FROM GARAGE TO INDUSTRIAL PARK:
University of Wisconsin-Extension helps businesses grow in Taylor County
UW-Extension and partners help build successful businesses that bring good-paying jobs to Taylor County, benefiting the economy of north-central Wisconsin.
WADAL Plastics
One night in the early 1990s, Dale Baumann and Wade Cullen stood in a rented garage talking with Arlen Albrecht about starting their own company, WADAL Plastics. It was one of many conversations the two had been having with acquaintances about their dream.
UW-Extension Community Development Agent Arlen Albrecht helped WADAL Plastics partners (left to right) Dale Baumann, Wade Cullen and Bob Lange develop an entrepreneurial idea into a growing business. Photo by MICHAEL HAAS.
The difference this time was that they were talking to an expert. As a University of Wisconsin-Extension community development agent, Albrecht's job is to help people find ways to make their entrepreneurial idea a reality.
Albrecht worked out a business plan with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UW-Eau Claire and consulted with the Northwest Wisconsin Manufacturing Outreach Center at UW-Stout on plant design and product flow. With a loan from the Medford Development Foundation and business plan in hand, Baumann and Cullen moved the fledgling company into a new building in the Medford industrial park and good things began to happen.
"At the beginning," says Cullen, vice president of manufacturing operations, "Arlen gave us lots of ideas, a lot of things we could look into. He did a lot of research on our behalf. He pointed us in the right direction and showed us that resources were available to help us, things we didn't know existed."
"In a rural area like Taylor County, UW-Extension plays a vital role in economic development." -Arlen Albrecht, community development agent, UW-Extension
Baumann and Cullen guided their new company through a rapid expansion, hired new partners (including Bob Lange), then put their team skills to work to take the young company to the next level.
"We started from nothing," Cullen says. "Dale had a tool-and-die shop, which we converted to a plastic injection-molding company. We now employ 50 people and two years ago opened a second facility in El Paso, Texas. We started working for Weather Shield and have broadened our market to include windows, automotive and consumer products, and appliances."
"The company is very busy, very strong," Cullen says. "We're moving forward."
Parrett Manufacturing
The garages of Taylor County must provide the right environment for new ideas to flourish. Parrett Manufacturing, which makes subcomponents for specialty windows, also started in a garage. The founders struggled with year-round access to their rural location and a dusty gravel road, so Albrecht worked with the Town of Deer Creek to apply for a Transportation for Economic Development grant. Upgrading to a blacktop road allowed the company to grow. The company moved to an industrial site in Dorchester and now manufactures its own line of windows.
Drangle Foods
Albrecht worked with Drangle Foods Inc. to facilitate a partner buyout and an Agricultural Development Zone Tax Credit application, which resulted in the company reinvesting those funds in expansion. It now employs 70 people in Gilman, a town of 450.
Great Northern Cabinetry
Great Northern Cabinetry Inc. in Rib Lake wanted to expand, but there was no "developable" land available. Albrecht worked with the Rib Lake Community Development Foundation and Village to secure two acres of county-owned land. With local resources, they got the parcel taken off the Wisconsin wetland listing by demonstrating with aerial photos and soil proof that the site was historically a gravel hill. The company completed a $1-million expansion and now has 90 employees.
It takes a community…
These successful businesses and others are bringing good jobs to Taylor County and keeping them here, benefi ting the economy of the entire region.
"I don't loan out money or make the political decisions that allow businesses to grow," Albrecht explains. "I help them answer questions so sound decisions can be made. I help bring the right players to the table so collaborative resources can be shared. I do research to find new resources, and I help overcome obstacles to projects that communities want to develop."
Albrecht adds, "In no way do I act alone. In every case of successful economic development, it takes a community of leaders and resources. UW-Extension is a member of that team. We all work together."-Jo Futrell
UW-Extension Prepares Communities for Economic Development
- Each year, about 45 Taylor County entrepreneurs and small businesses seek education and specialized support from the local UW-Extension office.
- From 1995 to 2003, the four manufacturers in this story increased employment by over 94%, creating 332 jobs. In the same time period, Wisconsin lost 11% of its manufacturing jobs statewide.
- Manufacturing jobs account for more than 30% of all jobs in Taylor County.
- In 62 Wisconsin counties, UW-Extension community resource development educators address a wide range of issues, including natural resources, community growth and strategic planning.
- In 2003, UW-Extension's community resource development agents reported 77,995 educational contacts.