Manufacturers receive awards
The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce recently announced its Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Awards recently.
Companies were evaluated in areas such as financial growth or consistency, technological advances, product development, environmental solutions, operational excellence/continuous improvement, commitment to employees, and effective research and development.
The Grand Awards winners of the program were: Standard Imaging Inc., Middleton; Mathews Inc., Sparta; Bassett Mechanical, Kaukauna; Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth; and Briggs & Stratton Corp., Milwaukee.
The Special Awards winners were: Centrisys Corp., Kenosha, for "Operational Excellence in a Capital Intensive Industry;" Vulcan Global Manufacturing Solutions Inc., Milwaukee, for "Get the Lead Out;" Signicast Corp., Hartford, for "Manufacturing Process Innovation;" and J.J. Keller & Associates Inc., Neenah, for "Strengthening Communities."
"We are proud to honor these manufacturers as they forge ahead setting the pace for economic development, growth and prosperity," said James Haney, president of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. "Wisconsin manufacturers are recognized around the world for their innovations, cutting-edge technological advances, and uncompromising commitment to customer satisfaction."
Modine to ramp up production in China
Modine Manufacturing Co., a Racine-based provider of thermal management technology and solutions, has landed $14 million in contracts to produce exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers for diesel engines for Great Wall Motor in Baoding, Hebei Province, China.
The production will begin in 2009 and extend over the next five years. The EGR coolers will be manufactured beginning in 2009 at Modine’s Changzhou manufacturing plant, located in Changzhou, JiangSu Province, China.
EGR coolers recirculate exhaust gas from the engine to control both particulates and nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions in the exhaust, keeping the air cleaner and burning fuel more efficiently.
Rockwell Automation to acquire Swiss manufacturer
Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc. recently reached a definitive agreement to acquire the safety and automation business of Cedes AG. Cedes’ safety and automation business is a leading supplier of safety and measuring light curtains, as well as other safety and non-safety optoelectronics, control units and related accessories for industrial applications. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Cedes Safety and Automation business is headquartered in Landquart, Switzerland, with sales offices primarily across Europe. The business unit being acquired includes products, technology, development engineering, marketing, sales and distribution to serve the industrial safety and automation markets.
Subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, Rockwell Automation expects the transaction to be completed early in the second quarter of 2008.
Reliable Plating honored by EST Co.
Reliable Plating Works Inc. has been chosen as the "Raw Material/Subcontract 2007 Supplier of the Year" by the EST Company, a Leggett and Platt Aluminum Group Company located in Grafton.
"The RPW Family of employees is grateful to the EST Company and Lynn Klein for this award," said Jaime Maliszewski, president and chief executive officer Milwaukee-based Reliable Plating Works. "This is a huge honor for everyone here at RPW and this award is a great reminder to our people as to why we work so hard for our customers."
Five Star Coatings to receive tax credits
Five Star Coatings Group, Inc., in Twin Lakes will receive $150,000 in Wisconsin Technology Zone tax credits. The project is expected to create 12 new positions. Five Star Coatings Group is investing a total of $5.3 million to construct and supply its new 37,000 sq. ft. facility in Twin Lakes.
Five Star Coatings Group, Inc. will manufacture new window coatings for Five Star Fabricating, a well-known supplier of the race car industry. New machinery will coat windows with a protective film, a technology that Five Star Fabricating’s current window supplier is unable to provide. For more information on Commerce programs and services, contact the Commerce area development manager at http://commerce.wi.gov/BD/BD-FAX-0901.html
