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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m N o v e m b e r 2 0 14 • I NSIGH T | 11 O N T H E W E B About Progress Lakeshore Progress Lakeshore is a private economic development agency serving the Manitowoc County and Lakeshore region. It provides businesses with resources for education, workforce training and information on opening or relocating a business to the region. It is also an active participant in New North. On the web: http://progresslakeshore.org "We have expanded and many of the things we do go well outside the county's boundaries," Loden says. Some of those expanded efforts include the Lakeshore Cluster Initiative, which seeks to help businesses in manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and energy generation identify each other and opportunities where they can work together to grow economic opportunity. When a new opportunity is identified, Loden, along with her counterparts in Sheboygan, Door, Calumet, Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties, and others seek the appropriate investors to act on it. Progress Lakeshore is also working on a supply-chain mapping project funded by an $81,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration to identify manufacturing opportunities related to the use of compressed natural gas, specifically gas generated with biomass. "As we make shis to those types of energy, there is a need for the equipment," Loden says. Other aspects of its development efforts are more traditional, but still vitally important to the region. Progress Lakeshore was also part of the team that convinced Ironwood Plastics, Inc. to expand its operations in Two Rivers, a $19 million project expected to result in 80 new jobs. "As a small city, we have reduced our in-house staff for economic development," says Greg Buckley, city manager for Two Rivers. "We look for them to provide those technical aspects of a project. It's a collaborative partnership that has been very successful." REGIONAL ROUNDUP U P F R O N T For links to economic development groups in the New North, visit www.thenewnorth.com/partners Development in the New North B y S e a n P. J o h n s o n » HIGHWAY 41 CORRIDOR Brown, Calumet, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac Counties Economic diversification takes on urgency e plans are almost ready, and not a minute too soon. As declining defense spending prompted another round of layoffs within Oshkosh Corporation's defense segment, initial efforts to help the region soen the blow and use the skills and connections gained from defense contracting to add greater diversity to the regional economy nears completion. Oshkosh Corp. announced it would eliminate up to 300 hourly and 70 salaried employees as a result of the downward trend. e company had previously cut 1,200 positions as several large military contracts were completed and spending for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq diminished. To help the region cope with the economic losses, the Department of Defense Office of Economic Assistance awarded an $837,000 grant to help regional economic development planners grow new opportunities for employees, the communities and the nearly 1,400 suppliers also affected. "We are reaching some conclusions on the planning phases, and there are likely some funding opportunities available to help us with the implementation phase," says Katherine Ahlquist, an economic development planner with East Central Regional Planning Commission, which is charged with coordinating the planning efforts paid for by the grant. Some of the projects being funded by the grant include mapping the regional supply chains developed to assist Oshkosh Corp. and other defense contractors and positioning it so that it can serve a broader group of industries. New North, Inc. is working to create a directory to support the effort. e Oshkosh region is pursuing plans to create an aerospace supply chain, an effort that included the recent groundbreaking of an aviation business park near Wittman Regional Airport. e University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh will launch its first business accelerator classes in 2015, and a specific class for aviation-related industries is expected to follow, also in 2015. Efforts have also been stepped up to provide direct assistance such as ISO certifications, export assistance or strategic repositioning for qualifying companies. As the full effect of the defense cuts takes hold, it's also possible that more companies could receive help. While it won't soen the blow of the latest job cuts, which will take effect in December, the projects under way can set the foundation for a more diverse regional economy going forward. "It is a larger planning effort, it's very long-term," Ahlquist says. CNG a winner for U.S. Oil U.S. Oil will ride a wave of increased demand for its compressed natural gas fueling stations well into 2015. Increased adoption of CNG in fleet vehicles has resulted in the [continued ] »