Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/164142
face time We just adopted a new vision statement: "We will be the most effective economic development organization in the state." I am a strong proponent of steward leadership; I believe I serve every single citizen that lives in Fond du Lac County. undertaken a large expansion, Wells Vehicle Electronics consolidated their forces into Fond du Lac and are finishing up on a major expansion right now; they included a research center. Mercury Marine is in the process of expanding their operations. A little company called Advanced Tooling in Mt. Calvary is a very sophisticated tooling operation for manufacturers in the medical industry. They just doubled in size, both in building and employment – they're up to about 50 employees now. Fond du Lac County is ranked as one of the highest concentrations of advanced manufacturing in the nation. Milken Institute ranked us very highly: We were in the 19th position out of 360 metros in the United States. Most people don't realize that those manufacturers are there, but there are highly sophisticated and advanced manufacturing techniques inside those buildings. MAG, which used to be Giddings & Lewis Machine Tools, which has now been purchased by Fives Group, France, does custom manufacturing equipment. They employ about 260. Fond du Lac County has the state's biggest dairy, Rosendale (parent company MilkSource owns 15,000 head of cattle at three locations in the region). That's phenomenal. They're a good example of how even the agriculture industry is changing because a lot of that is mechanized. We just funded a major project for LaClare Farms, near Pipe. They are a goat milk and cheese processor and make nationally award-winning goat cheese. They are building a new facility that will involve 600 to 800 goats for milking, a processing facility and a retail shop. They're now getting requests from all over the nation for raw milk. We just adopted a new vision statement: "We will be the most effective economic development organization in the state." I am a strong proponent of steward leadership; I believe I serve every single citizen that lives in Fond du Lac County. Early in my career, I was at an event one day and a lady tapped me on the shoulder and she had tears in her eyes. She said, "I want to thank you." And I said, "For what?" And she said, "Well, because of what you have done, my husband has a job that he never dreamed he would ever have. And my family has things that we thought we would never have." That has influenced my philosophy about being an economic developer. It's about people. Some you might never meet in your lifetime – but you impact them in a positive way. the main tool our clients use to find us. Choose the Lawyers other Lawyers Choose. W ord of Mouth! We value the referrals we receive and so do you. Trust your business to attorneys who are recommended by their peers. The business practice lawyers of Menn Law bring knowledge, proven expertise and decades of experience to your start-up, sale, acquisition or business matter. Trust is confirmed at Menn Law. 20 | Insight • S e p t e m b e r 2 013 920.731.6631 | www.mennlaw.com w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m