Gehl VP and CFO resigns
West Bend-based Gehl Co. announced that Thomas Rettler has resigned as vice president and chief financial officer to accept a position as senior vice president and CFO of Neenah-based Menasha Corp.
"The decision to accept the opportunity presented by Menasha Corp. and leave Gehl Company was a difficult one, as Gehl is a great company with a talented leadership team and a dedicated group of employees," Rettler said. "I have enjoyed my time at Gehl and I thank all of the employees for their support over the past three plus years."
Gehl president and chief operating officer Malcolm Moore will assume the additional duties of CFO until a successor is named.
"Tom Rettler has been an excellent CFO and has played an instrumental role in Gehl Company’s growth since joining the company in 2004," said Gehl chairman and chief executive officer William Gehl. "We are grateful for his leadership in building a strong finance team, and we wish him well in his new position."
Gehl Company said it will begin the search for a new CFO immediately.
Employers cutting back on hiring plans
Economic uncertainty is causing many employers to scale back on their hiring plans, according to the latest survey by QPS Companies Inc., a Brookfield-based staffing company.
QPS surveyed more than 200 companies, including manufacturers, banks, printers, distributors and information technology firms throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.
According to its latest survey, 38 percent of employers are expecting to increase staff, down from first quarter’s prediction of 54 percent.
Respondents said the biggest issues they face are material costs and lack of qualified or reliable employees. Many companies wrote in their own responses about fears of an economic slowdown affecting their businesses, with the lack of work orders, the down housing marketing and the possible recession looming.
Companies also appear to be tightening financially, with 64 percent of respondents indicating that wages will remain the same. Historically, the number is up from 2006 and 2007, with second quarter figures of 28 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Only 33 percent anticipate wage increases, down from 72 percent in 2006 and 51 percent in 2007.
Mark Immekus, executive vice president of QPS, said, "Economic uncertainty is playing a key role in the way local companies are doing business. Companies are slowing down their anticipated hiring trends, and are making conservative wage adjustments. Many businesses are taking a ‘wait and see’ type of approach before making any drastic changes."
Oshkosh manufacturers named SBA’s people of the year
Robert Beach, James Jourdan, and John Petek of Marvel Manufacturing Company Inc. in Oshkosh have been named the Small Business Administration’s Wisconsin’s Small Business Persons of the Year for 2008.
Marvel Manufacturing, Inc. (formerly Armstrong-Blum Mfg. Co.) has been designing and manufacturing the highest quality metal cutting saws available for the past 100 years. Their products include Marvel vertical tilt frame bandsaws, horizontal bandsaws
(under both Marvel and Spartan names), Spartan ironworkers, plate saws, carbide tip circular saws and a full line of material handling equipment, including conveyors, loaders, ejectors, and length gauges. The three managers of Marvel purchased the assets of Armstrong-Blum Mfg., Co. in 2004 and renamed the company Marvel Manufacturing, Inc.
The Wisconsin SBA celebration of our Small Business winners will be on Friday, June 6, 2008 at SBA and SCORE’s Awards Presentation Breakfast at Country Springs Inn and Resort in Waukesha.
WMEP to present at Best Plants conference
Mike Hablewitz of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) will discuss the organization’s successful initiative to strengthen domestic supply chains at IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Conference Thursday, April 3, at 10 a.m. in Milwaukee.
In his presentation he’ll provide an overview of Accelerate, a collaborative approach between suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to speed up the process of producing goods and help U.S. suppliers gain a competitive advantage. To date, the WMEP has completed more than 250 projects with suppliers for 20 major OEMs and rolled out the program to Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in 21 states.
For more about the presentation, visit http://www.iwbestplants.com/program_measurement.asp#thur10am
