Wisconsin has continued to make progress on its mission to position the state as a worldwide leader in water technologies.
While water plays a major role in academia and companies throughout the state, the southeastern Wisconsin region has emerged as the central hub for activity. In 2013, the region reached yet another milestone by opening the first-of-its kind Global Water Center at 247 Freshwater Way in Milwaukee.
The Center adds to the extensive list of resources available for residents and businesses in the state. It joins the Great Lakes Water Institute – the largest freshwater research institute on the Great Lakes – and UW-Milwaukee’s School of Fresh Water Sciences, the first school of its kind in the country.
From vision to reality
“The opening of the center was the most important thing (The Water Council) has done since our establishment,” said Dean Amhaus, chief executive officer of The Water Council. “This center will not only provide a collaborative environment for water-based companies to grow and expand, it also provides much needed resources for the entire state.”
The idea for the center emerged after Rich Meeusen, co-founder and co-chair of the Milwaukee Water Council, and chairman, president and CEO of Badger Meter, Inc., returned from a visit to Israel, where he toured a similar facility run by the Israeli government.
He knew The Water Coucil could do it
in Wisconsin.
Meeusen, Amhaus and Paul Jones, the former CEO of A.O. Smith Corp. and a co-founder and co-chair of the Water Council, helped drive the $22 million project that revitalized the 107-year-old building in the Walker’s Point neighborhood.
According to Amhaus, the Center solidifies the region’s commitment to Water Technologies and puts the state under a global spotlight.
“A facility like this has never existed in the U.S.,” Amhaus said. “The resources and expertise available here at the Global Water Center are unparalleled.”
A collaborative environment
The Center currently houses several water-related research facilities from academic institutions throughout the state; several established water-related companies; support service companies and new space for emerging water-technology companies.
UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences and the UW-Whitewater Institute for Water Business maintain facilities in the building, as do The Water Council, The Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC) and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). Additionally, support resource companies like Wauwatosa-based accounting firm Wipfli, Milwaukee-based Zizzo Group Marketing and Milwaukee-based law firm Michael Best & Friedrich have opened offices in the Center.
The Global Water Center welcomed its first class of Seed Accelerator companies in September 2013.
“The resources here are enormous,” said David Rice, president of Noah Technologies, an emerging water-technology company who has space in the Center. “We’ve made so many connections, and the environment is so collaborative. It’s incredibly valuable.”
Six companies were awarded $50,000 from the WEDC, office space in the Global Water Center, business model and operations training through UW-Whitewater’s Institute for Water Business, access to faculty and students at UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences and, most importantly, access to the abundance of knowledge and expertise from professionals also located at the Center, Amhaus said.
“The long-term goal is to help these companies grow and succeed in the region and eventually establish permanent headquarters in Wisconsin,” Amhaus said. “Right now we have several French companies located in the Center who realize that in the U.S., Wisconsin is above and beyond the rest of the country in terms of water technology. We’re getting a lot of interest, and hope to grow the presence of these companies through the Center.”
WisconsinBiz is also highlighting three of the six companies selected in the first class of companies in the Global Water Centers Seed Accelerator.
