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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 M a r c h 2 0 1 6 • I NSIGH T | 31 plants in Waupaca, Marinette, Tell City, Ind., and Etowah, Tenn. at will be welcome news for the regional workforce, which continues to see a declining unemployment rate in Waupaca and Shawano counties. Waupaca County's unemployment rate fell nearly a point in 2015, to 4.4 percent in December from 5.2 percent the year before. Shawano County experienced a similar decline, to 4.5 percent from 5.2 percent. As part of the reorganization, HMAC will close its precision machining and assembly in Wellsboro, Penn., merging them with a facility in Effingham, Ill. at transition is expected to complete by December 2017. e company also operates a casting foundry in Lawrenceville, Penn., and employs 485 people. Of course, as the company continues to innovate through its automation programs — Waupaca Foundry designs and constructs much of its own robotic and automation Inspirational Leadership 2016 Friday, April 29 7:30 am - 12:00 noon Hyatt Regency Milwaukee | 333 W. Kilbourn Ave., Milwaukee, WI Register online at tecmidwest.com or contact TEC at 262-821-3340 The connection between happiness and success Presented by Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage Every attendee will receive a copy of The Happiness Advantage. Shawn Achor, whose TED talk just passed 10 million views, recently received the honor of his presentation being called one of the most popular TED talks of all time by TED.com. Smart Enough to Know... I should attend this event equipment — the numbers working on the production floor could decline over time. However, that also creates needs elsewhere, making long-term workforce projections a bit of a challenge. e bottom line is the industry is demanding more efficiency, and the merger of HMAC into Waupaca Foundry is a strategic move that will enhance operations and position the company for sustained growth in its current markets as well as new opportunities in other durable goods markets. "e merger with HMAC allows us to further integrate castings and value- added services for our customers in diverse markets," says Gary Gigante, CEO of Waupaca Foundry. "We are committed to being the world's leading casting solutions provider and this is a critical step in achieving that goal." Doting on downtown As the region's economic health has strengthened, the city of Waupaca is taking steps to improve the quality of life in the community. is past year, the city of Waupaca launched a complete reconstruction of its downtown, beginning with citizen working groups developing options for the amenities they want to see in the city. e new master plan will not only include the downtown redevelopment plan, but will also include a market study for the entire city as well as a housing study for the broader community. Waupaca took some tough hits during the housing bubble, with rapid subdivision growth prior to the Great Recession, followed by a number of subdivisions going into tax foreclosure as the economy stalled. Working with the county, Waupaca is bundling vacant parcels within these subdivisions and potentially use available tax increment financing to entice developers to build out the developments.