Dane County companies boosted through Madison Development Corporation loans

For Immediate Release
March 8, 2021

Dane County companies boosted through Madison Development Corporation loans

Firms on the upswing receive $1.6 million infusion

MADISON, WI — Five growing Dane County businesses have received a capital infusion of $1.6 million through Venture Debt Fund loans from the Madison Development Corporation (MDC).

Among the enterprises receiving 2020 loans through MDC’s Venture Debt fund are: 

• Image Mover: $250,000 for development of an app that allows images to be uploaded directly to the Epic Systems platform without breaking HIPPA rules. 
• StartingBlock Madison: $250,000 for space for start-up and early-stage companies located in American Family Insurance’s SPARK building on East Washington Avenue.
• Simple Machines: $400,000 to develop a chip technology that provides software-controlled hardware that is fast, power-efficient, and area-efficient.
• Mobile22: $250,000 for development of Transport-as-a-Service technology platform that manages and optimizes mobility. It’s designed to help organizations manage their fleets, drivers, demand and fulfillment.  
• SmartUQ: $400,000 for a predictive analytics and uncertainty quantification software tool that incorporates real world variables.

“This loan through MDC will help us leverage resources in creating software solutions that will improve the patient experience and make life more convenient,” said Kevin Houlihan, Chief Executive Officer of Image Mover. “Having access to a local entity like MDC focused on helping businesses grow and create jobs is a real plus for the Madison business community.”

Since the Venture Debt Fund was founded in 2004 by MDC and over a dozen institutional investors (including local banks, MGE, and area Economic Development Corporations), the Fund has made 67 loans totaling $19.6 million to 56 Madison companies. In 2020, investment from the Fund helped create 329 new jobs. Since inception, fund loans have helped create over 2,000 jobs in Dane County. The average loan size is $350,000. 

“Our Venture Debt Fund has assisted entrepreneurial companies grow and invest in talented people who live and work here,” said Lorrie Heinemann, MDC president and chief executive officer. “In turn, these enterprises are driving innovation and further solidifying Madison as an entrepreneurial, high-tech growth hub.”

Fostering creative start-up businesses and creating high quality jobs in Dane County is key for the community banks and local institutional investors who participate in the Venture Debt Fund.

“Our community benefits when local companies innovate, grow and hire new employees,” said John Drury, Senior Business Development Manager at Madison Gas and Electric, a lead investor in the Fund. “We’re proud to invest in our community through the Venture Debt Fund, which gives promising businesses resources at pivotal times so they can grow and thrive.”

The Venture Debt Fund draws collaborative funding from local organizations including: Bank of Sun Prairie, Capitol Bank, City of Fitchburg, First Business Bank, Madison Gas and Electric, Middleton Area Development Corp, Monona Bank, Oak Bank, Old National Bank, One Community Bank, Park Bank, River Valley Bank, Settlers Bank, Starion Financial, State Bank of Cross Plains, and Town Bank. The Fund also just received a $300,000 Capital Catalyst investment from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

“These are challenging and exciting times for companies driving change,” Fund Chair Mary Strickland said. “The MDC Venture Debt Fund is proud to partner with visionary leaders who are growing their companies here in Dane County.”

Madison Development Corporation is a non-profit organization that owns and manages 348 affordable workforce housing units in the Madison area and provides financing for hard-to-finance businesses in Dane County. Since 1977, MDC has provided loans to more than 450 businesses totaling over $35 million, which helped them create over 5,000 quality jobs in Dane County.

WPS Health Solutions joins movement to improve diversity and inclusion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
DeAnne Boegli
Vice President of Communications
608-977-7343
deanne.boegli@wpsic.com

WPS Health Solutions joins movement to improve diversity and inclusion

MADISON, Wis.—March 1, 2021—Mike Hamerlik of WPS Health Solutions joins more than 1,600 Chief Executive Officers and Presidents across the nation to pledge action on supporting a more inclusive workplace for employees, communities, and society at large.

CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion™ is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace.

“My commitment is driven by the understanding that meaningful change around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) starts at the executive level. This pledge offers me the opportunity to lead by example,” Hamerlik said. “Signing the pledge signifies a symbolic step on our DEI journey. We now join more than 13 million other employees within 85 industries around the nation to advance inclusion at work.”

In signing the pledge, WPS commits to:

• Cultivate a workplace that supports open dialogue on complex and sometimes difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion.
• Implement and expand unconscious bias education.
• Share best practices.
• Create and share strategic inclusion and diversity plans with the WPS Board of Directors.

Click here to view a list of companies that have signed the pledge.

About WPS Health Solutions

Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation is a nationally regarded benefits administrator for a variety of U.S. government programs and a leading not-for-profit health insurer in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation utilizes “WPS Health Solutions” to refer to our entire enterprise. Within our enterprise, there are three divisions, including Government Health Administrators, Military and Veterans Health, and WPS Health Insurance/WPS Health Plan/EPIC Specialty Benefits. WPS Government Health Administrators manages Medicare Part A and Part B benefits for millions of seniors in multiple states, and WPS Military and Veterans Health serves millions of members of the U.S. military and their families through TRICARE and Veterans Affairs programs. Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation has been based in Madison, Wis., for nearly 75 years. For more information, please visit wpshealthsolutions.com.

