SBA loans
The U.S. Small Business Association approved the following loan guarantees during July:
AJE Inc, 212 W. Main St., Watertown, $300,000, Town and Country Bank;
Allied Properties LLC, 2932 Highway 83, $270,000, First Bank Financial Centre;
Cars R Us Sales & Service LLC, 206 S. Military Road, Fond du Lac, $122,000, Hometown Bank;
Carspot.com LLC, 223 N. Water St., Milwaukee, $150,000, Associated Bank National Association;
Central Bark Doggy Day Care, 9550 S. 60th St., Franklin, $187,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Clearview Medical Imaging LLC, 5150 N. Port Washington Road, Milwaukee, $420,500, Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Comfort Inn & Suites, W227 N16890 Tillie Lake Ct., Jackson, $1,001,000, Wisconsin Business Development Financial Corporation;
Cosey Technology Services LLC, 1954 Prospect St., Racine, $15,000, JPMorgan Chase Bank;
Cousins Subs, 801 E. Capital Dr., Milwaukee, $391,500, Community Bank & Trust
DC Rubicon Ranch Corporation, P.O. Box 3690, Hartford, $221,000, Wisconsin Business Development Financial Corporation;
Energenecs Inc., W59 N249 Cardinal Ave., Cedarburg, $1,150,000, Associated Bank National Association
Engineered Reflector Products, 6182 Bryan Road, Burlington, $50,000, JPMorgan Chase Bank
National Association;
Ephraim A. Frankel, 1228 N. Astor St., Suite 200, Milwaukee, $25,000, Capital One Federal Savings Bank;
Flatley Corporation, 3026A Highway 145, Richfield, $78,000, Cornerstone Community Bank;
Flexographic Real Estate Holding, 4 Taylor St., Waupun, $310,000, Green Lake State Bank;
Fresh & Safe Inc., 2224 Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee, $120,000, Park Bank;
Highway Light and Landscape Inc.,
N7936 County Highway D, Watertown, $200,000, JPMorgan Chase Bank;
James Reeves, 5718 W. Pine Lane, Mequon, $10,000, U.S. Bank;
Just O Kay Properties LLC, 9550 S. 60th St., Franklin, $447,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Lakefront Brewery Inc., 1872 N. Commerce St., Milwaukee, $200,000, JPMorgan Chase Bank;
Louis Lowenbine, 6501 108th St., Kenosha, $25,000, U.S. Bank;
Macgregor Enterprises Inc., 3026A Highway 145, Richfield, $82,000, Cornerstone Community Bank;
Marjenck Inc., 6800 Washington Ave., Racine, $318,000, Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Matco Tools, 33015 Bayview Dr., Burlington, $32,400, Associated Bank;
Microtel of Fond du Lac, 920 S. Military Road, Fond du Lac, $435,000, Wisconsin Business Development Financial Corporation;
Milwaukee’s Firehouse LLC, 2758 S. 35th St., Milwaukee, $210,000, U.S. Bank;
Northwoods Promotions Inc., N114 W18621 Clinton Dr., Germantown, $150,000, Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Oklahoma Liquor & Tobacco, 10711 W. Oklahoma Ave., West Allis, $977,000, Citizens Small Business Lending Corporation;
One Eleven Lifestyle Environment, 1300 14th Ave. Unit A, Grafton, $25,600, Associated Bank;
Ozslo Foods Inc., 1947 Cedar Dr., Grafton, $30,000, Associated Bank;
Paloma Print Products, 467 Bluebird Circle, Cedarburg, $60,000, Wells Fargo Bank;
Ramada Limited, 13340 Hospitality Ct., Sturtevant, $1,591,100, American Enterprise Bank;
Reinholm Lake Geneva Opticians, 801 W. Main St., Lake Geneva, $139,000, Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Roman’s Pizzeria, W63 N540 Hanover Ave., Cedarburg, $85,000, Wells Fargo Bank;
Shoot the Moon Photography LLC, 10050 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, $50,000, Capital One Federal Savings Bank;
SJP Motel LLC d.b.a. Capitol Man, 7012-7020 W. Appleton Ave., Milwaukee, $550,000, Business Loan Center LLC;
Soche LLC, 2213 N. Martin Luther King, Milwaukee, $191,000, Associated Bank;
Southern Lakes Chiropractic S.C., 3224 W. Main St. Suite E, East Troy, $125,000, Marshall & Ilsley Bank;
Stramara Chiropractic S.C., 501 Hall St., Watertown, $50,000, ISB Community Bank;
Sweet Basil, 1306 Main St., St. Cloud, $208,000, Home Town Bank;
T.S. Engineering Corporation, 6728 52nd St., Kenosha, $150,000, Johnson Bank;
Tammy Perry and Marc Center, 4843 N. Hopkins St., Milwaukee, $60,500, Wells Fargo Bank;
Third Ward Dental S.C., 219 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee, $387,000, Associated Bank;
Village Walk Citgo, 465 Village Walk, Johnson Creek, $10,000, Layton State Bank;
Village Walk Citgo, 465 Village Walk, Johnson Creek, $100,000, Layton State Bank;
WK George LLC and Country Vete, 2007 S. Brown Lake Dr., Burlington, $600,000, Citizens Small Business Lending Corporation;
Work Force of America Inc., 9001 N. 76th St., Milwaukee, $175,000, Cornerstone Community Bank;
Xel-ha Mexican Restaurant, 2301 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, $20,000, Community Bank & Trust;
Xel-ha Mexican Restaurant, 2301 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, $70,000, Community Bank & Trust.
