by jboullion | Sep 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article on BizTimes Daily:
When the new high-speed rail network is established in the Midwest, it will create 13,000 new jobs in Wisconsin, eliminate 780,000 car trips every year and conserve 2.76 million gallons of gasoline annually, according to a new report released today by the WISPIRG Foundation.
The organization attributed the estimate of the jobs created to the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association.
Kyle Bailey, program associate with WISPIRG, said the 13,000 jobs include both private development in and around intermodal stations and rail lines, manufacturing jobs related to train and car construction, and the development, maintenance and operations of the trains and intermodal stations.
Bailey said he did not know how many of the 13,000 jobs would be with private companies or the state.
“High-speed rail is part of the solution – boosting our economy and creating jobs, modernizing our transportation system and helping to solve our nation’s oil dependency, worsening congestion and pollution,” Bailey said. “High-speed rail gets us moving in the right direction.”
Bailey noted the growing popularity of the Amtrak Hiawatha line between Chicago and Milwaukee, which saw a 63-percent increase in ridership from 2004 to 2008, when more than 766,000 passengers rode the line.
Wisconsin’s Midwest regional rail line upgrades will speed the Hiawatha service up to 110 mph, reducing trip time from Chicago to Milwaukee to about an hour, and extend it to Madison and eventually La Crosse or Eau Claire and the Twin Cities.
by jboullion | Sep 20, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Energy Composites Corporation:
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. September 17, 2010 — Energy Composites Corporation (“ECC”)
(NASDAQ OTC:ENCC) a leading provider of composites-based solutions to the clean-tech sector, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with SSP Technology A/S of Kirkeby, Denmark (“SSP”), with the purpose of entering into a strategic partnership and to establish a joint venture. This strategic alliance will support both companies’ efforts to supply competitive blades to wind turbine generators for North American customers.
With its base in Wisconsin Rapids, the joint venture will be well-situated in the midst of the upcoming Great Lakes/Midwest wind turbine market. In the coming years this region will set new demands and lead the market for turbine performance, blade size and manufacturing technologies.
SSP will offer customers the complete aerodynamic and structural design for blades and moulds, production of prototype blades, and ramp-up of blade production based on the partnership with ECC. ECC will manufacture blades for all customers based either on the customer’s own design or a blade design developed via the partnership with SSP. The joint venture will manufacture moulds and prefabricated root segments for both companies and their customers.
by jboullion | Aug 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kevin Featherly in The Daily Reporter:
Minneapolis — Looking to get their share of transit money, leaders from eastern Twin Cities suburbs are planning a $1.4 million, 18-month study to identify mass transit options for the Interstate 94 corridor into Wisconsin.
The leaders, known as the Gateway Corridor Commission, hired CH2M Hill, a global engineering, consulting and construction firm with offices in Mendota Heights.
Ted Schoenecker, transportation planning manager for the Washington County Public Works Department, said the commission is approaching the study with no preconceived notions about which mass transit option would be best for the stretch of I-94 from St. Paul into Wisconsin, known as the Gateway Corridor.
Some options include a light rail line from St. Paul to Woodbury; a light rail line to Woodbury with a bus rapid transit link to Eau Claire; and a commuter rail line from St. Paul to Eau Claire that could share infrastructure with a high-speed passenger rail line that might one day run from St. Paul to Chicago.
Schoenecker said those are a few among many possibilities. “There could be 400 options beyond that,” he said. “So determining the best options is really the gist of what this study is going to do.”
The commission will launch its study in September and should complete it by spring of 2012. The study will determine potential ridership, project alignment, transit mode and costs for a transit way along the corridor.
Clint Gridley, Woodbury’s city administrator, said developing a mass transit strategy along the corridor is one of his city’s economic development priorities.
by jboullion | Aug 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathan Phelps in the Green Bay Press Gazette:
Vorpahl Fire & Safety did not build its business with commercial wind generation in mind, but it’s one of many companies that consider that industry a key opportunity for expansion.
For the last few months, Vorpahl has sold protective gear designed for workers in the wind energy sector, including safety harnesses, hard hats, gloves, high-visibility vests and tool bags.
Wind energy is a market the business is banking on for continued growth in the coming years.
“We’ve been trying to figure out creative ways to break into other, untapped, segments, and wind energy came up because it is really big in other parts of the country and it’s starting to catch on in Wisconsin,” said Chris Vorpahl, marketing coordinator. “Love it or hate it … wind turbines are going to be here, and we want to provide the protection for the people maintaining, installing it and assembling it.”
Throughout the area, sectors that are one or more rings down the supply chain from the manufacture of wind turbines are grabbing a piece of the burgeoning industry.
New North, a nonprofit economic development organization, is setting up an October event in Milwaukee aimed at identifying business opportunities in the wind sector, said Jerry Murphy executive director of New North.
by jboullion | Aug 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Eric Decker, Alysha Schertz, and others on BizTimes.com:
Steve Ostrenga is bringing jobs to Milwaukee at a new Helios USA plant, which will manufacture solar panels. . . .
Milwaukee is known for manufacturing. Companies such as Harley-Davidson, A.O. Smith, Falk, Rockwell Automation and many breweries played large roles in the city’s development.
Manufacturing will drive the city’s future. However, what Milwaukee’s manufacturers produce is changing.
Helios USA LLC, a startup solar panel manufacturer that is developing a 40,000-square-foot plant in the city’s Menomonee Valley, is new to the city. So are its products.
But when the company begins shipping its solar panels throughout the U.S. in early 2011, it will become another of the city’s nationally known manufacturers, tapping into the city’s heritage of supplying the world with parts and components it needs.
“This is a manufacturing center – we put the plant here because of the strong heritage in energy,” said Steve Ostrenga, chief executive officer of Helios. “We’ve got ZBB and Johnson Controls and a lot of other firms that are in the (energy) industry already. And manufacturing is the backbone of this (community) already.”
Helios will hire production workers as early as September as it installs automated manufacturing and assembly equipment. The company hopes to begin full production by January and will have 20 to 40 employees at that time, Ostrenga said.
When it begins production, Helios will use about 15,000 square feet of the total space. The company anticipates several phases of expansion over the next several years. By the time it uses all of the 40,000 square feet of space for production, it will have about 100 employees.
Helios’ production system will be highly automated, using equipment that most workers in the area will not be familiar with, which is why the company will begin hiring this fall, Ostrenga said.
“We’re spending a lot of money on training because this process is unique,” he said. “The solar industry is new.”
