WMEP announces grant funds for Wisconsin manufacturers

Grant funds are available to help state manufacturers achieve profitable growth and improve their business performance.

The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) has announced that matching grants targeted at small and midsize manufacturers can be obtained through a program offered by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. The Next Generation Manufacturing program provides grants in the range of $5,000 to $6,500 to pay up to 50 percent of project costs for services delivered by WMEP. The remaining project costs will be paid by the company.

“At a time when many manufacturers are struggling, this assistance can be instrumental in setting the stage for future growth and profitability,” says WMEP Executive Director Mike Klonsinski.

Grant funds can be used to defray the cost of projects focused in one of two areas: Lean transformation or business growth.

Lean Transformation:

Up to $5,000 per company is available to any small or midsize manufacturer (less than 500 employees) interested in pursuing lean transformation, including those who are new to lean or those who have implemented lean initiatives in the past two years but have not been fully successful in achieving desired results. The funding is targeted at lean transformation projects designed to improve performance across all facets of the business enterprise.

Business Growth:

Up to $6,500 per company is available to help small and midsize manufacturers implement Eureka! Winning Ways, a nationally recognized system to accelerate growth and generate high impact ideas for new products and services. 

Grants are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Project completion deadline is Dec. 31, 2010.  

For more information, contact Brian Grabowski, WMEP director of consulting services, at 877-856-8588 or grabowski@wmep.org.

MOVERS

>> Krista McMasters is the new CEO at Clifton Gunderson. She is the first and only female to serve as CEO among the nation’s top 25 certified public accounting firms in the history of the profession and is the fourth CEO in the company’s nearly 50-year history.

>> Michael Murphy has been elected chair of the Indian Law Section of the Wisconsin State Bar. He is a descendant of the Nez Perce, Washoe and Paiute tribes and is an attorney in the Madison office of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.

>> Jerry Simpkins, previously vice president production and operations at Capital Newspapers, has been hired as COO at NAStar Inc., a pressure sensitive adhesive products manufacturer in Middleton.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

STATEWIDE:Virchow Krause & Company LLP, the 17th largest CPA and consulting firm in the United States, has changed its name to Baker Tilly as part of an agreement to become the exclusive U.S. branded firm in the Baker Tilly International network. The firm will operate under the legal name of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP

MILWAUKEE: Toni Sikes, an entrepreneur who built the nation’s largest online arts retailer from a warehouse on Madison’s near east side, received the sixth annual “Seize the Day” award at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in June. Identifying a need for artists to reach new audiences, Sikes founded The Guild publishing company in 1985 to connect artists with architects and interior designers. In 1998, Sikes launched guild.com to market the work of artists to consumers, via the Internet and catalog. Her commitment to helping artists market and sell their work made The Guild the leading U.S. multi-channel retailer of original artwork. Sikes is currently senior advisor at Gruppo, Levey & Co., a New York investment bank, where she leads an initiative to help young technology companies in their financing and M&A strategies.

>> In mid-June, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Thomas Cooper struck down the city of Milwaukee’s paid sick leave mandate, stating that the mandate was, “invalidly enacted and unconstitutional.” An appeal of the decision is expected by 9to5 the National Association of Working Women.