mergers & acquisitions
Brass Ring acquires Chilton company
Brass Ring Capital Inc., a private equity firm with offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis, has purchased American Finishing Resources Inc. (AFR), a Chilton-based provider of coating removal services and related products. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
David Wacker, former president of Raabe Corp., a manufacturer of custom paints, joined with Brass Ring Capital in the acquisition. Wacker is the new chief executive officer of AFR, replacing former owners Steve and Keith Stroobants, according to Steven Peterson, managing director of Brass Ring’s Milwaukee office.
Wacker’s experience at Raabe will be crucial to the future success of AFR, Peterson said.
“Dave’s orientation is strong in sales and marketing,” Peterson said. “It’s a hand-and-glove fit.”
In addition to its coating removal services, AFR works closely with its customers to design and fabricate custom paint line fixtures to maximize production, Peterson said.
AFR is Brass Ring’s second acquisition. Brass Ring previously took part in the recapitalization of Infinity Precision LLC, a process engineering business based in Chanhassen, Minn.
Brass Ring is focusing on acquiring ownership stakes in businesses generating annual revenues of $5 million to $25 million in the Upper Midwest.
R.A. Smith acquires Green Bay firm
R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., a Brookfield-based civil engineering firm, announced it has acquired Community Engineering Consultants Inc., a Green Bay-based civil engineering firm specializing in municipal and site development engineering.
Vernon Vandenberg, owner of Community Engineering Consultants, will remain active with R.A. Smith and its National Survey & Engineering division and was named the company’s Green Bay-Fox Valley branch manager. The Community Engineering Consultants office will remain open and will change its name to R.A. Smith & Associates.
“Community Engineering Consultants embodies the same philosophy of responsive, quality and personalized service that is core to the mission of R.A. Smith & Associates,” said Richard Smith, owner and president of R.A. Smith & Associates.
Community Engineering Consultants has three
employees. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Alabama investors buy Racine foundry
Premier Aluminum Inc., a permanent mold aluminum casting and machine shop headquartered in Racine with another location in Allenton, has been sold to Ligon Industries LLC, a group of manufacturing companies based in Birmingham, Ala.
Premier’s name has been changed to Premier Aluminum LLC, a division of Ligon Industries LLC, said Robert Haebig, president of Premier Aluminum.
Premier has more than 100 employees in its two locations. Premier’s sales have been very strong in the past three years, Haebig said, and the company needs to expand its machinery, plants and employee base. The sale to Ligon Industries will allow that expansion to happen, he said.
The acquisition was attractive because Ligon relies on local management to run its companies, allowing Haebig and his partner, Doug Haag, to remain in place. Premier was founded in 1988 by Haebig, Haag and Mike Allik. Allik has retired.
“If we hadn’t told anyone (about the sale), no one would know,” Haebig said. “I will be president, Doug will be vice president of finance. They allow their companies to run autonomously. They do not have a big corporate staff, but the staff they do have is very operations oriented.”
Corporate mergers and acquisitions generally take six to 12 months to close. However, the Ligon purchase of Premier took just 30 days, Haebig said, because of Ligon’s commitment to get the deal done quickly.
The deal was brokered by Waukesha-based Mertz Associates Inc.
“We found them an excellent group to work with,” Haebig said. “Ligon was one of the companies we identified they should contact, and we got good results for our shareholders, employees and customers.”
Ligon is planning to add machinery to Premier, and the company’s Racine facility may be expanded in the next six months, if market conditions allow, Haebig said.
The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
IMS to acquire assets of New York barter company
International Monetary Systems Ltd., a New Berlin-based business-to-business barter service company, announced it has acquired an option to purchase the assets of New York Commerce Group, formerly known as Barter Advantage.
During the option period, the companies will operate under a revenue-sharing arrangement. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Don Mardak, chief executive officer of IMS, said, “We are very excited about this opportunity to establish a relationship with New York Commerce Group. NYCG is the finest trade exchange operating in Manhattan, and its owner, Lois Dale, is one of the most respected people in the barter industry. Lois has long been recognized as the ‘First Lady of Barter,’ and she is the current president of IRTA, the International Reciprocal Trade Association.”
Among its more than 700 clients, New York Commerce Group has business relationships with several New York-based media companies, ticket brokers and corporate barter firms, Mardak said.
IMS is one of the largest publicly traded barter companies in the world and continues to expand its exchange locations.