JP Cullen Ends 2020 As Safest Year in Firm’s 129-Year History

In a year where safety has become the top priority for most worldwide, ending the year as the safest on record for the firm is a feat JP Cullen is ecstatic to share with its staff and clients. There are two metrics used for safety:

• Incident Rate or IR: a measure of how often a recordable injury or illness occurs over a specified period of time, typically one year
• Days Away, Restricted or Transferred or DART: metric to measure how many workplace injuries and illnesses required employees to miss work, perform restricted work activities or transfer to another job within a calendar year

With over 1,000,000 hours worked, JP Cullen finished the year with a 1.59 IR which is almost half of the national average of 3.0 and a DART of .20 far below the national average of 1.80.

“2020 was a year filled with many ups and downs. Safety is not a spectator sport and it takes a team effort to be able to accomplish what we did in 2020,” says George Cullen, Co-President. “Thank you to everyone for looking out for your fellow workers and keeping our job sites safe for our clients.”

LINKS

JP Cullen Website: www.jpcullen.com

JP Cullen Social Media: Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

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JP Cullen is a fifth-generation family-owned business. Since 1892, we have taken on the most challenging government, education, healthcare, commerce, industrial, arts & entertainment and historic restoration projects across Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. Today we are a $400+ million full-service preconstruction and construction company with 800 employees, managing projects from $1,000 to over $100 million in size – from new construction (office buildings, university buildings, residence halls, healthcare clinics, chemical, food and beverage, manufacturing, and power plants) to additions and renovations (healthcare facilities, K-12 schools, chemical, food and beverage, manufacturing, and power plants) to specialized work (e.g. steel erection, masonry, carpentry, historical restoration, equipment installation).

Kraus-Anderson completes car dealerships in Mount Pleasant and Bristol, Wis.

RACINE, Wis. (February 2021) – The Madison office of Kraus-Anderson Construction has completed the construction of Racine Honda in Mount Pleasant, Wis., and Kenosha Subaru in Bristol, Wis. Both car dealerships are owned by Home Run Auto Group.

Racine Honda, a new $9.1 million dealership, located at 1701 E Frontage Rd. in Mount Pleasant, was developed by Janesville, Wis.-based M&J Real Estate. The new two-story building replaces the existing dealership at 9501 Washington Ave. The 45,000-square-foot building features a new showroom and a full-service department with 34 bays, including two detail bays and a car wash. The dealership also includes new sales and finance offices and a storage mezzanine.

Kenosha Subaru, located at 7900 120th Ave. in Bristol, features a $1.9 million, 7,300-square-foot expansion that added 11 service bays to the service department and renovated the offices and restrooms.

Both dealerships were designed by Johnsburg, Ill.-based architect R.B. Custom Designs, Inc.

COVID-19: KRAUS-ANDERSON’S COMMITMENT TO JOB SAFETY
As the world continues to deal with and adapt to the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kraus-Anderson’s top priority remains safety. The company has implemented stringent social distancing practices and other elevated safety protocol on construction job sites, details of which can be found at https://www.krausanderson.com/about/kraus-anderson-responds-to-covid-19/.

About Kraus-Anderson
Established in 1897, Kraus-Anderson (www.krausanderson.com) is an integrated construction management and real estate enterprise working independently and in collaboration with a family of companies including insurance and financing operations. Kraus-Anderson, an Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action employer, is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. and has regional offices in Madison, Wis., Bismarck, N.D., and Duluth, Bemidji and Rochester Minn.

Goodwill SCWI celebrates 50 years in South Central Wisconsin

NEWS ALERT
January 21, 2021

David Johnson
Communications Coordinator
djohnson@goodwillscwi.org
608-438-7775

Goodwill SCWI celebrates 50 years in South Central Wisconsin

Madison, WI – Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin is celebrating 50 years of serving our neighbors in South Central Wisconsin, helping people gain independence through the power of work.

Since 1971, Goodwill SCWI has provided a hand up for anyone, throughout the 14-county region we serve, who wants to achieve independence through jobs, education, and skills training.

50 years of strengthening the community by helping staff members realize their potential, achieve goals in the career pathways they set, while providing support along the way.

50 years of service to the community by offering job and training programs to assist those with obstacles to employment, help develop marketable skills, and find meaningful work.

And during those 50 years, our 3 group homes have provided a safe, supportive way for hundreds of adults with mental illness regain their independence.

But our impact in the community doesn’t stop there. Goodwill SCWI is also a green business, keeping 16 million of pounds of goods each year out of local landfills through resale and responsible recycling.

This is who we’ve been for 50 years. Goodwill SCWI is excited to continue our mission of providing services for people with obstacles to employment for another half century and beyond.

About Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin

Goodwill SCWI is a local nonprofit operating 13 stores in the South Central region. The stores exist as the economic engine for Goodwill’s mission services, providing career guidance, supported employment and residential services to people with disabilities, mental health concerns and other obstacles to employment and independent living.