Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/439904
w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m J a n u a r y 2 0 15 • I NSIGH T | 19 B y M a r g a r e t L e B r u n • P h o to g r a p h s b y S h a n e V a n B ox t e l , I m a g e S t u d i o s H orses were her first love. She imagined a career in equestrian science. rough the years, she rode her way to national titles, practicing agility and dodging obstacles in English style as well as Western. Anika Conger-Capelle never shed her competitive spirit. But horses have been only her hobby since one fateful day in 1997, when her dad, Gary Conger, called to tell her about an opportunity in the family business. "As I look back, it was absolutely 100 percent the correct route and path and journey for me," she recalls. Third-generation leader of Green Bay-based Conger ToyotaLift helps position family business for new heights iftin g e third-generation leader at Green Bay- based Conger ToyotaLi, Conger-Capelle led the forkli sales, parts, rental and service company through an expansion three years ago that more than doubled the size of its Ashland Avenue headquarters. Sales, which held steady at about a 5 percent annual increase through the recession, were $18 million in 2012, $28 million in 2013 and are projected to be $32 million for 2014. It may seem that success at Conger came almost overnight, by luck. But just as winning a sporting competition comes with long hours and hard work — not to mention strategy — Conger took calculated steps to earn its good fortune. is is a story of how a company that was in a healthy canter beside its competitors saw opportunities to break ahead of the pack and win the championship.