin bought the diner in 2010 and they continue to own and operate it today.
Forward Award winners (companies or organizations that have expanded, invested or developed programs or initiatives that help move Kenosha County forward):
- Backyard Dream Studios, a full service production company that specializes in virtual productions, video productions, live events, and commercial photography. Its studio, located in downtown Kenosha, featured one of the only virtual production LED video walls in Wisconsin.
- Carthage College, a private college in Kenosha, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with an enrollment of 2,667 students and more than 400 employees. In the past year, the college added an engineering center and expanded its nursing learning labs.
- Grow Space Vertical Farms, a vertical farming startup enterprise that uses hydroponic and aeroponic systems to grow produce year-round. Grow Space purchased the Scandinavian Design building at 3127 Roosevelt Road in Kenosha and built the vertical farm there. It started with 10 vertical garden towers and later expanded to 30.
- Kem Krest, which provides solutions for fulfillment, chemical packaging, supply chain management, e-commerce and after sales. Based in Indiana, the company came to Kenosha County in 2016 when it acquired a 278,000-square-foot facility in Pleasant Prairie formerly occupied by Unified Solutions Inc.
- NOSCO, a packaging manufacturer that moved its headquarters and production operations from Gurnee, Illinois to a 177,000-square-foot space in Pleasant Prairie in 2021. Since then the company has expanded into the entire 271,000-square-foot building.
